New LAN Switch: IBM Delivers the Highest Performing LAN Switch; Averaging 200 Percent Faster Than Leading Competition - 8275 Fast Ethernet Workgroup Switch Model 416 - Product Announcement

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, May 17, 1999

IBM Tuesday announced the fastest network switch in its class, capable of handling 9.5 million data packets per second - the equivalent of 145 copies of "War and Peace."

IBM's new 8275 Fast Ethernet Workgroup Switch Model 416 outperforms similar leading competitive products at comparable price points by an average of 200 percent, based on comparisons to published specifications from leading competitors. The new IBM switch, designed for medium to large-sized companies deploying e-business initiatives, improves overall data traffic flow around a local area network and to the Internet, creating faster response times.

"Becoming an e-business requires the ability to share large volumes of information quickly, creating heavy demands on the network," said Jose Garcia, vice president, workgroup networks, IBM Networking Hardware Division. "While this switch features optimum performance, the rich feature set and flexibility of the design allows our customers to choose a configuration that meets their individual e-business requirements."

The Model 416 features a flexible design that allows customers to use the switch throughout the network in multiple ways -- as a workgroup backbone switch to connect users on multiple floors or in multiple buildings; as a high performance workgroup switch supporting users and servers requiring added bandwidth; or as an edge switch to connect the LAN to an ATM backbone when used with the new 8371 Multilayer Ethernet Switch.

IBM's 8275 Model 416 Offers Two Expansion Slots for Increased Bandwidth The new 8275 Model 416 is a Layer 3-ready switch featuring two expansion slots that give medium to large-sized businesses the flexibility to choose additional connectivity options based on their individual needs. The expansion slots can be used to increase the number of workstation attachments; provide aggregation of multiple workgroup switches; or provide Gigabit connectivity to servers or network backbones. Copper, fiber or mixed cabling environments are easily supported by selecting the appropriate feature cards.

Feature cards on the 8275 Model 416 include:

8 port 10/100 BaseTX Module 8 port 100 Mbps FX Module 2 port Gigabit Module 4 port 100 Mbps FX Module Features for the 8275 Model 416 include:

Performance level of 9.5 million packets per second (Mpps) - Marking the highest performance level in its class 802.1P&Q - VLAN support for departmental workgroups and QoS traffic prioritization for increased performance Flow control - preventing packet loss during heavy congestion Port trunking with the 8371 Multilayer Ethernet Switch or other 8275 switches Layer 3 Switching support featuring self-learning IP - allows the 8275 Model 416 to offload traffic from overloaded routers thus increasing network performance Stackable - coupled with the expansion slots, provides the scalability needed to support the growth of customer networks Flexible management options - Web-based, SNMP and RMON Enhancements to 8271 Nways Ethernet LAN Switch Model IBM also announced enhancements to its 8271 Nways Ethernet LAN Family (Models E12, E24, F12, F24), providing Gigabit Ethernet, QoS and VLAN support. These enhancements include a Gigabit Ethernet Card and supporting software delivering faster server response time and increasing performance capacity. The 8271 will also feature QoS enhancements including 802.1p support to balance server resources more efficiently, minimizing the impact of new applications on a server. The QoS enhancements also deliver lower administration costs by adding VLAN support through 802.1q and GVRP/GARP.

Additional Product Enhancements IBM is announcing two new ethernet adapters. The first is the new 10/100 EtherJet PCI Management Adapter, designed to enhance and extend the strong PC management capability of the adapter line. This card supports the Wake on LAN feature and is Tivoli management ready. The second is the 10/100 EtherJet CardBus ReadyPort Adapter with 56K modem. This is the new "cableless" version and is well suited for the mobile employee.

For enterprise customers, the 8274 GRS features a new Hardware Routing Engine to allow high speed Layer 3 switching, increasing performance up to 12 million packets per second. The 8274 Nways LAN RouteSwitch now offers an ATM 622 Mbps module for connection to a backbone. The 8277 Nways Ethernet RouteSwitch will introduce a new ATM 622 Mbps uplink and Gigabit uplink to allow customers to connect to a network backbone.

Pricing and Availability The 8275 Model 416 will be generally available on June 18, 1999 at a price of $145 per port. The enhancements to the 8271 product family will be available on May 28, 1999 and the Gigabit module is priced at $1759. Software enhancements are free and can be downloaded from the web.

IBM is also announcing early availability of the Gigabit module for the 8275 models 318, 322 and 326. Originally scheduled to be introduced in September of this year, the new module will now be generally available in May 1999 and is priced at $1149.