3Com Unveils Layer 3 Enterprise Switch

3Com

The networking hardware vendor's switch 4050, a fixed configuration Gigabit Ethernet Layer 3 switch, is designed for enterprise LAN cores, said Dave Smith, vice president of marketing for 3Com.

When 3Com's XRN Interconnect kit is available later this year, solution providers can create a distributed switch fabric by connecting the switch with another 4050 or with 3Com's other XRN-capable switches, the 4060 and the SuperStack 3 4900, for a resilient and scalable LAN core, Smith said.

Scheduled to be available in July, the switch 4050 will be priced at $15,995.

3Com's push back into the enterprise space is progressing, Smith said. Under the vendor's challenge program, which spiffs channel partners for allowing 3Com to competitively bid on projects specifying competing networking hardware, 3Com won 97 out of 335 deals worth some $2.2 million in the past quarter, Smith said. Another 176 of those 335 deals have yet to be signed, he added.

Smith said 3Com also is winning larger deals than in the past, citing two large school district projects worth more than $1.5 million each.

"We're back and we're taking share," Smith said. He could not reveal numbers in advance of the company's upcoming earnings report.

3Com reports results for its fourth quarter ended May 31 later today.