Asanté Technologies — a provider of network solutions for small offices/home offices, education (K-12 and higher education) and enterprises — is previewing their newest products, including what’s described as the world’s first NAT router with cache for sharing 10/100/1000BaseT network connections, at this week’s Macworld Expo in San Francisco. The company will also display several additions to its FriendlyNET and IntraCore product lines.
The FriendlyNET Internet Accelerator, targeted to businesses and educational environments, sports 10/100 Internet or local network connections with a high-performance caching engine that holds Web content in local RAM and hard disk. Asanté has also included a high-performance print server with local spooling to RAM and hard drive.
Plus, the company is releasing new FriendlyNET 2.0 firmware, a US$20 upgrade kit that will be available at the end of the month. In addition, Asanté is displaying the first Internet router with support for Apple Airport and other 802.11b wireless devices. The FriendlyNET FR3004AL includes a wireless access point and a Windows and Linux print server. Asanté said they’ve redesigned the FriendlyNET routers with more highly advanced features and that they now have more intuitive WAN choices.
Besides the Gigabit and Internet connectivity families, Asanté will also preview several additions to its IntraCore and Copper GBIC product lines. The new switches will include a choice of 8-12 Gigabit Ethernet ports, and modular GBIC Ports with a choice of unmanaged or Web-based management, along with multi-service capabilities. The modular GBIC Gigabit Ethernet ports are made for fiber or copper media.
Finally, Asanté is announcing upcoming availability of what it says is the world’s first Copper GBIC module, available next quarter. The Copper GBIC module is aimed at those who want to upgrade Asanté, Cisco, or other industry-standard Gigabit Ethernet switches to 1000BaseT — the new standard for Ethernet over UTP Cat 5 copper wires.
Most of the new products previewed this week will be available during the first quarter of 2001. And last month, Asante announced a Gigabyte Ethernet adapter and Mac OS X drivers.