One of SA`s oldest law firms, KwaZulu-Natal-based Shepstone & Wylie, has embarked on a upgrade to its information technology infrastructure to meet increasing workload demands and streamline internal processes.
"A key requirement was to increase the speed of our network to keep pace with its growth and bandwidth requirements," says Theran Manthiri, IT manager at Shepstone & Wylie.
The choice of 3Com products was based on a successful relationship with the vendor and came after a competitive evaluation process, notes Manthiri.
From a technical perspective the upgrade featured the addition of 17 high-speed 3Com 10/100Mb switches (3COM SuperStack 3 Switch 4400 units) together with the installation of two new servers and the implementation of Novel Netware 5.1 software.
In addition to the primary Novel network, Shepstone & Wylie also has a Microsoft NT network to handle its SQL database and a Groupwise Mail Server.
Because of the need to accommodate high workloads and transfer rates on three primary systems, three 1Gb ports on one of the 4400s were incorporated to connect directly to the servers.
Commenting on the Shepstone & Wylie installation, Chris van Niekerk, country manager at 3Com SA, says 3Com is committed to delivering innovative high-speed, feature-rich enterprise solutions that combine reliability with high performance.
"We remain focused on delivering solutions that are easier to use and more affordable to own," he says. "At a time when performance, functionality and affordability are equally under scrutiny in the boardroom, this approach to network solutions makes good business sense," he concludes.
* 3Com has recently launched a new 48-port version of its SuperStack 3 Switch 4400, originally unveiled in June 2001. This unit provides twice the port density so lowering the total cost for customers, says 3Com.
The vendor says that installation of the switches is quicker because of a feature that automatically sets the devices` IP address, which is the first step in setting up a network.
In addition, a "Webcache redirection" capability in its software facilitates network integration of a SuperStack 3 Webcache device to speed up Web access.
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