PORTLAND, Ore. -- Apcon, Inc., a leading provider of intelligent physical layer switches for Fibre Channel, Ethernet and SONET, today announced it will provide a new zoning and security software option for its line of physical layer switches. IntellaZone Software enables network administrators and test engineers the ability to assign and secure switches, specific ports, or clusters of ports to individual users or groups. "Our physical layer switches, when used in conjunction with our multi-user software, are designed to allow multiple users to have access at the same time," said Richard Rauch, APCON president and CEO. "The new zoning and security features ensure that ports or switches in use cannot be mistakenly reconfigured. This is important when an engineer or network administrator is running a prolonged test sequence and needs to prevent unintentional network interruption." The zoning and security option works with APCON's Control Software for Windows and command line utilities to provide and restrict access to switches and ports based on user access rights. The security feature is activated on the switch level and is maintained within the IntellaZone Software. With this new capability, the switch software will route commands from unassigned users to unsecured switches. It will initiate commands for secured switches only after confirming the appropriate user-permission levels. In a separate release:Apcon, Inc., a leading provider of intelligent physical layer switches for Fibre Channel, Ethernet and SONET, today unveiled its business vision, which will drive the company's marketing and product roadmap. The company will focus its efforts on the interoperability test environment and network automation. In addition, Richard Rauch, APCON's founder and CEO, stated in a round of media interviews earlier this week that the company expects to see 100-percent year-over-year growth. APCON's spotlight on test lab and network management applications for physical network topology, such as Fibre Channel storage networks and SONET, is a shift for the 10-year-old company, which was founded on SCSI switches and related products. In 2000, APCON introduced its first 8-port physical layer switch. Since then, the company has expanded the product family to include 16-, 32- and 64-port models and a variety of software options; and lists its customer among the top companies in the Fibre Channel, military, telecom and datacom industries. Today Rauch is aiming the company and its growing line of layer-1 switches at a demand created by market conditions and the engineer's growing responsibility to do more with less. "Current market conditions are forcing more companies to cut budgets and staff. At the same time they are still driving innovation, upgrading features to their current generation of products and keeping to design and product schedules," said Rauch. "Our switches replace the quality test engineers lost in layoffs by offering a new level of automation; they offer a less expensive cost-per-port alternative to current test system solutions; and they provide the reliability needed to ensure component, product and network compatibility. In today's top companies, that equals getting products and services to market quicker than their competitors."Apcon Inc.