3COM Introduces Industry Leading Corebuilder 9000 Gigabit
Ethernet-Based System - BW, 12:30 p.m. Oct 13, 1998 Eastern
Company readies customers for convergence while lowering
today's cost of ownership
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 13, 1998--
Bolstering its overall leadership in the Ethernet networking market,
3Com(R) Corporation today introduced the packet switching version of its
CoreBuilder 9000 -- the industry's most powerful, scalable and reliable
Gigabit Ethernet-based switch for local area and campus networking
applications. This massive new system addresses the burgeoning demand
for modular Ethernet local area network (LAN) gear - a market growing
from $4.3 billion in 1998 to $5.2 billion in 1999 (Dell'Oro Group).
3Com's CoreBuilder 9000 packet switching system delivers 4 times the
capacity and performance of competing LAN core systems, enabling
customers to fundamentally change the way they build networks to lower
their overall cost of ownership.
A new class of enterprise switch, 3Com's CoreBuilder 9000 switch is
designed to ensure continuous operation and availability, along with
leading performance and control. The CoreBuilder 9000 switch offers
"PBX-quality" reliability, making it an ideal system for the next wave of
business applications, which will be based on running voice and video over
data networks. As the center of the network, the CoreBuilder 9000 switch
aggregates traffic from traditional wiring closet and edge devices, including
3Com's market-leading SuperStack(R) II switches, delivering superior
application performance to end users.
The company also announced it has begun shipping the CoreBuilder 9000
packet-based system to customers in a variety of industries, including
government, education, transportation, high technology, manufacturing
and education. Examples include National Institute of Health, Air Canada,
Harbinger Corporation, Total Oil Marine, Ohio State University's Fisher
College of Business and others.
"This new class of system culminates our two-year plan to dramatically
enhance our product, sales and customer support for the large enterprise
market," said Clint Ramsay, vice president for 3Com's Enterprise
Systems. "The CoreBuilder 9000 now leads our entirely new product line
for this market, and already it is winning us key business worldwide."
Michelle Rae McLean, senior research analyst, Global Networking
Strategies, META Group said, "Many of our clients are selecting routing
switches to anchor their next-generation campus backbones. The
hardware-based routing they offer, combined with Gigabit Ethernet's faster
transport speed, provides the scalability needed for the LAN core of large
enterprises." Most competitive option for today's large enterprise networks
The CoreBuilder 9000 packet-based system provides 100/1000 Mbps
connectivity with advanced Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching control, massive
scalability and flexibility and high availability for the network's campus
interconnect and data center. It can also be used in the wiring closet,
delivering an unprecedented number of 10/100 connections within a single
chassis system, plus the utmost reliability.
The CoreBuilder 9000 packet-based system delivers more than 4 times the
capacity and performance of competing products from Bay Networks,
Cabletron Systems and Cisco Systems. Industry-leading features include:
--560 Gbps of backplane capacity
--Support for 126 Gigabit Ethernet ports and 504 Fast Ethernet ports
--Layer 2 switching rates of 188 Mpps and Layer 3 routing of 56 Mpps
--Support for 9 groups of RMON and 6 groups of RMON2
"3Com's CoreBuilder 9000 has enabled me to dramatically increase my
network bandwidth, which has reduced my overall support costs and given
me headroom for future applications," said Kurtis Lindemann, network
specialist for Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business. "By
maximizing the productivity and performance of our network, we are
delivering top-notch services to our faculty and students." Next-generation
architecture with field-proven Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching
To ensure customers long-life use of the system well beyond the turn of the
century, the CoreBuilder 9000 switch's highly-redundant, star-wired
backplane scales up to 560 Gbps of capacity. The CoreBuilder 9000
packet-based system's initial Gigabit Ethernet switching fabric capacity
starts at 48 Gbps, with planned extensions in excess of 140 Gbps.
The system's PBX-like reliability is based upon complete hardware
redundancy (i.e. fault tolerance) as well as advanced software redundancy
to ensure uninterrupted, failsafe processing. This ultra-reliability is required
for running converged voice/video/applications, such as LAN telephony,
video conferencing and other real-time multimedia applications, now on the
horizon.
CoreBuilder 9000 Layer 2 10/100 and Gigabit Ethernet switching modules
are based on 3Com's state-of-the-art Switching Architecture for Gigabit
Ethernet (SAGE) ASIC technology, also used in 3Com's SuperStack II
Switch 3900 and SuperStack II Switch 9300 systems.
Layer 3 switching modules for the CoreBuilder 9000 packet-based system
are based on 3Com's Flexible Intelligent Routing Engine (FIRE) ASIC
chip set, also found in the CoreBuilder 3500 high-function Layer 3 switch,
to provide maximum flexibility and control for Layer 3 networking. Layer
3 switching cost-effectively replaces LAN routers and boosts network
efficiency. Advanced management with policy and control
The CoreBuilder 9000 switch supports policy-based management and
VLANs through industry-standard protocols 802.1p(1) and 802.1Q also
found in 3Com SuperStack II switches and 3Com Ethernet network
interface cards with DynamicAccess(R) software. Combining extensive
QoS/CoS features and these protocols, the CoreBuilder 9000 switch
delivers ultimate control and availability for the network core.
The CoreBuilder 9000 switch also supports 3Com's policy-powered
network framework, which comprehensively enforces information access
(security), information delivery (class/quality of service), and network
equipment monitoring and configuration actions according to business rules
(i.e., policies). Policy-powered networks offer the control required for
next-generation converged voice/video/data networks. Pricing and
Availability:
Base package U.S. list pricing for the CoreBuilder 9000 packet-based
system is $35,800 with a 2-Port 1000Base-SX Gigabit Ethernet module
priced at $3,950. Both are available now. Additional modules announced
today include:
--48 Gbps Switching Fabric: U.S. list price $12,950. Available now.
--2-Port 1000Base-LX Gigabit Ethernet module: U.S. list price $5,950.
Available now. now. now. Scheduled availability: December 1998.
Scheduled availability: December 1998. Scheduled availability: December
1998.
--9-Port Gigabit Ethernet module: Approximate pricing is $14,000.
Scheduled availability: Q1CY99.
(1) now officially standardized as part of IEEE 802.1D About 3Com
3Com Corporation enables individuals and organizations worldwide to
communicate and share information and resources at anytime from
anywhere. As one of the world's preeminent suppliers of data, voice and
video communications technology, 3Com has delivered networking
solutions to more than 200 million customers worldwide. The company
provides large enterprises, small and medium enterprises, carriers and
network service providers, and consumers comprehensive, innovative
information access products and system solutions for building intelligent,
reliable and high performance local and wide area networks. For further
information, visit 3Com's World Wide Web site at 3com.com
or the press site at 3com.com.
3Com, DynamicAccess EtherLink and SuperStack are registered
trademarks and CoreBuilder is a trademark of 3Com Corporation.
Copyright 1998, Business Wire
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