Formed in the late 80s by father-and-son Ronald and Steve Willens, Livingston Enterprises quickly became established as a major player in the terminal server landscape. The first Portmaster communications server was released in 1990, with three more versions following over the decade. Their other products included T1/E1 office routers and firewalls. In the mid-90s, Livingston products were used in approximately 2,200 ISPs commanding a 67% market share.
Lucent acquired Livingston in 1997.