3Com Launches H3C S5800, Industry’s First ‘Flex-Chassis’ Enterprise Switch Series

Offers modular resiliency and flexible service delivery in a fixed form factor for edge, aggregation or core network deployment at a disruptive price point

KUALA LUMPUR, May 12, 2009—As part of today’s global introduction of its H3C large-enterprise networking portfolio, 3Com Corporation (Nasdaq: COMS) is introducing the industry’s first “flex-chassis” enterprise switch family, the H3C® S5800 Series. The S5800 offers exceptional port density—up to 192 10-Gigabit ports or 640 Gigabit Ethernet ports—and supports embedded extensible application services including security, wireless and monitoring.

The S5800 is designed to enhance network reliability, lower customers’ total cost of ownership (TCO) and improve application delivery, and to fulfill 3Com’s promise to customers they no longer have to compromise on network performance and features because of budget constraints.
The S5800 establishes a new category of enterprise switches, which 3Com calls “flex-chassis”—the first product that can function as a modular chassis as well as a fixed-form-factor stackable switch. The S5800 delivers unmatched flexibility, enabling enterprises to deploy it at any layer of the network—from the edge to the aggregation layer to the core, as well as top-of-rack in the data center—with “no-compromise” performance and functionality.

The S5800, and the entire H3C enterprise networking portfolio, was designed with a future-proof architecture using the industry’s latest technology. Based on open standards, the S5800 provides 3Com customers with a platform that is easily extended as future innovations become available. Using merchant silicon instead of proprietary ASICs, the H3C portfolio features the most modern and low-power chipsets available. A commitment to developing products that use far less power than the industry average means enterprises not only can reduce capital expenditures by deploying the H3C portfolio, they also can spend less money on energy to run their networks. This results in an average 33 percent reduction in TCO with 3Com’s H3C solutions.
Facts/HighlightsH3C Switch 5800 Series provides exceptional flexibility:
· High-performance, high-density, ultra-flexible switching with industry-leading price/performance.
· Innovative design makes the S5800 Series the ideal choice for scalable Gigabit Ethernet and 10-Gigabit connectivity with extensible embedded application services at any layer of the network.
· Multiple switches can be deployed and managed as a single connective virtual fabric—even when the switches are geographically dispersed—which substantially increases port density.
· At the access layer, the S5800 Series delivers high-density Gigabit connectivity with optional support for full Power over Ethernet (PoE) on all ports.
· At the aggregation layer or core, high-density, wire-speed 10-Gigabit connectivity provides “pay-as-you-grow” flexibility and rapid deployment capabilities.
· As a top-of-rack data center solution, cut-through switching provides the low latency required for many business-critical applications.
· Key H3C S5800 benefits:
o Lower TCO by design enables business continuity (network reliability/availability) and reduces operating costs through:
§ Resilient hardware features, including dual, swappable power units, hot swappable fans and I/O modules that are typically only found in modular core platforms.
§ Resilient software features, including Intelligent Resilient Framework (IRF) and Rapid Ring Protection Protocol (RRPP), greatly increase availability, resiliency, performance and back-up, and disaster recovery applications:
· IRF delivers local and geographically distributed high-availability, resiliency and traffic load balancing. It enables enterprises to build a “pay-as-you-grow” network core, seamlessly adding 10-Gigabit and gigabit ports to expand density as needs evolve.
· RRPP delivers ultra-fast recovery (sub-50ms failover) to ensure no dropped voice or video.

§ High port density (more ports equals fewer switches to deploy) and efficient cooling reduce energy consumption.
o Future-proof capabilities:
§ Add and change service modules as the network grows or connectivity and capacity needs evolve.
§ Add additional embedded applications—such as security, management and wireless—via 3Com Open Services Networking (OSN) modules.
§ Full dual-stack IPv4 and IPv6 routing.
o Defense-in-Depth Security:
§ The S5800 works in concert with security platforms to serve as a powerful security enforcement point. It can limit bandwidth to certain applications or shut down ports completely.
§ Supports embedded extensible services for high-performance security.
o Models and Configurations:
§ Models include a 24-port fiber chassis and 24- and 48-port Gigabit chassis with available PoE. All feature four SFP+ 10-Gigabit ports and one expansion module slot.
§ The S5800-60C-PWR is a 48-port, triple-speed model with PoE that includes two expansion module slots and comes with one OSN module. Its port-density can increase to 80 Gigabit or 12 10-Gigabit ports, offering enterprises tremendous flexibility.
§ The S5820X-28S is a 1 RU 24-port 10G switch.
§ The S5820X-28C is a 2RU flex-chassis switch that delivers high-density 10G and Gigabit connectivity.
§ Expansion modules range from 2/4-port 10G SFP+ to 16-port 100/1000 Base-X SFP modules.

Ease of Management with the Intelligent Management Center
· The S5800 is built on the H3C Comware operating system and managed by the H3C Intelligent Management Center (IMC). It also features full CLI and Web management capabilities.
· IMC is built on a modular Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) design that enables effective integration of traditionally separate management tools, providing complete management of resources, services and users.

Pricing and availability
· All models of the S5800 will be available worldwide in July 2009. U.S. list pricing starts at $6,495 for the S5800 and $17,995 for the S5820.