INTC introduces GBE products at $1,400 per port, lowest in industry
Intel Turns Up Network Juice
By Scott Berinato
February 10, 1998 11:07 AM PST
PC Week
Diving into the deep end of the networking business, Intel
Corp. this month will introduce its first Gigabit Ethernet
products.
The Feb. 24 announcement in San Francisco will kick off a
two-month product blitz. Among the products expected
are a Gigabit Ethernet adapter for servers, a Gigabit
module for the company's Express 510T switch, and new
Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet routing switches.
The new products are part of Intel's strategy to woo
customers with low-cost networking wares that fill gaps
between the workgroup and the enterprise backbone,
company officials confirmed.
The Santa Clara, Calif., company will lay the groundwork
for the new products this week when it cuts the price of its
Express 10/100 hubs to $83 per port for a 24-port device,
down from $99, and to $116 for a 12-port version, down
from $127. The Express 510T, a 24-port 10/100 switch,
will drop switched Fast Ethernet to $154 per port from
$199, officials said.
A one-port Gigabit Ethernet module for the 510T, a switch
that has two expansion slots, will debut at the Feb. 24
event.
Pricing has not been set, but sources indicate it will come
in at close to $1,400--competitive with 3Com Corp.'s
recently announced SuperStack II 9300 Gigabit Ethernet
switch.
Intel also will introduce a fiber-based Gigabit adapter for
servers, currently in beta testing, sources said. The
network interface card is expected to be released next
quarter, priced as low as $800, they said.
Also due are Intel's newest Express 500-series stackable
switches. An eight-port 10/100 switch with Layer 3
route-switching capabilities and two expansion slots will
be priced at about $400 per port, similar to Extreme
Networks Inc.'s new Summit3 switch. |
