We know, that the Centillion 1000 Series was produced from NEC Japan, saving an extraordinary level of quality, never seen before in the computer business. This was a suprise.

BAY NETWORKS ANNOUNCES in December 1, 1997
The new ATM WAN ACCESS Switch.
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Bay Networks announced two ATM access concentrators and two ATM Media Dependent Adapter (MDA) switch modules for its Centillion 100 and System 5000/5005BH switch platforms. The MX200 access concentrator, which is available in 12-slot or 16-slot configurations, supports channelized T1/E1, T3/E3, OC-3c, and a variety of serial interfaces. The MX50 is a four-slot ATM access concentrator designed for regional and branch office environments. Both products offer advanced traffic-shaping and an Adaptive Queue Management algorithm. Bay Networks' ATM Media Dependent Adapter (MDA) switch modules accept either one or two 2-port daughter card MDAs to offer a total of four switch ports. The MDA daughter cards provide media support via multi-mode fiber, single-mode fiber, and unshielded twisted pair (UTP) interfaces. (http://www.baynetworks.com)
Bay Networks, December 1, 1997

While the product of a merger that occurred nearly three years ago, Bay Networks appears to still be defining itself as a unified company in the fiercely competitive networking industry. Bay was formed by the October 1994 merger of SynOptics Communications, a leading supplier of intelligent hubs, and Wellfleet Communications, a major manufacturer of internetworking products. Since then, Bay has made a number of small acquisitions, and now offers a full line of products for high-performance networks, including intelligent hubs, routers, local area network switches, remote and Internet access solutions and sophisticated management software. Similarly, the networking industry as a whole has been consolidating as  participants   seek to better compete against the broad solutions-based product offerings of market leader Cisco Systems.

In 1996, BAY made several small acquisitions. It acquired privately-held NetICs Inc., a maker of high-performance Fast Ethernet switches; the Digital Signal Processing (DSP) modem business of Penril Datability Networks; LANcity Corp., a leading vendor of cable modem technology; Tel Aviv-based Armon Networking, a global provider of RMON-based distribution analysis tools and multi-segment LAN probes;
and Performance Technology, Inc., a leader in LAN-to-Internet access for small and medium offices. Its larger acquisitions during 1995 included: Xylogics, Inc., a provider of remote access products for corporate networks, in exchange for 8.4 million common shares; and Centillion Networks, Inc., a leading provider of Token Ring switching products, in exchange for 5.9 million (adjusted) common shares.