SCIENCE

3Com Corporation today announced that in an independent performance test conducted by The Tolly Group, one of the most influential testing validation firms in North America, the 3Com(R) Switch 5500G-EI proved to be a superior alternative to the Cisco Catalyst 3750G-48TS switch for enterprise-class switching capabilities. According to the test results, the switch also proved to be interoperable in a Cisco network. This is a key feature for medium-to-large enterprises seeking to incorporate high-performance, cost-effective and convergence-ready LAN switches into either their Cisco-based or non-Cisco-based networks. Additionally, the 3Com Switch 5500G-EI earned The Tolly Group's "First & Foremost" distinction as the first switch in its class with Power over Ethernet (PoE) in a stackable Gigabit switch to power Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, IP security cameras, wireless access points and other PoE-enabled devices. "3Com rose to the challenge of developing an outstanding LAN switch that delivers the high performance and enterprise-class features necessary for supporting and enhancing application performance, while at the same time maintaining the standards-based approach that truly benefits enterprise customers," said Kevin Tolly, president/CEO and founder of The Tolly Group. "Given the prevalence of multi-vendor networks driving the need to conform to standards to ensure interoperability, 3Com's approach is impressive in terms of combining innovative technology with standards-based support, simplifying implementations, enforcing security and automating administrative tasks within a resilient network." The Test Results The Tolly Group conducted a benchmark performance comparison between the 3Com Switch 5500G-EI family and comparable Cisco LAN switch, which are considered by enterprises for supporting real-time business applications, such as Voice over IP. Among the devices tested, the 3Com Switch 5500G-EI proved to offer not only a full range of features in demand by enterprises today, but also the highest performance with minimal frame/packet loss - a crucial benefit for maintaining the availability of business applications. "Our 3Com Switch 5500G-EI is ready for prime time against any competitor in enterprise bids for LAN switching worldwide," said Brian Allain, vice president of 3Com's Data Business Unit. "After major investments over the past year in expanding our LAN switching portfolio for the enterprise market, we knew that we had something very special with the Switch 5500 family. Now, we have verifiable proof of our claims. Enterprise CIOs and IT managers who traditionally choose Cisco will have to question whether they have chosen the best product on the market today. This Tolly test proves that it's worthwhile to take another look." Highlights of The Tolly Group's testing results follow: -- 3Com Switch 5500G-EI demonstrated superior (lower) frame loss when compared against the Cisco Catalyst 3750G, both at Layer 2 and Layer 3. In addition, the 3Com switch offered as much as three times the frame forwarding-performance of the Cisco 3750G. -- 3Com Switch 5500G-EI earned seven "Tolly Verified" certifications as a LAN Switch with "core" network functionality, including verification of Quality of Service and Power over Ethernet support (both highly important in converged network environments), and earned six "Tolly Verified" certifications for user management and system security, including 802.1X security and Dynamic VLAN Assignment capabilities. Certification earned in the tests confirm the capability of the Switch 5500G-EI to enforce both security and application service levels for demanding enterprise environments. -- 3Com Switch 5500G-EI earned "First & Foremost" distinction for PoE support in a stackable Gigabit Ethernet switch, demonstrating the highest PoE port density in a 48-port stackable Gigabit switch with full 15.4W PoE on all 48 ports. The test also verified that the Switch 5500G-EI can provide power to other vendors' 802.3af standard PoE devices and pre-standard Cisco-branded VoIP phones. -- 3Com Switch 5500G-EI proved to recognize IP phones automatically (when the phones are connected to the switch) and dynamically place them in a dedicated voice VLAN (virtual local area network), which can enforce higher security and Quality of Service for VoIP traffic on a converged network. 3Com is a leader in secure converged networks. 3Com's enterprise product portfolio ranges from one of the industry's broadest wired and wireless infrastructure lines and scalable VoIP-based convergence solutions to industry-leading Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) security solutions. The Switch 5500 family is an important component of secure converged networks, as it provides the network "intelligence" and security-optimized features to give enterprise customers world-class features and capabilities for networking. The complete Tolly Group test report is available at its Web site.