3Com Corp has announced a 16-bit Ethernet adaptor designed for high-traffic network servers, workstations based on Intel 80386 and 80486 microprocessors, and 80286 personal computers. EtherLink 16 supports the NDIS Network Driver Interface specification developed by 3Com and Microsoft to define how adaptors communicate with the network operating system; it is supported by 3Com’s Open Management Architecture network management system, and it will operate with the recently announced heterogeneous local area network management specifications under development by 3Com and IBM (CI No 1,466). Installation and maintenance are significantly simplified, claims 3Com, because the the adaptor is configured completely with software and therefore can be reconfigured, when necessary, without tools or opening its hardware chassis. EtherLink 16 operates in XT- and AT-alikes, PS/2 Models 25 and 30, and EISA bus computers. EtherLink 16 is $450 in single-packs and is also available in packs of five at $1,975.
