John and Intel Investors - Intel's Downpour of New Products Continues
This time - New Networking products!
Paul
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zdnet.com
Intel turns up network juice
Initial Gigabit Ethernet products kick off a
large-scale networking initiative
By Scott Berinato, PC Week Online
02.09.98 10:00 am ET
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.
"Those prices would attract our attention," said John Ruhl,
strategic planner at the Aberdeen Test Center, in Aberdeen,
Md., which currently uses networking hardware from Cabletron
Systems Inc. "As we add buildings and users to our network,
we might add a vendor if the price is compelling."
For the higher end, Intel will demonstrate an eight-port Express
500-series Gigabit Ethernet routing switch. The switch, which
will officially debut in the second quarter, will be targeted at
"entry-level backbones, or companies just setting up their first
backbone," said Mark Christensen, group manager for Intel's
Network Products Division in Hillsboro, Ore.
Most existing Gigabit switch/routers, Christensen said, are
targeted at larger enterprise backbones--a space in which Intel
does not wish to compete.
In the enterprise area, Intel will continue to leverage its OEM
agreements with major networking vendors Cisco Systems Inc.
and Bay Networks Inc.
Intel, which previously has focused its networking business on
lower-end products such as LAN adapters, will face some
challenges in wooing network administrators who have
long-standing relationships with more traditional networking
vendors such as Cisco.
"[Intel] will have a tough time of it," said Brendan Hennigan, an
analyst at Forrester Research Inc., in Cambridge, Mass. "Right
now, they can get in line behind the [four major networking
vendors]."
But as the world's leading chip maker, Intel's brand recognition
and dominance in the desktop space will likely win over some
networking converts.
"I like using Intel switches because I know the Intel PCs will run
well with the networking equipment," said Ha Nguyen, senior
engineer at Marquette Medical Systems Inc., located in
Torrance, Calif. "The price points are another reason I use their
equipment. I think Intel can become a full-fledged networking
company."
Intel's powerful standing in the industry also would lend
assurance to potential customers like the Aberdeen Test
Center's Ruhl.
"One advantage Intel has is you can establish a long-term
relationship with them," he said. "I'm reasonably certain they're
not going to be bought or go out of business. [With] some
networking companies, you never know."
Additional reporting by Carmen Nobel |
