Cabletron Systems
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| Fate | Dissolved |
|---|---|
| Successor | Enterasys Networks Riverstone Networks Aprisma Management Technologies Global Network Technology Services |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Founder | Craig Benson Robert Levine |
| Headquarters | Rochester, New Hampshire |
| Products | Networking devices, ethernet products, switches, routers, software |
Cabletron Systems was a manufacturer of networking computer equipment throughout the 1980s and 1990s primarily based in Rochester, New Hampshire, in the United States. They also had manufacturing facilities in Ironton, Ohio and in Ireland. Cabletron's design and sales methodologies dramatically reduced the cost of Ethernet networking equipment, covering a wide range of Layer 1 and Layer 2 networking technologies within a unified product line.
Cabletron was founded in 1983 in a Massachusetts garage by Craig Benson (who later became New Hampshire's governor) and Robert Levine. As manufacturing and design operations expanded, Cabletron relocated to Rochester, New Hampshire, employing 6,600 people at its peak and in 1996 the company eclipsed $1 billion USD in sales. Cabletron found its first success in the 10BASE5 Ethernet market, providing the ST-500, the first Ethernet transceiver that featured diagnostic LEDs, and the LAN-MD, the first commercially viable field-deployable 10BASE5 test set. The early products were critical in the history of Ethernet as 10BASE5 Ethernet was generally difficult to operate and maintain and cabling problems were especially difficult to diagnose. Following on this early success, Cabletron developed one of the first modular Ethernet hubs, the MMAC-8 (and its smaller siblings, the MMAC-5 and the MMAC-3) at the time that 10BASE-T was becoming standardized. By developing high-density 10BASE-T modules (24 or 48 ports per slot), Cabletron was able to reduce the price per port of these hubs to a very affordable level, and by introducing a custom Element Management System known as Prism, made the MMAC-8 easy to maintain.
As Cabletron expanded its reach in the networking business, they initially moved into Layer 3 routing by partnering with Cisco, co-developing a Cisco router that would fit into the MMAC-8 hub. Cabletron ultimately developed its own routing capability, but found it increasingly difficult to compete at the low end of the Ethernet market and continue to invest in high-end routing technology.
Recognizing this fact, Cabletron reorganized as a holding company in 2000, hoping to apply appropriate focus to the different parts of its business as they had evolved over time. The holding company was set up to control four networking firms:
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