Content area
Full Text
Maybe someone should tell token-ring users that the industry is in the midst of a stackable hub craze.
Sales of stackable, fixed-port hubs for token-ring nets actually fell for the third straight quarter, bucking a trend among users to snap up stackable hubs that has been fueled largely by Ethernet hub sales, according to market research firm Dataquest, Inc. here.
While nonstackable, chassis-based hubs for token-ring nets have shown growth during the past couple of quarters, shipments of stackable workgroup and remote office token-ring hubs have fallen steadily.
Tam Dell'oro, a senior industry analyst at Dataquest, said the market's softness may be related to a broader move away from token ring to Ethernet due to a variety of factors. Among other things, token-ring products are typically more expensive than their Ethernet counterparts.
"In many cases, branch offices can't afford to spend...