3Com Is the Strong Leader in ‘Green’ Networking According to New Industry Research Report

3Com Is the Strong Leader in ‘Green’ Networking According to New Industry
Research Report

In-Stat Finds 3Com LAN Switches as much as 60% More Energy-Efficient Than
Competitors’

MARLBOROUGH, Mass., May 06, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — 3Com Corporation (COMS) today
announced that the independent research firm In-Stat has found that 3Com’s local
area network (LAN) switches are up to 60 percent more energy efficient, or
“green,” than competitors’ products. By deploying an industry-leading switching
solution from 3Com, customers can save money - and help the environment - by
using significantly less electricity to power their high-performance networks.

The report, “Green Networking Equipment: Who Leads and Who Lags,” says there are
“significant differences in the energy efficiency of similarly equipped switch
equipment” and that “as many businesses develop ‘green’ initiatives… IT
managers will be forced to absorb some degree of responsibility for their
organization’s power usage.”

The report confirms the success of 3Com’s program to reduce energy consumption
while increasing network functionality. “Businesses worldwide are looking for
effective ways to reduce energy use, both to save money and to conserve
resources,” said Scott Hilton, vice president of enterprise products for 3Com.
“Through innovative design, 3Com’s newest products use up to 78 percent less
power than previous switches. It’s gratifying that In-Stat recognizes 3Com’s
industry leadership in this important area.”

Making their networks more energy efficient is fast becoming a top priority for
CIOs. In an exclusive survey of IT executives published by CIO magazine in March
2008, 75 percent of respondents cited either reducing operating costs or a
commitment to social responsibility as the driver for making their IT operations
greener.

3Com’s David Law, chairman of the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Working group, said, “At
its March 2008 meeting, the IEEE P802.3az Energy-efficient Ethernet Task selected
a Low-Power Idle proposal for both 1000BASE-T and 100BASE-T. Work on selecting
proposals for the remaining objectives will continue at the upcoming May meeting
in Munich, Germany. Standards approval is targeted for March 2010.”

In-Stat calculated the energy efficiency of 24-port and 48-port switches from
leading vendors’ portfolios and 3Com products were the clear leaders in energy
efficiency in both categories.

A comparison of the fabric capacity (Gbps) per watt of 24-port Gigabit Ethernet
fixed, managed Layer 2 and 3 switches found that 3Com far outpaced the rest of
the industry by delivering approximately 3.25 Gbps per watt. No other vendor
delivers as much as 2.0 Gbps per watt, according to In-Stat.

Among 48-port Gigabit Ethernet fixed, managed Layer 2 and 3 switches, 3Com again
leads the field and is the only company able to deliver as much as 2.0 Gbps per
watt. In both categories, prominent vendors such as Cisco, HP ProCurve, Nortel
and Foundry were at or near the bottom of In-Stat’s rankings.

Ongoing Commitment to Green Technology

3Com is working continuously to deliver products that are even more
energy-efficient. A key element of the company’s green plan is the 3Com(R) Open
Services Networking (OSN) strategy. Applications run on Open Services Modules
(OSM) embedded within networking platforms, which makes it easy for enterprises
and service providers to deliver a variety of enhanced services without having to
deploy numerous single-task appliances that complicate network management, take
up valuable facility space, and consume excessive power. OSMs are currently
available for 3Com router platforms and are currently scheduled for switching
platforms later this year.

Facts About 3Com Green Switches

Over the past 18 months, 3Com has refreshed its Ethernet switching portfolio to
take advantage of innovative energy-efficient components and designs. The
company’s research shows that upgrading older switches can deliver significant
energy savings. For example, customers running a 3Com Switch 4070 Gigabit small
campus core switch who upgrade to the 3Com Switch 5500G switch will decrease
energy use by 29 percent. Likewise, moving from the Switch 4400 Fast Ethernet
edge switch to Switch 5500-EI family devices will enable businesses to reduce
energy consumption by approximately 60 percent.

A comparison with other vendors’ switches confirms 3Com’s energy efficiency
leadership. The 3Com Switch 4500G 24-Port Gigabit switch consumes 20 percent less
energy than the Cisco Catalyst 3560G-24TS and 11 percent less than the HP
ProCurve 3400cl-24G, based on published watts per switch power consumption
figures. The 3Com Switch 4500G 48-Port consumes 25 percent less power than the
Catalyst 3560G-48TS and 15 percent less than the HP ProCurve 3400cl-48G. The 3Com
Switch 4210 24-Port and Switch 4210 48-Port switches consume 30 percent and 17
percent less energy than the equivalent HP ProCurve 2510 24- and 48-port
switches.

About 3Com Corporation

3Com Corporation is a leading provider of secure, converged voice and data
networking solutions for enterprises of all sizes. 3Com offers a broad line of
innovative products backed by world-class sales, service and support, which excel
at delivering business value for its customers. 3Com also includes H3C
Technologies Co., Limited (H3C), a China-based provider of network infrastructure
products. H3C brings high-performance and cost-effective product development and
a strong footprint in one of the world’s most dynamic markets. Through its
TippingPoint division, 3Com is a leading provider of network-based intrusion
prevention systems that deliver in-depth application protection, infrastructure
protection, and performance protection. For further information, please visit
http://www.3com.com or the media site http://www.3com.com/pressbox.

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