ODS INTRODUCES NEW SWITCHED ETHERNET/ATM OC3 HUB SERIES

The ODS Micro-Infinity Plus versions provide Ethernet to ATM OC3 Switching

Richardson, Texas - April 29, 1996 - Optical Data Systems, Inc. (ODS),
(NASDAQ-NMS:ODSI) today announced a new series of Ethernet to ATM OC3
switch versions of its new Micro-Infinity Plus switching hubs for Ethernet
and/or Token Ring local area networks. The new Ethernet/ATM155 (OC3)
switch module supports 12 switched Ethernet ports and an ATM OC3 uplink
port. This new switch module is supported in ODS' new family of
Micro-Infinity Plus switching hubs which accommodate 10 slots for either
Ethernet and/or Token Ring modules supporting up to 180 Ethernet or 160
Token Ring users from a single hub. The Micro-Infinity Plus family of hubs
is ideal for medium-sized work groups located on different floors of a
building or remote sites connected via a high-speed backbone.

"ODS' new design will allow us to support full bandwidth switched 10BaseT
Ethernet and ATM 155 as well as shared Ethernet and Token Ring networks in
a cost-effective work-group hub," said Joe Head, ODS Senior Vice
President. "In addition, the new Ethernet switch to ATM module provides
ATM Forum compliant LANE, classical IP, and support for network wide
VLANs' continued Head."

By supporting multiple VLANs per-port, multiple VLANs per device (by
protocol), and allowing single VLANs to exist worldwide - configuration
flexibility prevails over built-in obsolescence. This allows a single
server to be a member of multiple VLANs, dramatically reducing server
counts and costs. User definable policy management provides a level of
configuration control that makes these products superior to other me to
products with minimum capabilities. The ability to accommodate Ethernet,
Token Ring, FDDI, 100BaseT and various ATM technologies to the server or
desktop is an important element for meeting present and future networking
needs.

ODS' advanced VLAN capabilities will allow devices to be automatically
recognized as they move around the network, freeing the network
administrator from this time consuming task. ODS VLAN-Vision will
automatically maintain devices on the correct virtual LAN segment as the
devices are moved around on the network. A virtual LAN can include any
combination of media access control (MAC) types and can consist of a mix
of Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI and ATM connected devices.

There are security benefits within the ODS VLAN implementation that are
more secure than competitive products. Policy based VLAN configurations
with advanced management tools provide a method to increase security in
locations that may not require encryption. VLAN configurations should not
be limited by subnets or physical ports. They should allow users to
partition traffic based on predetermined profiles and user defined
parameters. The effective implementation of VLANs requires the
accommodation of multiple LAN types and the avoidance of unnecessary
packet fragmentation. This includes both internal firewalls to isolate
directed attack as well as detection of attempted attacks in progress. The
availability of Layer three (protocol based) VLANS is just one of five
different implementations of VLAN policy available. The ODS standards
based philosophy ensures that all products will interoperate and add
significant value in any environment.

For centralized management, the Micro-Infinity Plus supports advanced
In-Band, Out-of-Band and Side-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. The Micro-Infinity Plus is 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 a
high degree of remote-site manageability.

Many companies with large numbers of remote site offices often 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 Micro-Infinity Plus, with a network
management module installed, 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 Micro-Infinity
Plus takes 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 up until the point where 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 groups of RMON for Ethernet and Token Ring, and
a full 7-layer protocol decode capability in each switching hub. These
modules support core management for any of the Ethernet or Token Ring user
modules installed in the hub by working with any of the 9 groups of RMON
for Ethernet or 10 groups of RMON for Token Ring. 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
on multiple segments in one or more switching hubs across the entire
network.

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 card 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. This is particularly desirable for
operation of large national networks where automatic detection and
reconnection of faults keeps networks on-line with no service calls and no
down time.

IN-BAND, OUT-OF-BAND &AMP; SIDE-BAND MANAGEMENT

ODS Micro-Infinity Plus 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.
Like Out-of-Band management, Side-Band management uses a 10-Mbps Ethernet
segment on the hub's control bus that is separate from data traffic and
can be used for management and security purposes. Out-of-Band and
Side-Band are important because they don't impact the regular data path's
volume of traffic. Hubs and switches that perform network management using
the same backplane that handles data traffic can severely impact the
network's performance as well as skew the very statistics a network
manager is trying to analyze.

The In-Band, Out-of-Band and Side-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. It also allows managers to create multiple segments
on the network modules and backplanes to ensure that all network devices
receive sufficient bandwidth and automatically turn off any specific
segment in seconds should it begin to impact the network's performance.

In addition to the remote management capabilities and the modular switch
design, the solution provides zero down-time through 100% fault tolerance
of cables, load-sharing power supplies, and hot swapable networking
modules. ODS switching hubs allow easy maintenance and troubleshooting
with TELNET support to monitor and reconfigure hubs remotely; SLIP lines
allow reconfiguration of downed hubs, routers or servers over regular
phone lines; and, the capability of an ODS hub to backup an internal Cisco
router in case of router or trunk failure.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

The New Ethernet Switch/ATM Micro-Infinity Plus versions with Ethernet and
Token Ring backplanes is available immediately. Model number and pricing
information are listed below.

1120-12E2U --- $10,425

Micro-Infinity Plus 12 Port Ethernet/ATM OC3 Switching Module

11210-ES --- $595

10 Slot Micro-Infinity Plus Can Support 1120S-12E2U Ethernet Switch Module

1120-PS-LC2 --- $695

LC2 Power Supply for Micro-Infinity Plus. Only 1 Per Micro-Infinity Plus

1120-PS-R2 --- $995

R2 Redundant, Hot Spare Power Supply for Micro-Infinity Plus, up to Two per
Hub

OPTICAL DATA SYSTEMS, INC. (ODS)

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