EXHIBIT 23.1
 
The Board of Directors
Livingston Enterprises, Inc.
 
    The audits referred to in our report dated October 4, 1996, except for Note
10 which is as of May 15, 1997 included the related financial statement schedule
as of August 31, 1996, and for each of the years in the three-year period ended
August 31, 1996, included in the registration statement. This financial
statement schedule is the responsibility of the Company's management. Our
responsibility is to express an opinion on this financial statement schedule
based on our audits. In our opinion, such financial statement schedule, when
considered in relation to the basic consolidated financial statements taken as a
whole, presents fairly in all material respects the information set forth
therein.
 
    We consent to the use of our reports included herein and to the reference to
our firm under the heading "Experts" and "Selected Consolidated Financial Data"
in the prospectus.
 
Palo Alto, CA
May 16, 1997