SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 4, 1997--
Latest Integrated Windows NT Server Capitalizes on Award-Winning
EdgeServer Technology, Providing More Processing Power to Handle the
Most Robust Remote Access Applications at the Edge of the Network
3Com Corporation (NASDAQ:COMS) today announced its next
generation EdgeServer(TM) Pro card, an innovative, powerful remote
access server and edge application/intranet server with dual Pentium
Pro processors, up to 1GB RAM, and four times the hard disk capacity
of current EdgeServer technology. The EdgeServer Pro card combines
server functionality and the high-performance capabilities of
Microsoft Windows NT in 3Com's Total Control(TM) remote access
concentrator.
This unique solution leverages existing EdgeServer technology in
the Total Control system to efficiently deploy Windows NT RAS,
security/firewall, and edge applications like intranet, proxy,
dial-out modem pooling and outbound faxing for users on the local
area network (LAN). EdgeServer Pro possesses the additional
processing power needed to handle future edge applications such as
voice over IP (VOIP), fax over IP (FOIP), and video conferencing. It
also supports x2(TM) (56 Kbps(a)) technology, ISDN, RAS dial-back, and
Multilink PPP for bonding multiple channels to increase bandwidth for
remote users.
By integrating the EdgeServer Pro card within the Total Control
platform, 3Com has created a highly scalable remote access solution
which eliminates cable management issues and optimizes space
utilization, improving maintenance and providing network
administrators with a software upgradable platform from a single
vendor.
The EdgeServer Pro module also has unsurpassed I/O throughput by
utilizing the Total Control system's packet bus which scales up to 1
Gbps. The EdgeServer Pro module can be implemented as a Windows NT
RAS server, or as an edge applications server, running third party NT
applications at the edge of the network. This improves remote access
performance, decreases network traffic and increases security. This
proven technology in the first generation EdgeServer has won seven
industry awards and has been deployed in over 2,500 locations.
"These edge-based applications are becoming increasingly
important as customers strive to add value to their networks," said
Ross Manire, senior vice president, 3Com Carrier Systems. "The
EdgeServer Pro card gives customers the ability to improve
performance for both LAN and remote users. As higher-port densities,
management, security and reliability become even more crucial for the
deployment of mission-critical applications, 3Com offers customers a
premier solution."
Targeted to large corporations and Internet Service Providers
(ISPs), the EdgeServer Pro module is a single card integrating into
three slots of the Total Control remote access concentrator.
EdgeServer Pro contains a 200 Mhz Pentium Pro processor, 64MB of RAM
and 2x2GB mirrored hard drives, scalable to two Pentium Pro
processors, 1GB of RAM, and external disk capacity via an Ultra Wide
SCSI-3 connection -- enough power to run demanding applications at
the edge of the network. In addition, users can create server farms
by placing multiple EdgeServer Pros in a single chassis.
The EdgeServer Pro card running Windows NT Server 4.0 (or higher)
in the Total Control platform seamlessly integrates support for up to
256 concurrent users into NT environments. System managers need not
retrain network administrators, nor install separate security
systems. Moreover, there is no need to manage a separate RAS
solution because the EdgeServer Pro module does this in a native NT
environment.
3Com and Microsoft jointly developed the network drivers which
allow NT to directly communicate with the DSPs (digital signal
processors) over the packet bus. The Total Control platform, with
its PPP co-processing, off loads some of the PPP processing demand to
the DSP engines from the CPU.
As customers migrate to the Total Control HiPer(TM) access system,
3Com's high-density remote access concentrator, they can realize even
greater PPP co-processing, as each DSP engine terminates two remote
user sessions and plays an even greater role in offloading the
processing demands of the CPU.
The EdgeServer Pro card also will be available without Windows
NT. In this configuration, the EdgeServer Pro module is used in
conjunction with a NETServer or HiPer access router card, which
provides routing functionality as the EdgeServer Pro card runs other
operating systems like BSDI's BSD/OS or Solaris acting as an
applications server. This configuration option allows NETServer or
HiPer access router to be utilized with the EdgeServer Pro to provide
additional services within the Total Control remote access
concentrator.
For ISPs, the EdgeServer Pro card allows the integration of
communications and Web server technology into one platform, and acts
as a front-end processor, handling caching, proxy and local content
services in a remote access platform.
A user can implement security and accounting services in an NT,
BSDI or Solaris server at the network edge, authenticating users at
the periphery of the network rather than through a central security
server. In addition, the EdgeServer Pro card can be used as a RADIUS
server to support multiple Total Control systems.
The EdgeServer Pro card supports T.120 collaborative computing
and H.323 audio/video conferencing, providing VOIP, FOIP and
multimedia gateways for the Total Control HiPer access system, which
terminates up to 336 (in North America)/420 (outside North America)
remote user sessions in one chassis - all in under nine inches of
rackmount height, the highest port density available in the industry
today.
The EdgeServer Pro card's base configuration has a list price of
$10,593 (U.S.), and is expected to be available in December 1997.
Availability and pricing for outside the U.S. will be published in
December 1997. 3Com will continue to certify software from third
party vendors for use on the EdgeServer Pro card through its
EdgeWare(SM) ISV (Independent Software Vendor) Program. 3Com is in
the process of developing an in-house test lab to assure
compatibility of third party applications running on EdgeServer Pro;
this will provide customers with the knowledge that a solution
application is fully compatible with the EdgeServer Pro card and the
Total Control system. |
