Business Services Industry

3Com Outperforms Cisco and HP in Independent Tolly Group Testing of High-Speed Switches

Business Wire, March 4, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 4, 2003

3Com(R) SuperStack(R) 3 Switch 4924 Four Times Faster Than Cisco

Switch and Twice as Fast as HP Switch;

3Com Switch Earns "Up to Spec" Certification

3Com Corporation (Nasdaq: COMS) today announced that independent testing by The Tolly Group, a U.S. testing, strategic consulting and industry analysis organization, has demonstrated that 3Com's SuperStack(R) 3 Switch 4924 outperforms the Cisco Catalyst 4006 and the HP Procurve 4108GL for non-blocking Layer 2 throughput required for use in enterprise server farms and high-performance wiring closet environments. This earned the 3Com(R) SuperStack 3 Switch 4924 the "UP TO SPEC" certification that The Tolly Group grants to products that perform exactly as the vendor has promised, guaranteeing high quality and high performance to enterprise customers. The Tolly Group tests are designed to evaluate products in an environment typically found in Fortune 1,000 companies.

"The rapid advent of Gigabit Ethernet in server farms and workgroup networks, driven by performance needs and affordable price points, make this competitive benchmark of high-speed Gigabit switches extremely relevant," said Tim Jalland, director of data product management, LAN Infrastructure, 3Com. "The Tolly Group test shows that 3Com's SuperStack 3 Switch 4924 should be the first choice for organizations demanding the highest Gigabit Ethernet switching performance. Simply put, 3Com outperformed the competition in a test that reflected a typical enterprise environment. The 'UP TO SPEC' certification further validates 3Com's technical commitment to delivering superior technology to the market."

Designed for server farms and wiring closets requiring high performance, high functionality and great value, the 3Com SuperStack 3 Switch 4924 is based on 3Com-developed ASIC technology and runs 3Com's Gigabit Multilayer Switching (GMS) software that provides a rich Layer 2 feature set as well as Layer 3 switching for IP networks. The switch offers 24 fixed 10/100/1000 ports and an expansion slot accommodating other Gigabit media at an affordable price. In addition to the wire-speed Layer 2 performance verified in the Tolly test, the switch delivers wire-speed Layer 3 switching performance, advanced multilayer Class of Service capabilities required for multimedia and telephony applications, and security features, such as Access Control Lists and RADIUS authentication.

Customers who choose this 3Com high-speed solution can then scale up their networks and add high availability capabilities with 3Com's XRN(TM) core networking solution. The SuperStack Switch 4900 family supports XRN technology, which lets these switches create highly resilient, high-performance, multilayer Gigabit Ethernet backbones with an optional XRN Interconnect Kit.

Tolly Report Highlights the Fastest Switch Tested

"In the competitive tests of the SuperStack 3 Switch 4924 and the Cisco and HP switches, the SuperStack 3 Switch 4924 distinguished itself as the fastest switch tested, providing 48 Gbps, four times the throughput of the Catalyst 4006 and approximately two and a half times the throughput of the Procurve 4108GL when measured across the three frame sizes tested. Moreover, the SuperStack 3 Switch 4924's fixed configuration offers 'plug-and-play' usability anywhere in the network and regardless of traffic load," The Tolly Group stated in its detailed test report.

About The Tolly Group

The Tolly Group, based in Manasquan, NJ, is recognized worldwide for its expertise in assessing leading-edge technologies. For more information on The Tolly Group's services, visit its web site at http://www.tolly.com, email info@tolly.com, call 800-933-1699/732-528-3300, or fax. This test summary can be found at http://www.tolly.com, document number 200159, February 7, 2003.

About 3Com Corporation

3Com is a tier-one provider of innovative, practical and high-value networking products for enterprises of all sizes and public sector organizations. 3Com is also a leader in providing Internet protocol (IP) service platforms and access infrastructure for network service providers. For further information, please visit www.3com.com, or the press site www.3com.com/pressbox.> 3Com, SuperStack and the 3Com logo are registered trademarks and XRN is a trademark of 3Com Corporation. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective holders.