OPTICAL DATA SYSTEMS ANNOUNCES NEW REMOTE OFFICE FRAD WORK-GROUP HUBS

Richardson, TX, May 13, 1996 -- Optical Data Systems, Inc. (ODS),
(NASDAQ-NMS:ODSI), announced a new family of Ethernet hubs targeted at
small work-groups as well as small remote offices which require network
access to another location. The new ODS FRAD NANO-Hub family supports 8,
12 or 24 Ethernet users and supports Frame Relay Access Device (FRAD)
connections. In addition, a FRAD NANO-hub version is also available which
supports redundant 10BaseT fiber optic ports for fail-safe connections to
critical networking resources as well as versions supporting Remote
Monitoring (RMON). The NANO-Hubs are a very attractive and cost-effective
solution for network managers who are responsible for linking branch
office banks, retail chains, real estate, travel agent and other large
companies with multi-site locations together and who want remote-site
manageability.

FRAD MODELS

FRAD versions connect small offices or remote locations over a Frame Relay
network. They combine Etherent user ports, one serial FRAD user port and
an integral 56Kbps DSU/CSU. In addition it supports IP, IPX, SLIP, PPP,
Telnet, SNA/SDLC, and many other protocols.

SNMP AND RMON MANAGEMENT

For centralized management, the FRAD NANO-Hubs support advanced In-Band and
Out-of-Band management capabilities that utilize Simple Network Management
Protocol (SNMP) and Remote Monitoring (RMON) to manage ports and data
traffic from a centralized network management workstation.

Many companies with a small numbers of remote site offices are often
required to buy stackable products with inadequate remote-site management
capabilities and a cheap price tag. However, when problems begin to impact
the network, many network managers wish they would have made the extra
investment for remote site management. The ODS FRAD NANO-Hubs which
support network management can perform more functions than a network
protocol analyzer. Instead of flying several network engineers out to a
remote site to figure out why a network has gone down, the FRAD NANO-Hubs
take a more proactive approach. A network manager can initiate remote
packet captures, perform 7-layer decodes, trace computer conversations as
well as stipulate SNMP traps to catch and correct network problems as they
happen. Traps and saved management data are set to find potential problems
and keep a running record of all the events in a rolling buffer until
corrective action is necessary, much the same as a video camera in a
convenience store captures shop lifters or a robbery on video tape.

How SNMP and RMON Work Together

The ODS network management module provides SNMP management access, MIB II
plus full support for all 9 Ethernet RMON groups, and a full 7-layer
protocol decode capability in each hub. Network managers can send SNMP
commands to RMON probes to watch for and capture certain defined types of
network traffic. Network managers can analyze a wide variety of
information such as simultaneous, real-time statistics for multiple
ports.

In addition to management, traps can watch for predefined conditions, then
launch scripts to automatically fix a network's problems before they begin
to impact the network's performance. For example, if a server's network
interface card (NIC) was forwarding too many corrupted packets, the
management feature would simply turn off the port attached to the server's
NIC card and re-rout the traffic to another NIC card on the same server.
Instead of the network experiencing down-time, the network manager would
only receive a message stating what corrective action was taken and that a
faulty NIC needed to be replaced.

In-Band & Out-Of-Band Management

ODS NANO-Hubs provide redundant paths to manage hubs and send management
traffic. Each management card supplies In-band and Out-of-Band management
which can be configured to allow redundant management paths in the case of
a LAN failure. With In-Band management, traffic is sent over the same
channel(s) as data traffic. Out-of-Band traffic is available through RS232
connections for local terminal or remote dial-up lines supporting SLIP or
PPP and remains separate from data traffic. For example, if an In-Band
data path was unavailable because it was fully saturated with error
packets, the management module can default to the Out-of-Band path to
re-establish contact and correct the problem.

The In-Band and Out-of-Band management features let users analyze important
network utilization, determine which devices need more bandwidth,
troubleshoot network errors, disconnect devices that are causing problems
and alert network support staff about any failing device or network
downtime.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

The new FRADNANO-Hubs will begin shipping in May 1996. Model number and
pricing are listed below:

1106-12BT-FRAD-E
$3,335
12 Port 10BaseT & FRAD NANO-Hub with SNMP management

1106-12BT-FRAD-E-RM
$4,235
12 Port 10BaseT & FRAD NANO-Hub with SNMP and RMON management

1106-24BT-FRAD-E
$4,235
24 Port 10BaseT & FRAD NANO-Hub with SNMP management

1106-24BT-FRAD-E-RM
$5,135
24 Port 10BaseT & FRAD NANO-Hub with SNMP and RMON management

1106-22BT-2FL-FRAD-E
$4,835
22 Port 10BaseT, 2 Port 10BaseFL & FRAD NANO-Hub with SNMP management

1106-22BT-3FL-FRAD-E-RM
$5,735
22 Port 10BaseT, 2 Port 10BaseFL & FRAD NANO-Hub with SNMP and
RMON management

OPTICAL DATA SYSTEMS, INC. (ODS)

ODS sells a full range of intelligent switches, high-speed multi- protocol
routers, bridges, and sophisticated network management modules to large
corporations and government agencies that build very large and advanced
enterprise-wide information internetworks including LANs, MANs and WANs.
Its mainstay product, the ODS Infinity, supports switching of all four of
the industry standards -- Ethernet, Token Ring, Fiber Distributed Data
Interface (FDDI) and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). The Infinity
Switches provide superior local and remote SNMP-based management that
supports all groups of RMON for both Ethernet and Token Ring networks. ODS
is ISO 9001 certified and may be reached at (214) 234-6400 or on the
Internet at http://www.ods.com.
 
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