* 3Com introduces several Gigabit Ethernet switches at low prices
3Com this week introduced several Gigabit Ethernet switches that the company calls “entry-level.”
The switches are aimed at small enterprise firms, with low cost and relatively low functionality, but also high bandwidth. 3Com is selling the switches on the premise that while you may not need Gigabit Ethernet today, at these prices you might as well get a 10/100/1000M bit/sec switch so you can grow into it.
And yes, the cost is pretty interesting – the company is projecting a street price of $30 per Gigabit Ethernet port for one of its new switches, the OfficeConnect Gigabit 5, shipping next month. It has just five ports and runs at Layer 2 – but if you’re hooking a small group of clients or servers together with Gigabit Ethernet, it might be worth a look.
In addition to the five-port OfficeConnect switch, 3Com is introducing a model with eight ports of 10/100M bit/sec Ethernet and a Gigabit uplink for about $100 that’s expected to ship this month.
Moving up the food chain a bit, 3Com unveiled the Switch 2816 and 2824, which have 16 and 24 Gigabit Ethernet ports, respectively. Those switches are unmanaged and are expected to ship in August for $60 per port.
3Com also announced the Switch 3824, a managed version of the 24-port Gigabit switch, expected at $100 per port in August.
Meanwhile, the company continues to struggle financially. 3Com this week divulged that it expects enterprise network equipment sales to decline as much as 25% from its previous quarter to the one that just ended May 30, due to “weakness in International regions and competitive pressures.”
