3Com Corp, Santa Clara, California, has revealed more details of its forthcoming LinkSwitch extension modules, first announced last December (CI No 2,358), for the LinkBuilder MSH hub chassis (CI No 2,213). Both products will also be delivered in the company’s SuperStack family (CI No 2,416). The Switched Fast Ethernet-to-10Mbps Ethernet LinkSwitch Module will provide microsegmentation on the floor. It is designed to meet the needs of power users on dedicated 10Mbps Ethernet local area networks, with 100Mbps Fast Ethernet bandwidth for local servers or to local server farms via backbone switches, such as the company’s LANplex offerings, says 3Com. The product will enable users to mix repeating and switching in the chassis by installing multiple switching modules in a single LinkBuilder MSH. It will be out in the first half of next year, with prices being revealed nearer the time. The switched Asynchronous Transfer Mode-to-10Mbps Ethernet LinkSwitch module will integrate Ethernet local area networks into an Asynchronous Transfer Mode infrastructure, essentially migrating the technology from the LinkSwitch 2700 SuperStack product (CI No 2,623) into the MHS. It will support the ATM Forum’s standard local area network emulation and virtual local area networks across the enterprise, and is aimed at buildings and campus backbones in organisations that need scalable bandwidth, says the company. It is still on schedule to ship in the second half of this year but has not been priced yet. 3Com has also announced that it is to deliver Ethernet RMON support in its LinkBuilder MSH and FMS hubs. Support for all nine Ethernet RMON groups will be available this quarter, with distributed RMON support following next quarter. The extra functionality will also be available to exist ing customers as a free software upgrade, 3Com promises.
