Major Product: 3Com Unveils ATM Version of CoreBuilder 9000 Platform,
Industry's Most Scalable Enterprise LAN Core Chassis Switch
BW, 09:41 a.m. Sep 08, 1998 Eastern
Top-of-Line Switch Aggregates CoreBuilder 7000HD ATM-to-Fast/Gigabit
Ethernet Chassis Switches to Comprise Scalable, Reliable Cost-Effective
ATM Local Area, Campus-Wide and Metropolitan Area Networking Solutions
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 8, 1998-- 3Com Corporation
(Nasdaq:COMS) for the first time today unveiled configuration and
pricing details of the ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) version of its
CoreBuilder(TM) 9000 large enterprise switching platform, whose flexible
ATM-Gigabit Ethernet architecture was introduced at year-end 1997. Available now,
the CoreBuilder 9000 enterprise switch with an ATM cell-based switching fabric
enables unparalleled performance scalability three times higher than the capacity of
the closest competing product. With fault tolerance designed into all critical levels,
this new switch paves an unmatched performance growth path for deploying
mission-critical data and converged voice/video/data applications at the core of
customers' networks and across the campus or metropolitan area network (MAN).
"Users are looking for highly scalable platforms that can enable fault tolerant,
converged networks while preserving their investments in legacy equipment. The
CoreBuilder 9000 fills all these functions," said Michael Speyer, program manager at
The Yankee Group.
The new high-availability ATM system is designed for the apex of customers'
networks to aggregate 3Com CoreBuilder 7000HD (ATM-to-Ethernet) switches as
well as other vendors' ATM switches. The CoreBuilder 7000HD systems provide
the industry's highest throughput, according to certified, independent testing, from
Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet workgroups and servers to multi-service ATM
enterprise backbones.
3Com today also introduced the new version of ATM software for the CoreBuilder
7000HD switch, which further simplifies ATM network management and enhances
total network fault-tolerance.
With 3Com Transcend(R) management software and maximum fault tolerance, the
CoreBuilder 9000 and CoreBuilder 7000 switches -- along with 3Com's
PathBuilder(TM) multi-service wide area networking switches, SuperStack(R) II
workgroup switches and network interface cards -- comprise the most scalable,
reliable and cost-effective integrated Ethernet/ATM enterprise networking solution.
CoreBuilder 9000 Enterprise Switch Proves Itself Ahead of the Industry
"Having completed extensive beta testing and now shipping in volume, the
CoreBuilder 9000 enterprise switch is proving itself with large enterprise customers
around the world," said Ron Sege, senior vice president of 3Com's Enterprise
Business Unit. "The CoreBuilder 9000 ATM switch is gaining rapid acceptance in
the installed base and, along with our recently expanded large enterprise customer
service offerings, is an extremely competitive offering enabling us to win new
business."
Initially available with redundant 15 Gbps non-blocking, full-duplex ATM switching
fabrics, the 16-slot CoreBuilder 9000 chassis has a future-proofed,
technology-independent, passive backplane that will scale up to 560 Gbps.
Non-blocking ATM cell-based switching fabrics are currently planned up to 70 Gbps
full-duplex. The ATM interface modules announced and available today include
2-port ATM OC-12c and 8-port ATM OC-3c configurations, plus mix and match
flexibility and support for both single mode and multimode fiber. High-density 10/100
and Gigabit Ethernet, Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching modules using the next
generation of 3Com's unique ZipChip architecture will be available in Q2 1999 for the
ATM switching platform. Further details of the packet version of the CoreBuilder
9000 switch will be announced at a later date. 3Com System Solutions The following
are two typical single-building configurations: --Large building with low cost
stackable edge - CoreBuilder 9000 in the core; CoreBuilder 7000HD in the data
center; and SuperStack II switches at the edge - benefits: feature rich, low cost,
flexible --Large building with high-performance chassis edge - CoreBuilder 9000 in
the core; CoreBuilder 7000HD in the data center and at the edge with multiple
load-sharing OC-12 downlinks - benefits: fully redundant from core to edge; high
throughput; high availability The following are two typical configurations for
inter-connecting buildings --Mesh topology campus LAN or MAN backbone -
multiple loadsharing OC-12 links between CoreBuilder 9000 building configurations
but no changes at Layer 2 or Layer 3 required - benefit: high-performance,
fault-tolerance, low administration, flexible growth without changes at Later 2 or 3
--Core switching cluster - dual star of OC-12 connections from dual CoreBuilder
9000s in the core - benefit: resilient, scales easily to 40,000+ users, supports dozens
of buildings without changes at Layer 2 or 3 Managed Bandwidth Applications
In addition to fault-tolerance and raw high performance for mission-critical and bulk
data applications, 3Com's ATM LAN/MAN solutions are equipped with advanced
traffic management and quality of service (QoS) features that simultaneously support
real-time voice and video applications and time-sensitive applications. Application
examples, by industry, include: --Commercial Businesses: call center applications and
interactive conferencing --Education: classroom-to-classroom video and distance
learning applications --Financial/Banking: critical online trading applications and
customer service --Government/Military: surveillance and field simulation --Health
Care: telemedicine and radiology imaging --Heavy Industry: remote process control
with multi-protocol support --Media and Entertainment: computer animation and
video editing --Retail: converged applications for competitive advantage in selling
CoreBuilder 9000 Product Features and Pricing --CoreBuilder 9000 ATM Base Kit
(including 16-slot chassis, 15 Gbps switch fabric, power supply and software) -
$40,800 --CoreBuilder 9000 ATM Interface Module (2 OC-12c/STM-4 multimode
fiber SC connections) - $9,950 --CoreBuilder 9000 ATM Interface Module (2
OC-12c/STM-4 single-mode fiber SC connections) - $13,950 --CoreBuilder 9000
ATM Interface Module (8 OC-3c/STM-1 multimode fiber SC connections) - $9,950
--CoreBuilder 9000 ATM Interface Module (8 OC-3c/STM-1 single-mode fiber SC
connections) - $20,950 CoreBuilder 7000 Software Features --PNNI V1.0 (with
extended software license) --UNI V4.0 and ILMI V4.0 with full auto-negotiation
--LANE 2.0 (LUNI) with SVC robustness (for no loss of connection) --LANE
Services redundancy enhancements with fast-failover and NMS independence
--Advanced LANE Security features --Fast-failover on NNI links --Fivefold increase
in active SVC capacity with 32 Mbyte DRAM upgrade --Single IP address for
management with full configuration upload and download About 3Com
3Com Corporation enables individuals and organizations worldwide to stay more
connected by communicating and sharing 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 enterprise, small and
medium enterprise, 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.
3Com, SuperStack and Transcend are registered trademarks and CoreBuilder and
PathBuilder are trademarks of 3Com Corporation.
Copyright 1998, Business Wire
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