page_title: 3Com
section_title: Founding and early days (1979–1996)
hierarchical_section_title: 3Com / History / Founding and early days (1979–1996)
caption_attribution_description: English: 3Com 3C509BC Ethernet NIC from 1994. 10BASE2, 10BASE5 (15-pin AUI) and 10BASE-T connectors. 16-bit ISA card. Deutsch: "Combo"-Netzwerkkarte von 1994 mit 10BASE2, AUI und 10BASE-T.
context_page_description: 3Com Corporation was a digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network products. The company was co-founded in 1979 by Robert Metcalfe, Howard Charney and others. Metcalfe explained the name 3Com was a contraction of "Computer Communication Compatibility", with its focus on Ethernet technology that he had co-invented, which enabled the networking of computers.
  3Com provided network interface controller and switches, routers, wireless access points and controllers, IP voice systems, and intrusion prevention systems. The company was based in Santa Clara, California. From its 2007 acquisition of 100 percent ownership of H3C Technologies Co., Limited —initially a joint venture with China-based Huawei Technologies—3Com achieved a market presence in China, and a significant networking market share in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. 3Com products were sold under the brands 3Com, H3C, and TippingPoint.
  On April 12, 2010, Hewlett-Packard completed the acquisition of 3Com, and it no longer exists as a separate entity.
context_section_description: Metcalfe subsequently co-founded 3Com in 1979. The other co-founders were Metcalfe's college friend Howard Charney and two others. 3Com began making Ethernet adapter cards for many early 1980s computer systems, including the DEC LSI-11, DEC VAX-11 and the IBM PC. In the mid-1980s, 3Com branded their Ethernet technology as EtherSeries, while introducing a range of software and PC-based equipment to provide shared services over a local area network (LAN) using XNS protocols. These protocols were branded EtherShare (for file sharing), EtherPrint (for printing), EtherMail (for email), and Ether-3270 (for IBM host emulation).
  The company's network software products included:
  3+Share file and printer sharing.
  3+Mail e-mail.
  3+Remote for routing XNS over a PC serial port.
  NetConnect for routing XNS between Ethernets.
  MultiConnect (?) was a chassis-based multi-port 10BASE2 Ethernet repeater.
  3Server, a server-grade PC for running 3+ services.
  3Station, a diskless workstation.
  3+Open file and printer sharing (based on Microsoft's LAN Manager).
  Etherterm terminal emulation.
  Etherprobe LAN analysis software.
  DynamicAccess software products for Ethernet load balancing, response time, and RMON II distributed monitoring.
  3Com's expansion beyond its original base of PC and thin Ethernet products began in 1987 when it merged with Bridge Communications. This provided a range of equipment based on Motorola 68000 processors and using XNS protocols compatibly with 3Com's Etherterm PC software.
  CS/1, CS/200 communication servers ("terminal servers")
  Ethernet bridges and XNS routers
  GS/1-X.25 X.25 gateway
  CS/1-SNA SNA gateway
  NCS/1 network control software running on a Sun Microsystems computer
  By 1995, 3Com's status was such that they were able to enter into an agreement with the city of San Francisco to pay $900,000 per year for the naming rights to Candlestick Park. That agreement ended in 2002.
caption: 3Com 3C509BC (Etherlink III) Ethernet NIC from mid-1990s with 10BASE2, 15-pin AUI and 10BASE-T connectors.
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