Intel's Tastes Turn to Networking
by Chris Oakes (Wired)
3:03pm 23.Apr.97.PDT Intel, not content to rest on its Pentium-producing laurels,
wants to jump into the field of high-speed networking. If it can make a computer
process graphics faster, the company is reasoning, it should be able to help binary data
move across a network at a faster clip. The answer is encased in silicon.
That solution is a single chip - the ominously named 82558 - that Intel claims will make
future PCs Fast Ethernet-compatible, with transfer speeds of 10 to 100 megabits per
second. The chip also integrates networking and power-management capabilities that
the company says answer the wish-lists of network administrators.
The move by Intel echoes an old promotion by Sun Microsystems, one where the
workstation-maker pronounced, "The network is the computer." The goal was to sell
the public on its notion that computer and networking were closely intertwined - a
salient fact about the Macintosh that was lost on Apple Computer in the early days of
its now beleaguered machine. By declaring that all PCs are networked PCs, Intel is
exercising the lessons learned from this history.
"Intel's is a network-centric architecture - connectivity and management is a de facto
part of the PC," said Mark Christensen, vice president of Intel's Internet and
Communications Group and general manager of Intel's Network Products Division.
"We're going to make sure that it happens."
And when Intel, the dominant chipmaker, speaks in such terms, the industry listens.
The news Monday touched off immediate dips in networking stocks. For example,
3Com's stock dropped $2 a share.
On Tuesday, 3Com stock rebounded, by rising 81 cents per share. That action moved
in parallel with the company's reactions. On the same day, 3Com announced it would
cut prices on its 10/100 Ethernet hubs, among other products.
3Com's Joe Ammirato is not cowed by Intel's latest promotion. "Regardless of what's
on the motherboard, customers specifically seek 3Com technology for their network,"
said Ammirato, director of marketing for the company's advanced-products division.
Ammirato notes that 3Com already offers built-in Ethernet capabilities through
collaborations with computer-makers such as Dell. Intel's move is the result of its losing
marketshare in the 10 Mbps Ethernet race, he said. The chipmaking giant is merely
trying to bully its way in with a one-size-fits-all, low-cost Fast Ethernet on
motherboard, a solution that doesn't work for everyone, Ammirato said.
Networking industry analysts agree with 3Com, to a point - most PC companies
putting Ethernet on boards don't have the trust and clout with users. But Intel is another
kettle of fish, said Justin Smith, analyst with research firm IDC.
"People are more likely to trust Intel," Smith said, because Intel has so much more
control over what's in PC systems. "So much of the motherboard is already Intel," he
noted.
"Intel makes it much easier since it's a single chip," Smith said.
With that single chip, Intel addresses what it says is the biggest problem faced by IT
managers - cost of management. The 82558 combines multiple network functions into
a single chip. The chip includes the ability to boot and administer a networked PC over
a LAN and - even if the OS fails to load - access the basic network hardware for
administration.
And behind the curve or no, the mere fact that Intel is making the chip is reason enough
to take notice, Smith said. |
