sunflash-Distributed to mailing list sun/NC/north-carolina sunflash-Send requests, problems to owner-sunflash@suntri.east.sun.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Florida SunFlash Networking Companies Form Fast Ethernet Alliance SunFLASH Vol 56 #4 August 1993 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 56.04 Networking Companies Form Fast Ethernet Alliance Eight leading networking companies including SMCC, announe the creation of the Fast Ethernet Alliance. The Alliance was formed to support the standardization and interoperability of 100Mbps Ethernet CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection) protocol solutions. The main objectives in announcing the Alliance were to build a momentum and evangelize our solutions over HP/AT&T's 100 Base-VG solution. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact: Art Edmonds, SMCC Marketing at (415) 336-6757 NETWORKING COMPANIES FORM FAST ETHERNET ALLIANCE Multi-Vendor Group Developing Open, Interoperable Specifications Portland, Ore., Aug. 2, 1993 -- Leading networking companies today announced that they have joined forces to form the Fast Ethernet Alliance, a multi-vendor effort committed to prividing customers with open, cost-effective and interoperable 100Mbps Ethernet solutions. The Alliance supports the CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection) protocol of the original Ethernet standard. The Effort brings together 3Com Corp, Grand Junction Networks, Intel Corp., Lan Media, National Semiconductor, SMC, Sun Microsystems Computer Corp., SynOptics Communications Inc. and other industry vendors. Specifications developed by Alliance members will be submitted to the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.3 standards committee, furthering efforts to standardize 100Mbps Ethernet technology. This announcement comes on the heels of the July 15 IEEE 802 meeting in Denver, at which time the IEEE approved the CSMA/CD project. At the same time, more than 80 members representing 50 companies voted unanimously to retain CSMA/CD in the 802.3 subcommittee. The Fast Ethernet Alliance was formalized around common objectives -- to extend the existing Ethernet standard in response to industry demand for increased network bandwidth, and to address customer needs for interoperability among a breadth of Fast Ethernet products. The Alliance is committed to providing interoperable 100Mbps specifications for multiple wiring structures, offering customers the flexibility to choose from among UTP Category 3, 4, 5, Type 1 STP and fiber structures. "Interoperability is critical to the successful evolution of a Fast Ethernet technology that meets real customer needs now and in the future," said Paul Sherer, chairman of the Fast Ethernet Alliance and director of technology development at 3Com. "The Alliance is committed to providing open specifications and supporting the establishment of interoperability test procedures and processes." Preserving the core CSMA/CD protocol enables vendors to assure customers of a natural, safe and cost-effective migration path to 100Mbps Ethernet technology. Key to this is achieving high performance at a low cost. The Alliance's goal is to give customers 10 times the performance of today's 10Base-T products at about twice the cost. In addition, solutions that support 100Mbps CSMA/CD specifications will not require special training or new expertise to implement and manage. "Whenever you have a significant network installed, the last thing you want to do is make a decision that may compromise its integrity," said Ed Schaider, president of the network consulting firm Schaider & Associates in Los Gatos, Calif. "You can't afford to put it at risk, so you look for standards. Fast Ethernet is familiar, backwards-compatible, high-speed and the right price. That's powerful stuff." Members of the Fast Ethernet Alliance have been working jointly at defining several 100Mbps Ethernet specifications. Their effort have been refined into standard proposals that have been presented to the IEEE. Alliance members are developing open 100Mbps specifications that address customer needs by integrating with their existing and future networking environments. Today, bandwidth-intensive applications such as data transfer, graphical interfaces, document management, CAD/CAM and emerging multimedia technologies are driving the need for 100Mbps Ethernet. The Alliance's approach to fast Ethernet solutions will support enterprise- wide networks and existing network management products, as well as provide a bridge to other existing and emerging technologies, such as ATM (asychronous transfer mode) and FDDI (fiber distributed data interface). The Fast Ethernet Alliance is expected to exist until formal standardization of 100Mbps CSMA/Cd is complete and the relevant standards have been published by the IEEE. ********************************************************************** For information about SunFlash send mail to info-sunflash@Sun.COM. Subscription requests should be sent to sunflash-request@Sun.COM. Archives are on draco.nova.edu, ftp.uu.net, sunsite.unc.edu, src.doc.ic.ac.uk and ftp.adelaide.edu.au All prices, availability, and other statements relating to Sun or third party products are valid in the U.S. only. Please contact your local Sales Representative for details of pricing and product availability in your region. Descriptions of, or references to products or publications within SunFlash does not imply an endorsement of that product or publication by Sun Microsystems. Send brief articles (e.g. third party announcements) and include contact information (non-800#, fax #, email, etc) to: John McLaughlin, SunFlash editor, flash@Sun.COM. +1 305 351 4909