News Releases

New Workgroup Switch Family Provides Lower-Cost and Increased Performance for Workgroup and Backbone Applications

ATLANTA, GA

Oct 21, 1998 00:00 AM

New Workgroup Switch Family Provides Lower-Cost and Increased Performance for Workgroup and Backbone Applications

In response to customers' requests for low cost Fast Ethernet connectivity to the desktop and high-performance Gigabit Ethernet connectivity to servers or backbone networks, Hitachi internetworking, a unit of Hitachi Computer Products (America), Inc., today announced at Networld+Interop the introduction of the HiSpeed 170 10/100/1000 Ethernet Switch product family.

With a switching architecture that supports a throughput of 4.2Gbps and a targeted street price of under $95 per port, the HiSpeed 170 delivers one of the most outstanding price/performance profiles of any 24-port Fast Ethernet switch product available on the market today.

With a switching architecture that supports a throughput of 4.2Gbps and a targeted street price of under $95 per port, the HiSpeed 170 delivers one of the most outstanding price/performance profiles of any 24-port Fast Ethernet switch product available on the market today.

With a switching architecture that supports a throughput of 4.2Gbps and a targeted street price of under $95 per port, the HiSpeed 170 delivers one of the most outstanding price/performance profiles of any 24-port Fast Ethernet switch product available on the market today.

"The increasing popularity of the Internet, corporate intranets and new, high-bandwidth client-server applications continues to drive an increasing customer demand for network bandwidth. Hitachi internetworking is committed to providing our customers with cost-effective networking products that satisfy this demand," stated Felix McNulty, Worldwide Director of Sales and Marketing for Hitachi internetworking.

"The introduction of the HiSpeed 170 product family is a clear demonstration of this commitment. Furthermore, by integrating the HiSpeed 170 products with Hitachi's recently announced Windows NT servers, Hitachi is one of the few vendors on a world-wide basis that is capable of delivering end-to-end network computing solutions based on the most popular technology standards."

The base model of the HiSpeed 170 features 24 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet ports that deliver a frame-forwarding rate of 3.5 million packets per second to support outstanding switch performance even with all 24 ports transmitting simultaneously in full-duplex operation. Other models in the HiSpeed 170 product family offer dual Gigabit Ethernet uplinks for high performance server connections, uplinks to a backbone network or high-speed switch-to-switch interconnects.

In addition to providing high-speed connectivity, the HiSpeed 170 also offers advanced, standards-based traffic management, including support for IEEE standards 802.1Q, 802.1p and 802.3x, which define VLAN tagging, traffic prioritization and flow control functionality, respectively. As a result, the HiSpeed 170 can deliver these advanced traffic management features even when participating in a multi-vendor network configuration, as long as the other vendor's products also support these IEEE standards.

The HiSpeed 170 offers a variety of device management and monitoring features. The switch can be configured and monitored using various methods, including SNMP, a graphical web browser interface or Telnet console. Furthermore, the HiSpeed 170 includes support for DHCP and BootP protocols to simplify address administration when using these devices in a large network. The HiSpeed 170 also supports port mirroring as well as RMON groups 1,2,3 and 9.

The HiSpeed 170-100-24, configured with 24 10/100 Fast Ethernet ports, will be available in November at a suggested list price of $2,995. The HiSpeed 170-100-24-2SX, configured with 24 10/100 Fast Ethernet ports and dual Gigabit Ethernet uplinks, will be available in Q4 '98. The HiSpeed 170-100-24-2FX, configured with 22 10/100 TX and 2 100 FX Fast Ethernet ports will be available in Q1 '99.

The HiSpeed 170-100-24, configured with 24 10/100 Fast Ethernet ports, will be available in November at a suggested list price of $2,995. The HiSpeed 170-100-24-2SX, configured with 24 10/100 Fast Ethernet ports and dual Gigabit Ethernet uplinks, will be available in Q4 '98. The HiSpeed 170-100-24-2FX, configured with 22 10/100 TX and 2 100 FX Fast Ethernet ports will be available in Q1 '99.

Hitachi is uniquely positioned to provide all the key components needed for end-to-end enterprise network computing solutions. Hitachi PC's recently announced VisionBase servers and Hitachi Data Systems' Freedom Storage(tm) subsystems complement the entire line of ATM, Fast Ethernet and Gigabit switches for workgroup and enterprise environments available from Hitachi internetworking.

These products are available to the channel from Hitachi PC and Hitachi Data Systems, respectively. Visit the Hitachi booth No. 937 at the Networld+Interop tradeshow in Atlanta, Georgia, Oct. 19-23 for more information on Hitachi's family of end-to-end enterprise solutions

Hitachi internetworking was formed in 1995 as a unit of Hitachi Computer Products (America), Inc. to develop network switching products for the U.S. and worldwide markets. Based in Santa Clara, Calif., the unit has more than 100 employees. Hitachi Computer Products (America), Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi America, Ltd.

Hitachi America, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., Japan, markets and manufactures a broad range of electronics, computer systems and products and semiconductors, and provides industrial equipment and services throughout North America. For information on Hitachi in North America, please visit http://www.hitachi.us/.

Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 1997 (ended March 31, 1998) consolidated sales of 8,417 billion yen ($63.8 billion(a)). The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., please visit Hitachi's Web site at http://www.hitachi.co.jp

Note*:At an exchange rate of 132 yen to the dollar.