Ascom Timeplex debuts first effective single-box backbone solution for voice, video, LAN and SNA traffic consolidation; Synchrony ST-1000 simplifies creation of a single, cost-effective backbone network that efficiently and reliably supports multiple business-critical applications.WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3, 1995--Ascom Timeplex today made it easier and less expensive for large corporations to build and maintain a single core high-speed backbone infrastructure capable of efficiently and reliably transporting all their inter-branch communications. The Synchrony synchrony /syn·chro·ny/ (-krah-ne) the occurrence of two events simultaneously or with a fixed time interval between them. atrioventricular (AV) synchrony ST-1000 is the first single-box switching node able to effectively combine voice, video, legacy data and other delay-sensitive applications with bursty Refers to data that is transferred or transmitted in short, uneven spurts. LAN traffic is typically bursty. Contrast with streaming data. LAN (Local Area Network) A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. The "clients" are the user's workstations typically running Windows, although Mac and Linux clients are also used. data traffic for wide-area transport. The ST-1000, the latest addition to Ascom Timplex's Synchrony family of wide-area networking products, sets a new standard for multi-service integration by combining for the first time two unique, industry-leading technologies -- Express Switching and Express Routing. Together, Express Switching and Express Routing provide the most efficient use of bandwidth available today while reducing network complexity and guaranteeing appropriate quality of service levels to delay-sensitive traffic such as SNA (Systems Network Architecture) IBM's mainframe network standards introduced in 1974. Originally a centralized architecture with a host computer controlling many terminals, enhancements, such as APPN and APPC (LU 6. . By interconnecting ST-1000s at multiple branch sites, corporations can consolidate traffic from voice PBXs, LAN internetworks, videoconferencing systems and legacy host networks onto one easily manageable, cost-effective infrastructure. "The Synchrony ST-1000, together with the rest of Ascom Timeplex's broad range of networking products, offers the best solution for the vast majority of today's wide-area networking applications, and is the logical choice for providing an on-ramp to the broadband ATM networks of tomorrow," said Randy Phillips, president and chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. of Ascom Timeplex. "Ascom Timeplex is determined to continue its leadership in providing scalable enterprise networking solutions that unify LAN and WAN technologies." According to IDC, the continuing need for efficient bandwidth utilization, both in the United States and abroad, caused the market for T1/E1 bandwidth managers to grow by 11 percent from 1993 to 1994, to a total of $1.0 billion in sales. Ascom Timeplex is one of the top two vendors dominating this market with a 20.3 percent market share. Single-Box Backbone Switching Node The Synchrony ST-1000 multi-service switching node combines in a single chassis all the functionality required for consolidating all of a corporation's communications needs onto one network infrastructure. The ST-1000 simplifies the installation, maintenance and management of data communications equipment See DCE. Data Communications Equipment - Data Communication Equipment , while improving reliability and lowering costs by integrating hybrid switch, router, bridge and all the key communications functions into a single, manageable system. The ST-1000 offers the highest level of integration of any backbone switching node on the market, replacing as many as five separate boxes, and all the interconnecting cabling. Ascom Timeplex's modular, upgradable ST-1000 combines hybrid frame relay and circuit switching, Ethernet, Token Ring and FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) Often pronounced "fiddy," it was a LAN and MAN access method that had its heyday in the mid-1990s. FDDI was an ANSI standard token passing network that transmitted 100 Mbps over optical fiber up to 10 kilometers. router functions, legacy protocol support, DSU/CSU (Digital (or Data) Service Unit/Channel Service Unit) A pair of communications devices that connect an inhouse line to an external digital circuit (T1, DDS, etc.). , dial-up backup modem and voice compression in a single, compact enclosure. Express Routing The ST-1000 is the first Synchrony product in incorporate Ascom Timeplex's proved Express Routing technology. Express Routing enables network managers to maintain the performance of legacy applications in an integrated LAN/legacy network by letting them assign quality of service levels to individual data streams on an end-to-end basis. These data streams can be prioritized by protocol, address, application or user to ensure that business-critical applications can share the same network on a non-interfering basis with other, less critical traffic. Unlike most conventional router-based networks that integrate SNA and other legacy protocols by encapsulating them in a connectionless LAN protocol like TCP/IP TCP/IP in full Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol Standard Internet communications protocols that allow digital computers to communicate over long distances. , Express Routing creates a connection-oriented infrastructure through the wide area using frame relay permanent virtual circuits (PVCs) to deliver information more quickly and reliably than conventional routing. PVCs provide a simplified logical "underlayment" for the various LAN protocols, and greatly improve overall performance because data is switched by frame relay as it traverses intermediate routers between the source and destination nodes, a process that is much faster than full-protocol routing. Express Routing reduces complexity in the wide area network by creating a logical path from each router to every other router bordering the WAN. This eliminates the need for network-layer routing at intermediate nodes, which simplifies device configuration, performance monitoring and the presentation of network topology. As a result, network operators benefit from a clear, consolidated picture of the WAN, reducing installation time and minimizing maintenance effort. Express Switching Wide area bandwidth is one of the largest recurring costs in any network. Ascom Timeplex's advanced Express Switching lets the Synchrony ST-1000 multi-service backbone switching node provide maximum bandwidth efficiency by responding dynamically to an organization's varying bandwidth requirements. Newtwork managers now have a cost-effective way to meet real-world bandwidth demands, with potentially substantial cost savings for large corporations and emerging carriers. With Express Switching, delay-sensitive, constant-bit-rate traffic (such as switched voice or video) and frame-based, variable-bit rate data (such as bursty LAN internetwork traffic and delay-sensitive SNA traffic) are each allocated a guaranteed minimum portion of the available bandwidth on internodal in·ter·node n. A section or part between two nodes, as of a nerve or stem. in  ter·nod links. Express Switching then dynamically assigns the remaining unreserved, or "breathable breath·a·ble adj. 1. Suitable or pleasant for breathing: breathable air. 2. Permitting air to pass through: a breathable fabric. ," bandwidth to either bursty variable-bit-rate traffic that exceeds its normal bandwidth allotment, or to increased constant-bit-rate traffic caused by unexpected voice calling patterns or a failed link. In addition, Express Switching provides bandwidth for constant-bit-rate traffic only when a session is actually active. As a result, Express Switching ensures the minimal requirements for both types of traffic are met while unused bandwidth is made available to meet varying network demands. Voice Capabilities The ST-1000 can be connected to many different voice systems and supports several voice compression methods. By combining bandwidth contention with voice compression, the ST-1000 makes very efficient use of wide-area bandwidth. Voice traffic can be compresses to 8 kbps and combined with sub-rate data channels as small as 2.4 kbps. Some of the bandwidth available to voice traffic can also be shared with frame-based data for maximum cost effectiveness. Frame Relay Switching The ST-1000 provides full-frame relay switching functions including standard addressing, congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. management and frame relay access. Throughput is scalable, starting at 8,000 frames per second with increments of 8,000 frames per second. LAN Internetworking ST-1000 accepts fully functional and highly featured routing processor modules that enable LAN internetworking traffic to be routed with voice traffic over scarce wide area bandwidth. The LAN router options include Ethernet, Token Ring and FDDI (both single and multimode fiber). The routing modules provide routing of IP, IPX (Internetwork Packet EXchange) The network layer protocol in the NetWare operating system. Similar to the IP layer in TCP/IP, it contains a network address and allows messages to be routed to a different network or subnet. , AppleTalk, OSI (1) (Open System Interconnection) An ISO standard for worldwide communications that defines a framework for implementing protocols in seven layers. Control is passed from one layer to the next, starting at the application layer in one station, proceeding to the , and XNS (1) See XDI. (2) (Xerox Network Services) An early networking protocol suite developed at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). XNS has been the basis for many popular network architectures including Novell's NetWare, Banyan's VINES and 3Com's , with routing provided by OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) A routing protocol that determines the best path for routing IP traffic over a TCP/IP network based on distance between nodes and several quality parameters. or RIP. Bridging capabilities provide transport for NetBIOS and other non-routable protocols. These modules' Express Routing capability guarantees that delay-sensitive protocols are delivered with the appropriate qualities of service. Interoperability is assured through strict support for key RFCs and standards like Point to Point Protocol (PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) The most popular method for transporting IP packets over a serial link between the user and the ISP. Developed in 1994 by the IETF and superseding the SLIP protocol, PPP establishes the session between the user's computer and the ISP using ); Frame Relay encapsulation; and Data Link Switching See DLSw. (DLSw), the IBM-compatible standard for interoperability of SNA and NetBIOS over TCP/IP See NBT. (protocol) NetBios over TCP/IP - (NBT) A protocol supporting NetBIOS services in a TCP/IP environment, defined by RFCs 1001 and 1002. networks. Ascom Timeplex was one of the first companies to implement DLSw. Standards-Based Management Overall manageability of an ST-1000-based network is simplified by a host of remote control and management features including: downline loading of software, flash EPROM, upload/download of configuration parameter files, telnet and full SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) A widely used network monitoring and control protocol. Data are passed from SNMP agents, which are hardware and/or software processes reporting activity in each network device (hub, router, bridge, etc. SET support for all configurable parameters. Additionally, the ST-1000 and other members of the Ascom Timplex product range can be managed from Ascom Timeplex's Element Management System, a comprehensive, graphical network management application compatible with HP Open View. Pricing and Availability The Synchrony ST-1000 will be available through Ascom Timeplex's worldwide sales force in April, 1995. The ST-1000 chassis and controller starts at a base price of $20,500. The ST-1000 accepts all standard Synchrony ST-50 cards, as well as all Ascom Timeplex ER Routing Processor cards. These include a two-port Token Ring card for $8,500, a four-port Ethernet card for $8,500, a one-port FDDI card for $9,500, a serial IRP See Interest rate parity line. card for $7,000, a serial data card for $4,000, a PBX (Private Branch eXchange) An inhouse telephone switching system that interconnects telephone extensions to each other as well as to the outside telephone network (PSTN). server card for $9,500 and a frame relay server card for $8,000. An ATM card will be available later this year. A large collapsed backbone configuration containing 44 Ethernet ports, one PBX server and frame relay switching costs $134,000, while a system comprising four Ethernet ports, a PBX server and 80 serial ports costs $97,500. CONTACT: Tony Fisch Consultants Tony Fisch, 818/501-6608 or Ascom Timeplex, Woodcliff Lake Stefanie Sovak, 201/391-1111 |
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