Bay Networks, IBM and 3Com Announce Network Interoperability Alliance

Joint LAN Specifications To Be Implemented, Making Connectivity Easier With
Greater Standardization

SANTA CLARA, CA, May 20, 1996 . . . Bay Networks, IBM and 3Com Corporation
announced an alliance today to help customers simplify, standardize and
enhance the design and deployment of local area networks (LANs) through
open, common product interoperability specifications and testing.

LAN customers often face a bewildering variety of device specifications,
technologies and different standards, which has complicated product
selection and can hinder network deployment and growth. Today's agreement
will help people make greater use of current networking opportunities and
enable them to better capitalize on networking's enormous future
potential.

These common and open specifications will enable customers to build more
fully integrated networks spanning LANs, routing, internetworking, and
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). The three key layers for building LANs
involve desktop computers and servers, edge and core networking devices,
and network management. The three companies' architectures are already
designed around these three levels and so provide a common foundation for
greater product interoperability. Networks using the most demanding
applications need the super speeds which switching provides in order to
offer the highest performance and quality.

"This interoperability announcement will enable customers to select and
integrate best-of-breed technologies that will deliver the performance and
quality of service essential to next-generation applications," said Andy
Ludwick, president and CEO of Bay Networks. "The commitment on the part of
these three companies to build superior LAN products that have been
pre-tested for interoperability, moves the industry a significant step
forward."

"Customers will benefit immediately from greater interoperability. They
will be better able to plan for meeting the requirements of network
expansion and complexity. Those customers that I've personally spoken to
are delighted to hear that Bay Networks and 3Com have joined with IBM to
create this interoperability program," said Lutz Hahne, general manager,
IBM Networking Hardware Division.

"This plan marks a comprehensive step toward integrating desktops and
servers and edge networking devices and core networking devices into a
simplified and open networking environment," said Eric Benhamou, chairman
and CEO of 3Com. "This three-level architectural approach acknowledges the
installed base of hub and desktop devices,and lets users evolve their
networks from where they are, without the need for wholesale change.
Simplified, open networks have always been 3Com's philosophy, and we are
excited to be working IBM and Bay Networks."

"This is a brilliant way to help customers like myself who have to
integrate and manage heterogeneous LANs. I have networking gear from each
of them at Foxwoods, and this approach will make my life easier," said
Jerry Wyble, MIS manager at Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, CT.

"As networks become more complex, customers face increasingly difficult
issues related to standards and compatibility," said Nick Lippis,
president of Strategic Networks Consulting, Inc. "This announcement
provides a forum for addressing these interoperability challenges and is a
welcome move for the industry."

The initial standards that the companies plan to implement constitute the
foundation of today's rapidly growing networks and which provide a path to
those in the future. The companies plan to adopt key strengths of BaySIS*
from Bay Networks, Switched Virtual Networking (SVN)* with Multiprotocol
Switched Services (MSS)* from IBM, and Transcend* from 3Com to help
customers build more fully integrated solutions. As with other industry
standards such as Ethernet, the framework is open for others to adopt. The
key specifications and technologies are zero hop routing, IEEE 802.1 p and
q standards, and Integrated Private Network to Network Interface
(I-PNNI).

Zero hop routing means desktop computers and servers in different parts of
a network can communicate with the same efficiency and performance as if
they were in the same part of the network. The three companies plan to
extend this concept into both LAN and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
environments. ATM enables voice, video, graphics, and data to be
transmitted over the same lines at super speeds and eliminates the need to
build costly, separate networks to handle each of these types of data
separately. Zero hop routing leverages existing ATM Forum LAN emulation
and IETF standards.

The IEEE 802 Executive Committee recently approved the development of a new
Virtual LAN (VLAN) interoperability standard to be known as 802.1q. The
standard will go beyond earlier approaches to VLAN interoperability,
including 802.10, in that it covers not only frame formats, but also rules
for mapping packets to VLANs, packet forwarding, loop detection
protocols,quality-of-service parameters,management architecture and MIBs.
The result will be a flexible, comprehensive solution for interoperable
VLANs, making them easier to define and to deliver better performance.

I-PNNI is a single routing protocol for both ATM and existing
internetworking layer protocols like Internet Protocol (IP). IP's growth
is explosive as more businesses deploy Intranet and Internet solutions.
I-PNNI is one of the key components of work needed to bring real-time and
quality-of-service-sensitive IP applications to end users.

In April, the PNNI Working Group of the ATM Forum passed a proposal to
begin work on the I-PNNI standard. This means I-PNNI will become the core
technology for integrating the two worlds of IP and ATM, so that IP users
can receive the benefits of ATM in a more cost-effective manner.

The three companies will propose these specifications to standards
organizations like the IEEE, IETF and ATM Forum. Bay Networks, IBM, and
3Com will work with them to achieve broad acceptance of this approach to
the design and deployment of LANs. Other companies will be contacted to
solicit their support. The specifications are open and non-proprietary,
and any vendor may adopt them.

The companies will also jointly test their LAN products to ensure
interoperability, so customers, who often buy these devices from all three
firms, can be confident that their purchases can be integrated. So many
products from the three companies are already installed in networks around
the world that customers also value the commitment to backwards
compatibility or compatibility between old and new devices.

Further information can be found in the technical white paper that the
companies are distributing today. The companies will also publish this
document on the Internet. This and other data can be obtained through
these Home Pages: www.baynetworks.com, www.raleigh.ibm.com, www.ibm.com,
and www.3com.com or by contacting the companies at
ccarleto@baynetworks.com, tbelz@vnet.ibm.com or
ben_gibson@3mail.3com.com.

Bay Networks, Inc. is a worldwide leader in the internetworking market,
providing a full line of products that serve enterprises, workgroups,
small offices, and mobile workers. The company offers market-leading LAN
and ATM switches, hubs, routers, remote and Internet access solutions, and
network management applications, all unified by the BaySIS architecture.

IBM's Networking Hardware Division (NHD) develops and manufactures
leading-edge networking technologies and products. Headquartered in
Research Triangle Park, NC, NHD also provides consultation, education,
service, and support worldwide to help customers achieve their business
objectives.

3Com Corporation has helped more than 28 million people gain access to
critical information through high-speed networks. Designed to serve large
enterprises, small offices and homes, 3Com products provide a scalable
architecture to meet the immediate and long-term connectivity needs of
today's user. With research and developments on three continents, 3Com is
one of the data networking industry's largest and fastest growing
companies.
 
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