Ungermann Bass

Ungermann-Bass, Inc. (also known as UB or UB Networks) was a Santa Clara, California-based computer networking company founded in 1979 by Ralph Ungermann and Charlie Bass, both formerly of Zilog. UB was the first major networking company independent of any computer manufacturer, specializing in large enterprise networks that connected computer systems from multiple vendors — unusual for the era when most equipment was tied to a single manufacturer's protocol. The company's flagship Net/One product line initially used the XNS protocol suite before transitioning to TCP/IP, and UB helped both Apple and Microsoft implement early TCP/IP networking support. UB went public in 1983, was acquired by Tandem Computers in 1988, and was sold to Newbridge Networks in 1997 before being liquidated as Newbridge closed its Santa Clara operations.