Long Branch, NJ - October 12, 1999 - Shore Microsystems announced today the addition of a redundant firewall firmware package to its SM-2503 Redundant Ethernet Link Protector. The firmware will now allow "mission critical" firewalls to switch to backup firewalls without loss of data and handles addressing problems which have plagued these types of switchovers in the past.

The SM-2503, which was released in 1998, has become popular in smaller Ethernet networks that require a very high level of redundancy but do not have large port counts. The entire series "25" line of Link Protectors offer maximum protection for Ethernet networking equipment by monitoring primary links and quickly switching to a backup port before network applications and protocols are affected.

The SM-2503’s unique three protected port size offers the perfect port count for firewall applications. The Firestorm firmware monitors specific interactions between ports to allow a primary firewall, backup firewall, and a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) Network to coexist and failover while never allowing traffic crossover and security breaches. In a recent statement Gordon Elam, President of Shore Microsystems said "The SM-2503, equipped with firewall firmware upgrade, is now poised to become the standard by which firewalls will now interact with their backups."