3Com Delivers Unified Switch for Small and Medium Size Organizations

3Com Corporation has announced what it describes as the industry's first unified switch for small and medium businesses (SMBs) that converges wired and wireless networking functionality and includes Power over Ethernet (PoE) to support Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony on a single platform. The 3Com Unified Gigabit Wireless PoE Switch 24 is an easy to deploy and manage solution that is cost-effective and designed for SMBs that want all of the elements of a business-class network, as well as a platform for delivering advanced communications solutions such as wireless and VoIP, in one box.

Purpose-built for organizations with 5 to 250 users, the 3Com Unified Switch for SMBs enables organizations to manage all critical networking functions as one device because they are all integrated in a single unit. 3Com designed the switch to deliver up-front and ongoing cost savings when compared to competitive solutions that don't offer the same level of functionality in one box, or are not seamlessly integrated. 3Com says that the switch is ideal for SMBs that have limited resources dedicated to managing and upgrading their network.

"3Com has delivered the first, Gigabit-class unified switching solution for the SMB market that we've tested," said Kevin Tolly, president, the Tolly Group. "The Unified Switch proved in testing that it offers Gigabit-speed throughput, PoE support and ease of management for small and medium sized organizations that are seeking to upgrade their out-of-date networks and want to protect their investments as they add functionality to support their growing businesses."

According to a company statement, the 3Com Unified Switch for SMBs offers all of the wired and wireless functionality critical for a secure, convergence-ready SMB network, including:

* Full, Layer 2 line rate gigabit speeds with zero packet loss across all 24 ports;
* Full 802.3af Power over Ethernet support available on each of its 24 ports;
* Auto-voice VLAN capability;
* 802.1X authentication;
* Wireless WPA2 security and AES encryption;
* Rogue wireless access point detection and mitigation;
* Wireless fast roaming and automatic load balancing across managed APs; and
* Support for emerging standards such as 802.11n

The 3Com Unified Switch for SMBs can be fully managed via a Web interface that features a simple five-click set up wizard, or by the CLI, Telnet, Console and SNMP interfaces if desired. By providing a single box solution, 3Com believes that both customers and VARs have the opportunity to realize cost savings when compared to solutions that require multiple boxes.

"Our partners and end users are constantly looking for differentiated solutions to help them compete effectively and operate efficiently. The convergence of wired and wireless voice and data communications and security enable new levels of interaction with customers, employees and business partners that fuel increased productivity and success," said Nikos Koutsoukos, director of Product Line Management for SMB at 3Com.