Delivering on its promise to lower overall cost of ownership of LAN infrastructure products for small- to medium-sized networks, SMC Networks (SMC) has released its EZ Switch Large Workgroup (LW) to the local market.Greg Perkins, country manager of SMC South Africa, says the new switch combines practical management with Ethernet and Fast Ethernet switching and high port density in an affordable package. "EZ Switch LW offers 24 standard and two Fast Ethernet ports along with the usual AUI jack for alternate media connections via transceiver," he says.The new product support both `cut-through` and `store-and-forward` modes of switching and all models employ a non-blocking switching fabric and can forward data simultaneously to up to 27 different network segments. "Extensive buffering gives these switches the capability of to connect any pair of segments, whether they`re running at 10 or 100 Mbps, full- or half-duplex," adds Perkins."These new rack-mountable 10BASE-T products contain `at-a-glance` LEDs for easy installation and network monitoring as well as an easy-to-read histogram display to measure network utilisation," he adds.The ports may be configured individually for half- or full-duplex operation; and the 100BASE-TX ports, for Auto-Negotiation. "Using full-duplex operation it is possible to double the bandwidth of server and switch connections, thereby increasing the aggregate bandwidth of your network to as much as 900 Mbps," he says.The product is a member of the SMC EZ Line of low-cost solutions for basic LAN connectivity and are backed by solid customer service and support. "SMC currently offers two distinct product lines providing customers with a choice within a single source, depending upon their network infrastructure," says Perkins.The SMC EZ line of LAN solutions deliver low-cost, plug-and-play network cards, hubs, and stackable hubs, as well as desktop and workgroup switches, containing basic performance features.The company`s Tiger line spans the same product categories as the EZ range but is designed for managed LAN growth. These high-performance, feature-rich products are competitively priced and offer enhanced functionality such as hub-based segmentation and integrated switching, as well as management capabilities including SNMP and RMON."The greatest concern of among small and medium-sized companies is finding affordable LAN solutions which minimise or eliminate the headaches associated with network downtime," continues Perkins. "That is why we developed the EZ line of products - to provide quality LAN solutions with the lowest possible cost of ownership in terms of entry price, performance, reliability, dependability, as well as service and support when it is needed."SMC Guarantees SatisfactionAll of the products in the SMC EZ Line are covered by SMC`s unique Customer Satisfaction Guarantee. This guarantee consists of four components: a 30-day money back satisfaction guarantee; a 24-hour cross shipment product replacement policy, pre- and post-purchase toll-free technical support and limited lifetime warranty.
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