Following through on the announcement of its Transcend network management architecture, Santa Clara, California-based 3Com Corp has started shipping the Transcend LinkBuilder Token Ring Manager for NetView 6000, HP OpenView and SunNet Manager. The OS/2 version was launched last September. Transcend is said to support the Remote Network Monitoring Token Ring standard, enabling users to support RMON when they are running the relevant Unix management systems on 3Com’s LinkBuilder Focus chassis-based and TR Series of Token Ring stackable hubs. 3Com claims that while Remote Network Monitoring products are generally very complex and require a high level of technical expertise, Transcend LinkBuilder Token Ring Manager provides tools to make Remote Network Monitoring data easier to use. Examples quoted include real-time graphical views; a dashboard-style interface to performance statistics gathered by the management agents, including network utilisation, error levels, and activity on each ring; and a network history tool, which gathers historical statistics for individual stations or the entire network at 30-second intervals for up to two weeks. The NetView/6000, HP OpenView and SunNet Manager versions are priced at $5,000. The OS/2 version is to have a list price of $3,000. 3Com has also announced the first customer shipments of Transcend network management applications for its Transcend LinkBuilder FMS Manager for Windows (for Ethernet stackable hubs) and Transcend NetBuilder Manager (version 2.0) for SunNet Manager. FMS Manager lists for $500, with NetBuilder Manager 2.0 for SunNet Manager retailing for $3,000. It says that customers using earlier versions of NetBuilder management for SunNet Manager can upgrade to the new version for $1,000. NetBuilder internetworking software – the current version 6.2 – is also required. Pricing for the software ranges from $350 to $2,000, depending on the software features provided and the hardware supported.
