Bracknell, UK - April 28, 2008 - NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQGM: NTGR), a worldwide provider of technologically advanced, branded networking solutions, today announced the broadening of the company’s end-to-end portfolio of business-class networking and storage solutions with the introduction of five innovative smart switches, wireless and network-attached storage products at Interop 2008.
Designed to meet the needs of SOHO, micro businesses and growing small and medium businesses (SMB), NETGEAR will be displaying and demonstrating the new advanced business-class networking solutions in booth 1343 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Centre, April 29 to May 1, 2008.
NETGEAR is debuting five industry-first network solutions designed to meet the unique demands of growing SMBs including the ProSafe 24- and 48-Port Gigabit Smart Switches with Static Routing (GS724TR and GS748TR), ProSafe 24-Port Gigabit Smart Switch with Advanced Features (GS724AT), ProSafe 802.11n Dual Band Wireless Access Point (WNDAP330), and ReadyNAS Pro 6-Bay Gigabit Desktop Storage (RNDP6000). NETGEAR also announced major enhancements to its feature-rich PowerShift™ Partner Programme that will make it easier and potentially more profitable for VARs and solution providers to sell the industry-leading ProSafe family of end-to-end networking solutions.
For the second year in a row, NETGEAR is sponsoring the SMB Solutions Summit to ensure that the unique needs and interests of SMB network administrators and channel professionals are addressed at Interop 2008. NETGEAR executives will offer presentations on networking topics relevant to SMBs throughout the free three-day summit including: “Optimising Wireless LAN Deployment and Management for Growing SMB Environments,” “Security in the SMB Space,” and “Smart Switches vs. Managed Switches: Which is the Ideal Foundation for SMB Networks?” In addition, NETGEAR will host a variety of workshops at the booth focusing on the topics of switching, wireless networking, security, storage, and the PowerShift Partner Programme.
“With cutting-edge business applications such as VoIP, video conferencing, security, and VLANs achieving mainstream adoption among growing small and medium businesses, network administrators are facing the ever-increasing challenge of providing a reliable, cost effective, easy-to-use network infrastructure that supports the speeds and quality-of-service required by these demanding applications,” stated Patrick Lo, chairman and chief executive officer of NETGEAR. “NETGEAR has always focused on delivering value-packed solutions to the SMB market that combine the performance and functionality of enterprise-class products with the ease-of-use, scalability, reliability, and value that is critical to growing SMBs. We’re continuing to reinforce our dedication to the SMB market and the channel that serves it with the enhancement of our PowerShift Partner Programme and the launch of several first-to-market, advanced networking products that broaden our portfolio of end-to-end networking solutions to serve the needs of growing businesses with five to 250+ users. The combination of our robust product portfolio and value-packed channel programme will enable NETGEAR to further strengthen its position as the go-to provider for SMB networking solutions.”
Advanced Gigabit Smart Switches Enhance Security and Traffic Management NETGEAR’s new ProSafe Advanced Smart Switches (GS724TR, GS748TR and GS724AT), the newest additions to the award-winning family of ProSafe Gigabit Smart Switches, deliver robust security and enhanced traffic management and availability to growing networks in small- and medium-sized businesses. The feature-rich, high performance Smart Switches incorporate high quality of service (QoS) and high availability through an advanced features set establishing them as affordable, reliable, and easy-to-manage alternatives to fully-managed switches.
The ProSafe 24- and 48-Port Gigabit Smart Switches with Static Routing (GS724TR and GS748TR) are the first Smart Switches in the industry to provide static routing capability, enabling businesses to offload inter-VLAN routing traffic from the core to optimise bandwidth efficiency. The GS724TR and GS748TR feature
24 or 48 10/100/1000 ports and two or four shared SFP ports and support 32 static routes to enable inter-VLAN routing, manage broadcast storms more effectively and deliver tighter security.
The NETGEAR ProSafe 24-Port Gigabit Smart Switch with Advanced Features (GS724AT) provides management capabilities at an affordable price incorporating 24 10/100/1000 ports and four combination SFP ports for optional fiber connectivity for the deployment of bandwidth-intensive applications such as security, Voice over IP (VoIP), and video conferencing.
The Industry’s First Small Form Factor High-Performance Six-Bay NAS for the SMB The ReadyNAS Pro Gigabit Desktop Storage products are the newest and most powerful members of the ReadyNAS family of business-class network attached storage solutions. ReadyNAS Pro, the first six-bay small form factor NAS designed for the SMB market, delivers class-leading performance, high availability, ease-of-use, expandability, and serviceability to small- and medium-sized businesses to provide centralised network storage for up to 200 users.
ReadyNAS Pro enables users across the LAN or WAN to store, backup and share digital data from a combination of Windows, Macintosh and Linux platforms. High availability to stored data is ensured through dual-redundant Gigabit Ethernet ports and support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, and auto-expandable X-RAID2 provides robust protection against data loss from single disk failure.
First 802.11n Dual-Band Wireless Access Point for Small and Medium Businesses The NETGEAR ProSafe 802.11n Dual Band Wireless Access Point (WNDAP330) is a feature-rich dual-band wireless solution that enables small- and medium-sized businesses to enjoy the enhanced speed and coverage benefits of 5GHz 802.11n wireless technology and provides the ability to support existing legacy 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11a devices.
The WNDAP330, the first business-class dual-band wireless access point in the industry, delivers up to 10 times the coverage and 15 times the speed of 802.11g- based networks. The SNMP-manageable WNDAP330, which incorporates 802.3af Power- over-Ethernet (PoE) to eliminate power cables and simplify installation, is plenum rated for safe and convenient placement above drop-down ceilings and is ideal for deployment over large areas with support for point-to-point and point- to-multipoint bridging with Wireless Distribution System (WDS). A comprehensive security feature set includes support for WPA, WPA2, rogue AP detection, and 802.1x with RADIUS.
Improved PowerShift Partner Programme Offers Partners Expanded Services, Higher Profits NETGEAR’s PowerShift Partner Programme has been restructured to provide its channel partners with higher profits and a host of tools and services that make it easier to sell and support NETGEAR’s industry-leading family of ProSafe business-class networking products for small- and medium-sized businesses.
The enhanced PowerShift Partner Programme now includes four tiers with membership criteria based upon partner productivity. All NETGEAR resellers are eligible for the basic tier which provides and extensive list of reseller benefits, US-based technical support, sales and marketing assistance, and pre- and post-sales support. Based upon annual sales revenues, partners can become eligible for the PowerShift Gold, Platinum and Platinum Plus membership levels which provide added benefits including upfront product discounts, dedicated account managers, advanced network configuration technical support, and Market Development Funds (MDF).
