PLAINTREE ANNOUNCES A NEW CLASS OF SWITCH

Waltham, MA, September 25, 1995--Plaintree Systems, a leading supplier of
high-performance Ethernet LAN switches, announces the WaveSwitch 4+ family
of switches. The 4+ switches are a new class of Ethernet LAN switch. All
4+ switches have four 10Base-T switched ports PLUS integral high-speed
connectivity at ground breaking prices. Designed specifically for
workgroups and remote-office LANs that routinely experience server
overload, the 4+ switches provide performance relief that allows servers
to perform up to their maximum capacities. Until now, 10/100 switches,
consisting of a base unit with an added high- speed link, were generally
priced at $4500 and up. WaveSwitch 4+ switches, with a built-in high-speed
link, will be available for under $3000.

The WaveSwitch 4+4--the first member of the 4+ family--features four
wire-speed, minimum latency, switched 10Base-T ports and a four-port
100Base-TX bridged repeater. Where servers are stalled, the 4+4 provides a
shareable, high-speed, multiport, data pathway to relieve the congestion,
drive throughput, and shorten response time. Accelerating server or server
farm performance makes the WaveSwitch 4+4 an ideal tool for workgroups and
users on remote-office LANs.

"In an increasingly client/server world, a performance-enabling, high-speed
data path to servers is critical. There is also growing demand for smaller
switch configurations and lower price points. The WaveSwitch 4+ family
fills that need. At the same time, we continue to offer very full-featured
and flexible switches. The 4+ family supports high-end features such as
Spanning Tree, over 1000 MAC addresses, and a non-blocking ASIC-based
architecture. That's not true of many other low-cost switches," says John
Virden, VP Sales & Marketing for Plaintree.

Plaintree also manufactures and markets the WAVESWITCH 100, a high-
performance, wire-speed, store-and-forward departmental switch. All
Plaintree WaveSwitches are based on Plaintree-designed custom ASICs
(application-specific integrated circuits). The WaveSwitch 100 family has
two high-speed option slots. WaveSwitch 100 supports all high- speed
networking standards with the broadest selection of high-speed interfaces
in the industry. High-speed interface modules are available for FDDI,
100VG-ANYLAN, 100BASE-TX, and 100BASE-FX. Plans for ATM have been
announced. Plaintree also supports WAVEBUS, a cost-effective proprietary
fiber-optic Fast Ethernet technology.

Ethernet switches improve the performance of overburdened LANs by dividing
them into several less populated segments. Each segment is provided with
full LAN bandwidth. More capable switches, such as the WaveSwitch 100 and
WaveSwitch 4+ switches, also offer a variety of high-speed interfaces to
access shared devices and backbones, where most LAN bottlenecks occur.

The WaveSwitch 4+4 will be available in the fourth calendar quarter from
Plaintree or any of the company's authorized resellers or distribution
channels. Pricing will be announced when the 4+4 is available.

Plaintree Systems develops, manufactures and markets computer networking
products that improve the performance and simplify the management of
Ethernet networks.

Plaintree offers a range of products including Ethernet LAN switches and
100-Mbps fiber-optic networking adapters and bridges. Founded in 1988, the
company has its US headquarters in Waltham, MA, with research and
development, manufacturing, and customer service based in Ottawa, Canada.
For more information, contact Plaintree at 800- Plaintree or
617-290-5800.
 
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