3Com transcends network
traffic
By Ben Heskett
March 4, 1997, 12:30 p.m. PT
3Com (COMS) wants to help users bypass
network traffic jams by waving through the most
important data.
Fresh from announcing the biggest merger in
networking history, 3Com will upgrade its
Transcend software framework, a software package
that governs how data passes through 3Com
networking equipment. The new Transcend
framework will help users prioritize traffic and
tighten up security policies, according to analysts
familiar with the company's plans.
The move is part of 3Com's answer to a growing
customer interest; it creates levels of service and
adds better security to the software used in
networking hardware such as switches and routers.
3Com rival Cisco Systems recently announced a
new effort called the Enterprise Security Alliance
that plans to tackle end-to-end security issues.
Companies that have signed on to the effort include
Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft.
3Com's framework is called 3D Networking and
will basically make the server a kind of policy
manager, according to sources. Users will set
priorities for the data being transmitted and, as data
passes through the server, the priorities will be
verified with administrative policy. For example, an
important file could receive a high priority that would
bypass normal electronic mail flows and potential
slowdowns.
Java-enabled software on 3Com switches and
routers actually does the work of managing the
prioritized messages, sources say. A network
management component to handle traffic from
3Com's Fast IP initiative is also forthcoming,
sources added.
Sources said 3Com will make other key moves in
the coming weeks, including the introduction of
prestandard switching modules and adapter cards
based on Gigabit Ethernet, the next-generation
networking technology that speeds data at 1,000
mbps. The company will also give one umbrella
name--CoreBuilder--to its three switching lines,the
CELLplex, LANPlex, and ONcore families. |
