ASSURING INTEROPERABIL ITY 1

Assuring Interoperability

Interoperability Pays

Just like the rail user of the 19th century, companies today need to extract the benefits oflower cost, faster deployments and improved competitive position through their investmentsin information technologies. They need to:

• Reduce CostInteroperability lets enterprises buy from any competitive vendor and select based onthe best service, product terms, and assured functionality.

• Increase Deployment SpeedNo company can afford to wait for critical features from a single vendor. Interoperabilitylets businesses quickly adopt new technologies available from dozens of vendors andget to execution and implemention of strategies at a faster pace.

• Improve Competitive PositionLow cost, quick deployment, and the use of advanced applications and technology givebusinesses the edge as they compete for customer accounts and loyalty.

The Lesson Learned

The decade of the 1850’s saw the railroad industry experience a period of explosive growthin miles, dollars invested, and a great variety in track gauges or widths; as many as elevendifferent variations by 1855. Additionally, there were significant differences in rails— someT-rail, some iron-capped wooden rail, and some unlike either of these two.

By 1865 the diversity of track width made cross-country shipping virtually impossible.Every package had to be loaded and unloaded at every network intersection point,increasing the cost, risk of damage or loss, and lengthening the trip to the point wheregoods often spent more time transferring than traveling.

It took thirty-five years for the industry to overcome non-standard rail widths to enablethe smooth and safe transport of goods and people across the country.

3Com Corporation, Corporate Headquarters, 350 Campus Drive, Marlborough, MA 01752-3064

To learn more about 3Com solutions, visit www.3com.com. 3Com is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol COMS.

Copyright © 2004 3Com Corporation. All rights reserved. 3Com, the 3Com logo, and NBX are registered trademarks of 3ComCorporation. VCX is a trademark of 3Com Corporation. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respectivecompanies. While every effort is made to ensure the information given is accurate, 3Com does not accept liability for any errorsor mistakes which may arise. Specifications and other information in this document may be subject to change without notice.

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Interoperability Assurance

3Com takes a unique approach to interoper-ability. Instead of simply making our newproducts work with our existing products, wedemonstrate degrees of assurance for othercompanies’ products too. Either we test themor they test them and in both cases we makeour test results available for your review. Ourinteroperability commitment involves:

Standards ComplianceIndustry standards play an important role indefining the guidelines that allow multivendorproducts to work with each other. 3Com is aleading provider of Session Initiation Protocol(SIP)-compliant solutions and actively partic-ipates in interoperability testing sponsoredby the SIP Forum.

Internal Interoperability Testing As part of the rigorous internal 3Com qualityassurance processes, 3Com performs ongoingtesting of the hardware and software—serverhardware, IP telephony software, switches,routers, telephone handsets, and a complexsuite of software applications—that itprovides its customers.

Third-Party Product Interoperability The 3Com® Voice Solutions Provider Program(VSPP) was developed to expand the marketfor our products and services by workingwith industry leading third-party developersto document product interoperability. TheThe program offers two levels of participation.

Reseller-Approved Level

Third-party solution providers work with a3Com Authorized Voice Reseller to test andvalidate the compatibility of third-partyproduct offerings with 3Com IP telephonyplatforms. Among the specified requirements,resellers and solution providers must documentand complete an agreed upon test plan andgive 3Com customers timely access to testedproduct offerings.

3Com-Approved Level

3Com works directly with selected partnerson an invitation-only basis to verify interop-erability of third-party products with the 3ComVCX™ and/or NBX® IP telephony platforms.This level of approval is designed to give 3Comcustomers access to a selected set of solutionsthat have been fully tested under a wide rangeof configurations.

3Com VSPP members includeEasyRun: call center solutionsEsna Technologies: converged messaging BrightArrow Technologies: speech recogni-tion executive assistant softwareCrystalVoice: toll-quality Voice over theInternet (VoIP)IVoice: speech-enabled auto attendantPulver: wireless SIP-enabled mobile phone Qovia: IP telephony management toolsTCN: IP telephony implementation servicesTelRex: VoIP call recording and monitoring

Interoperability With Multivendor Products Beyond the VSPP program, 3Com solutionsundergo regular interoperability testing withmarket leading third-party products to ensurea high level of interoperability.

Sample of 3Com® VoIP Compatibility-Tested ProductsThis following list is a representative sampleof the third-party products that have beentested with 3Com VoIP products at variousindustry interoperability events and show-cases. Visit www.3Com.com for the mostcurrent partner and tested-product data.

• Asterisk SIP proxy derver

• Audiocodes MP108 and M1K FXS/O 8-portanalog gateway

• AudioCodes Mediant 2000 digital gateway

• Avaya SIP server and devices

• Cisco SIP server and devices

• Grandstream HandyTone 486 ATA

• Hughes Software Systems user agent

• Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, Taiwan) user agent

• Ingate SIParator 40 SIP firewall

• Interstar T.38 fax server

• Iptel.org SER SIP proxy server

• LeadTek user agent SIP phone

• M5T user agent softphone

• Microsoft user agent hard/softphone

• Mitel 5055 hardphone

• Mitel 5220 hardphone

• NetScreen Layer 2 SIP firewall/policy enforcer

• NexTone Softswitch, SIP/H.323 converter anduser agent and proxy

• Nokia user agent softphone

• Nortel SIP server and devices

• NTT SIMPLE UA using S/MIME

• Pic-tel AVP2000

• Pingtel xpressa

• Polycom conference bridge user agent

• Pulverinnovations WiSIP phone

• Radcom user agent simulator

• Radvision user agent

• Siemens SIP phone

• SIPquest

• SNOM 200 SIP phone

• Spirent Communications Abacus 5000

• XTen softphone

• Yokogawa IPv4-IPv6 translator

3Com—Changing the Way Business Speaks

Formed in 1979 at the convergence of Computers, Compatibility, and Communications, 3Comhas always been committed to interoperability. Our focus helps us deliver solutions that reducecost, speed implementation, and strengthen competitive position. The interoperability lessonsof 19th century railroads are clear. So as your company considers the requirements for an IPtelephony system, interoperability becomes a required feature. And what could be more naturalthan to look to 3Com for the advantages of IP telephony solutions. After all, compatibility isour middle name.

For more information, visit www.3com.com, call 877-IPT-3COM, or write evs_deal@3com.com.