NETGEAR Introduces New Family of Modular Fast Ethernet Switches for the Small Business Market

NETGEAR’s VAR Program continues to strengthen as product offering for small business grows

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – September 10, 2001 - NETGEAR Inc., a provider of home and business networking products, today announced the availability of the industry’s first unmanaged 48-port (FS750) and the company’s first 24-port (FS726) Modular Fast Ethernet Switches. The new family of switches enables users to migrate from fiber to copper networks, work with the flexibility to expand and grow their networks, and provide users with the technology to connect to the server or network backbone at Gigabit speeds. The FS700 series is the company’s first line of switches with higher port density and modular gigabit uplinks. NETGEAR is also enhancing its Powershift Partner Program for Solution Providers to accommodate the growth of its product offering for the small business market. The company offers a variety of services, including marketing, training, online service and support as well as direct senior level support for authorized Powershift partners.

“The introduction of NETGEAR’s FS750 and FS726 Modular Fast Ethernet Switches asserts our strategy of continuously providing reliable and easy-to-install networking products and are ideal for readily connecting many small business users to a choice of fiber and/or copper gigabit networks,” said Patrick Lo, president and chief executive officer of NETGEAR. “Attractively priced starting at $900 and below, the FS700-series further broaden NETGEAR’s family of industry-leading 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet networking products to satisfy the demands for performance, quality and ease-of-use for small business customers.

“Small businesses are interested in the latest performance benefits, but they are also concerned about price and compatibility with what they currently have,” said Raymond Boggs, vice president of Small Business research with IDC in Framingham, MA. Boggs noted that Netgear’s products address these concerns as well as those of the channels that provide small businesses with advanced technology. “According to a small business VAR survey we fielded August 2001, the leading criteria for deciding on vendors are reliability, performance and product support,” he said. “The Netgear family gives the channels the products they need to bring high-speed performance at affordable prices to small business and home office customers.”

The FS750 is the industry’s first unmanaged 48-port Modular Fast Ethernet Switch that allows up to 48 10/100 Mbps client users to connect to gigabit-speed servers and to gigabit-speed backbone networks that may be either fiber, copper or both. The two gigabit modular bays allow for the flexibility of the FS700 switches to connect to fiber and or gigabit networks when needs arise maximizing investment protection. The high-speed, auto-sensing, 10/100 Mbps ports of the FS726 and FS750 support Auto Uplink™ for ease-of-use and automatic configuration. Flow control technology based on the IEEE 802.3x standard prevents any packet loss and supports maximum network performance.

Built using advanced chip sets from Marvell/Gallileo the NETGEAR FS726 and FS750 ensure non-blocking, wire-speed filtering and forwarding of traffic, giving both switches maximum performance and the largest bandwidth available in the market today. Easy-to-read, front-panel LEDs show ongoing switch status and simplify troubleshooting.

“We are pleased that NETGEAR has selected Marvell as its provider of Networking Integrated Circuits (ICs) for the FS276 and FS750 products,” stated Gary Smerdon, Marvell's Vice President of Marketing for the Communications Business Group. “NETGEAR’s newly released products utilize our proven, high-performance, GalNet®-2+ switching chipset as well as our industry-leading Fast Ethernet and AlaskaTM Gigabit Ethernet physical layer (PHY) devices. The NETGEAR FS276 and FS750 switches will be showcased in Marvell's booth (#4330) at the N+I tradeshow in Atlanta, September 11th-13th.”

The NETGEAR FS700-series switches require zero configuration, come with a complete rack mounting kit and a 5-year warranty for the unit as well as the power supply, and are sold by the NETGEAR PowerShift partners, as well as other channels including catalogs and e-Commerce sites.

FS750 & FS726 Features & Benefits:

  • Capacity – 48 10/100 ports (FS750) and 24 10/100 ports (FS726), plus two uplink bays for copper or fiber gigabit modules give the network a huge boost of scope and power.
  • Flexibility – Two hot swappable front module bays accept either copper (AG711T, $250) or fiber gigabit uplinks (AG711F, $340), which allow flexibility as the network grows.
  • High Performance and Quality – The switches come with top-quality components and a high-performance chip set from Marvell/Galilleo.
  • Efficient – With non-blocking switch capacity, the switches can move data at wire speed over fiber or copper connections.
  • Reliable – Flow control technology based on the IEEE 802.3x standard prevents any packet loss.
  • Easy-to-Install and Ease-of-Use – The FS750 and FS726 are unmanaged, making it simple to install. Simply plug the unit in. LEDs located on the front panel make it easy to check the switch status and troubleshoot.
  • Auto Uplinkä – The Auto Uplink function automatically detects connection type (connection to PC or switch, hub or router).
  • Complete – All the parts needed to stack are included (cables & 19’’rack mount hardware for a value of over $100), making the FS750 and FS726 easy to order and easy to install.
  • Cost Effective – Both the FS750 and FS726 provide enterprise-class features in switches designed and priced for the small and medium business budget. Expected street price for the FS750 is $900, and expected street price for the FS726 is $600.
  • Availability – Catalog, Value Added Resellers, e-Commerce
  • Warranty – Five-year warranty for unit and power supply

About NETGEAR Inc.
NETGEAR provides easy-to-use, reliable networking solutions for homes and businesses worldwide. NETGEAR, a spin-off of Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT), is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. NETGEAR designs and develops products that enable home and small business users to share Internet access, peripherals, digital content and applications among multiple personal computers and other Internet-enabled devices. The company markets and sells its products through a global network of resellers, including more than 4,500 retail stores, mail order catalogs and online retailers. Additionally, NETGEAR offers customers free support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information visit the company's Web site at www.netgear.com or call (408.907.8000).