Alexandria, Virginia-based Microdyne Corp – the buyer of Novell Inc’s unconsidered hardware trifles, has introduced what it claims to be the first Ethernet switch to provide four switched 10Base-T ports and four shared 10Base-TX ports – the Eagle Switch 4X4. Features include dynamic buffer allocation, Simple Network Management Protocol management, a serial port for remote access and field- upgradable EEPROM. The Eagle Switch 4X4 is expected to cost less than $2,600. Microdyne also announced a new plus series of Ethernet adapters with full duplex and Fast Frame Xchange technology using Advanced Micro Devices Inc’s PcNet – PCI II and PcNet-AT Ethernet controller chips. The three adapters are the NE2500plus with both RJ45 and BNC connectors; the NE2500Tplus for AT 10Base-T users; and the NE5500plus, a 32-bit PCI Ethernet adapter with RJ45 and BNC connectors. All three adaptors also include Plug-n- Play software and DMI. The company said the products are now starting to ship with price tags for the Net2500plus, Net2500Tplus and the Net5500plus of under $100, $90, and $120 respectively.
