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Latest StrataXGS® III Gigabit Ethernet Switches Enable Network Admission Control and Support Microsoft's Network Access Protection Policy Enforcement Technology
IRVINE, Calif., Jan 22, 2007 -- Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced a new generation of multi-layer Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) switches designed to improve enterprise network security through a highly scalable and easy-to-manage security infrastructure. This latest generation of Broadcom® StrataXGS® III Gigabit Ethernet switches features new BroadShield™ security technology, which enables network admission control (NAC) and supports Microsoft's Network Access Protection policy enforcement technology to achieve dramatically improved network security and manageability when compared to existing solutions.
Network security is one of the top concerns for enterprise IT network managers, given the prevalence of hacking, malware and inside security threats, as well as, the need to comply with government regulations. It is a challenge to implement security profiles for one user, let alone an enterprise network with hundreds, or thousands, of users. Additionally, IT professionals prefer standards-based solutions (versus proprietary solutions) to ensure interoperability between multiple hardware and software vendors. As a result, next-generation switching solutions must keep pace with the ever changing security threats in enterprise networks, and the underlying security infrastructure must be cost-effective, as well as easier to implement and manage.
Announced today is the Broadcom StrataXGS III BCM56510 series of multi- layer Gigabit Ethernet switches, a follow-on series to the company's widely deployed BCM56500 series. All products in the BCM56510 series are equipped with BroadShield security technology, a multi-layered security framework that includes a robust set of standards-based features to dramatically improve security while delivering unmatched scalability. The key security features include standards-based authentication, user quarantine, denial of service (DoS) attack prevention, 'man in the middle' attack prevention, spoofing prevention, and support for advanced access control lists (ACLs).
"The breadth of security features in Broadcom's BroadShield technology addresses our customers' needs for a more robust and scalable enterprise security infrastructure," said Eric Hayes, Director of Marketing, Broadcom Enterprise Switching line of business. "Broadcom is setting the stage for standards-based networks where endpoints and switches can interoperate in today's complex multi-vendor environment."
Through BroadShield technology, Broadcom's new BCM56510 series of GbE switches is designed to support Microsoft Network Access Protection. Network Access Protection is a policy enforcement technology built into the Windows Vista and Windows Server, codenamed "Longhorn" operating systems that allows customers to better protect network assets from unhealthy computers by enforcing compliance with network health policies. Microsoft's Network Access Protection technology is publicly available with trial versions of Windows Vista, and available to select partners and customers with Beta 2 of the future version of Windows Server, codename "Longhorn."
"Standardization of network security is a topic that needs to be addressed, pairing the hardware at the chip level with the software that runs the network," said Mike Schutz, Group Product Manager - Security and Access, at Microsoft Corp. "Broadcom is one of the companies that is laying the groundwork for standardization by developing new technology that will support Microsoft's vision for network security."
The BCM56510 series, with BroadShield technology, also enables network admission control (NAC), which governs how security policies are enforced on any device on the network with the goal of minimizing the damage from emerging security threats. IT managers employing NAC have the ability to control network access for any client that accesses the network (for example, a PC, PDA or other endpoint device), granting the appropriate level of access based on the classification of the endpoint device.
"Integration of security into hardware will significantly enhance performance and lower costs while ensuring the integrity of the network infrastructure," said Chris Crowell, EVP Research & Development, Enterasys Networks. "Broadcom's new switch silicon enables us to cost-effectively further our integrated hardware and software developments to automatically sense and respond to network security threats in a way that is practical, achievable, and delivers rapid time to value."
BroadShield Security Technology
Broadcom's BroadShield security technology is a multi-layer security framework that enables a scalable network security architecture with simplified network management. BroadShield utilizes a unique flow-based user- classification framework that allows IT managers to enforce secure policies on a packet-by-packet basis without complicated administration of a large numbers of rules. The overriding benefit is the ease at which these secure profiles are implemented and proliferated through the network, regardless of the scale of the user base.
The key features of the new StrataXGS III BCM56510 series include:
- Advanced Layer 2 (L2) switching and Layer 3 (L3) routing, including IPv4/IPv6
- BroadShield security technology addresses enterprise security with ContentAware™-based scalable ACLs, port-level L2 and L3 security, integrated and enhanced DOS prevention mechanism, and L3 traffic virtualization
- Microsoft Network Access Protection support enables robust network admission control (NAC)
- Virtual router technology provides secure virtualization of network traffic
- Tunneling schemes such as IPv6 over IPv4, ISATAP, IP over IP, etc., provide a variety of transition mechanisms
- High-end IP multicast for video/audio distribution, web conferencing, etc.
- Supports eight classes of service (CoS) with sophisticated scheduling mechanism
- Robust 802.1ad support enables scalable carrier access
The new Broadcom StrataXGS III BCM56510 series (BCM56510, BCM56511, BCM56512, BCM56513 and BCM56514) is now sampling to early access customers. The StrataXGS III family features a mature, widely adopted software API, which is common across the entire product line and supported by multiple third-party software vendors. BCM56510 series reference designs are available to help speed time-to-market and include software, schematics, layout files and related documentation. Product pricing is available upon request.
About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Our products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. Broadcom provides the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of- the-art system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything®.
Broadcom, one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies with 2005 revenue of $2.67 billion, is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at 1-949-926-5000 or at http://www.broadcom.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
All statements included or incorporated by reference in this release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward- looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and business, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.
Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with StrataXGS III Gigabit Ethernet switch products include, but are not limited to, general economic and political conditions and specific conditions in the markets we address, including the volatility in the technology sector and semiconductor industry, trends in the broadband communications markets in various geographic regions, including seasonality in sales of consumer products into which our products are incorporated, and possible disruption in commercial activities related to terrorist activity or armed conflict in the United States and other locations; uncertainties as a result of the company's previously-disclosed ongoing review of its practices in respect of options/equity grants to employees, and the publicized more general review of option grant practices throughout the technology and other industries by public regulatory bodies, and potential changes in accounting and other practices resulting therefrom; the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Broadcom's technologies and products in the markets for enterprise networking applications; delays in the adoption and acceptance of industry standards in those markets; the timing, rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer orders and our ability, as well as the ability of our customers, to manage inventory; the gain or loss of a key customer, design win or order; our ability to scale our operations in response to changes in demand for our existing products and services or demand for new products requested by our customers; intellectual property disputes and customer indemnification claims and other types of litigation risk; our ability to specify, develop or acquire, complete, introduce, market and transition to volume production new products and technologies in a cost- effective and timely manner; our ability to retain, recruit and hire key executives, technical personnel and other employees in the positions and numbers, with the experience and capabilities, and at the compensation levels needed to implement our business and product plans; problems or delays that we may face in shifting our products to smaller geometry process technologies and in achieving higher levels of design integration; competitive pressures and other factors such as the qualification, availability and pricing of competing products and technologies and the resulting effects on sales and pricing of our products; the timing of customer-industry qualification and certification of our products and the risks of non-qualification or non-certification; our ability to timely and accurately predict market requirements and evolving industry standards and to identify opportunities in new markets; changes in our product or customer mix; the volume of our product sales and pricing concessions on volume sales; the availability and pricing of third party semiconductor foundry, assembly and test capacity and raw materials; fluctuations in the manufacturing yields of our third party semiconductor foundries and other problems or delays in the fabrication, assembly, testing or delivery of our products; the risks of producing products with new suppliers and at new fabrication and assembly facilities; the quality of our products and any remediation costs; the effectiveness of our expense and product cost control and reduction efforts; the risks and uncertainties associated with our international operations, particularly in light of recent events; the effects of natural disasters, public health emergencies, international conflicts and other events beyond our control; the level of orders received that can be shipped in a fiscal quarter; and other factors.
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Broadcom Trade Press Contact
Gennis Lafayette
Public Relations Manager
408-543-3413
gennisl@broadcom.com
Broadcom Investor Relations Contact
T. Peter Andrew
Vice President, Investor Relations
949-926-5663
andrewtp@broadcom.com
Broadcom Technical Contact
Ammar Khan
Senior Product Line Manager
408-922-8251
ammark@broadcom.com
SOURCE Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Enterprise Networking
Gennis Lafayette, Public Relations Manager, Broadcom Trade Press Contact, +1-408-543-3413, gennisl@broadcom.com; T. Peter Andrew, Vice President, Investor Relations, Broadcom Investor Relations Contact, +1-949- 926-5663, andrewtp@broadcom.com; Ammar Khan, Senior Product Line Manager, Broadcom Technical Contact, +1-408-922-8251, ammark@broadcom.com
http://www.broadcom.com
