Networking Hardware: Providing Faster And Easier Connections

When it comes to connectivity (networking), the demand is toward higher speed Internet connections, according to Jim Jones. Jones is Ethernet products marketing manager for 3COM (Santa Clara, CA). 3COM is a data networking company, with more than 13,000 employees worldwide and $6 billion in annual gross sales. Founded in 1979, the company's product mix includes desktop, PC card and wireless modems; hubs, routers and switches; Internet access devices and network interface cards. The majority of these products are sold through the reseller channel.

Higher Speed Internet Connections
Jones explains that the standardization of 56K modem technology (V.90 56K) has helped to drive the need for speed. "The modem and remote access hardware manufacturing companies support V.90 56K. Many businesses currently connecting with 28.8K modems are moving to V.90 56K," says Jones. The V.90 56K modem technology allows for on-demand connections, saving businesses, especially small businesses, a tremendous amount of money, Jones adds. In the past, the other options available for higher speed were a more expensive ISDN line or connection through local Bell telephone companies.

Fast Ethernet Speeds Up LANs
In addition to demanding faster modem connections, customers are also demanding faster connections within LANs (local area networks). For many years, the typical network speed in a LAN was 10 megabytes per second, also known as Ethernet or 10BaseT technology. The trend over the past two years, says Jones, has been a move to fast Ethernet, with a speed of 100 megabytes per second (100BaseT). "The transition to fast Ethernet is taking place at the desktop – PCs are coming equipped with 100BaseT technology," says Jones.

The POS Connection
With more retailers taking advantage of Internet opportunities, Internet connectivity – as well as store-to-store networking – is becoming increasingly important. "POS networking involves connecting peripheral devices, such as scanners, to PC-based systems and connecting stores to corporate headquarters," says Greg Helmken, product manager for Digi International (Minnetonka, MN). Digi International is a provider of data communication hardware and software for multi-user environments, remote access and LAN markets. The company has over 500 employees, with annual gross sales in excess of $200 million.

Helmken says that the USB (universal serial bus) standard is making connectivity easier for VARs. In the past, VARs would open up PCs to install serial cards to support peripheral devices. Now, with USB hubs, peripheral devices are simply plugged into the hub, which in turn is connected to a USB port on the back of the server. "This isn't changing overnight. You will still have serial port-based peripherals and USB does not have the bandwidth to support high-end servers yet," acknowledges Helmken. However, he feels USB has good potential in the POS market.

There is also a migration in POS applications towards Windows NT. "Applications are being written to NT, which allows for easier installation," says Helmken. He explains that some applications operating on NT can walk a VAR – or an end user – through installation of the application on a network. "You simply answer questions at the prompt," he explains.