BAY NETWORKS ADDS ETHERNET SWITCHING TO CENTILLION 100; New GIGArray Software and Optivity Integration also Announced for Industry's First Integrated Multi-LAN ATM Switch.MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 14, 1995-- Expanding its leadership position in the Token Ring/ATM switch market, Bay Networks, Inc. today announced the addition of switched Ethernet An Ethernet network that is controlled by a switch instead of a shared hub. The switch cross connects all clients, servers and network devices, giving each sending-receiving pair the full rated transmission speed. on the Centillion cen·til·lion n. 1. The cardinal number equal to 10303. 2. Chiefly British The cardinal number equal to 10600. 100(TM), previously known as the Speed Switch 100. In addition, Bay Networks announced the rollout of integrated Optivity(R) network management for the Centillion 100, as well as GIGArray(TM), software that allows Centillion 100(R)s to be clustered over multiple ATM links in a consistent, end-to-end, high performance network. Shipping since November 1994, the Centillion 100 has already established itself as the leader in the Token Ring A local area network (LAN) access method developed by IBM. Conforming to the IEEE 802.5 standard, Token Ring uses a token ring access method and connects up to 255 nodes in a star topology at 4, 16 or 100 Mbps. switching market; according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. The Dell'Oro Group, the Centillion 100 is currently capturing 75 percent of Token Ring switch port shipments. "This announcement significantly broadens the applications for the Centillion 100. Our customers can add any new technologies incrementally while maximizing the productivity of their installed networks. For example, Token Ring users who have made a strategic decision to move to Ethernet can do so without expensive forklift upgrades. At the same time, they can take advantage of ATM's power in the backbone without taking on its complexity. Later, they can gradually add ATM to the rest of their network when and where it is needed," said Selina Lo, vice president of marketing for Bay Networks' Centillion Business Unit. Ethernet Switching A device that connects clients and servers to each other in an Ethernet network. See switched Ethernet. for the Campus Backbone Ideally suited for use in mixed Token Ring and Ethernet environments, the new 16-port EtherSpeed(TM) module can enable the Centillion 100 to provide sustained throughput of more than 1 million packets per second. With the new EtherSpeed module, the Centillion 100 can be used as a backbone switch to interconnect Ethernet and Token Ring segments and dedicated servers. When fully configured with EtherSpeed modules, the Centillion 100 offers 88 ports per switch. With such high port density, the switch can also be used as a high performance departmental Ethernet switch for power users. At $466 per port, the EtherSpeed offers breakthrough price/performance among modular Ethernet switches. Designed for large networks, each EtherSpeed can learn and cache up to 16,000 MAC addresses in high speed, content addressable memory See CAM. content addressable memory - (CAM, or "associative memory") A kind of storage device which includes comparison logic with each bit of storage. A data value is broadcast to all words of storage and compared with the values there. , thereby maximizing network throughput. A network-wide Virtual LAN Also called a "VLAN," it is a logical subgroup within a local area network that is created via software rather than manually moving cables in the wiring closet. It combines user stations and network devices into a single unit regardless of the physical LAN segment they are attached to and capability allows users to microsegment their network or attach servers to dedicated segments without changing subnet numbers subnet number - subnet address , significantly reducing the burden of network administration. In addition, users can select cut-through or store-and-forward switching A switching device that stores a complete incoming data packet before it is sent out. Such switches are used when incoming and outgoing speeds differ. Contrast with cut-through switch. on the EtherSpeed on a per port basis. In the first quarter of 1996, Centillion plans to offer users the ability to easily and cost effectively add fast Ethernet An earlier name for 100Mbps Ethernet. See 100Base-T. (networking) Fast Ethernet - A version of Ethernet developed in the 1990s(?) which can carry 100 Mbps compared with standard Ethernet's 10 Mbps. It requires upgraded network cards and hubs. to the same platform with a 100 Mbps Ethernet switch module. The EtherSpeed/100 will enable network managers to connect servers and switches with the rapidly growing Fast Ethernet technology. GIGArray: Low Latency Low latency allows human-unnoticeable delays between an input being processed and the corresponding output providing real time characteristics. This can be especially important for internet connections utilizing services such as online gaming and VOIP - VOIP is not as important as and High Aggregate Bandwidth Unlike other ATM edge devices that offer a single ATM uplink to external ATM switches, the Centillion 100 can support two to ten ATM backbone links per switch. A new software capability for the Centillion 100, the GIGArray, automatically load balances across multiple ATM backbone links, enabling users to scale the backbone bandwidth to the aggregate port speeds. This prevents contention at the backbone and ensures consistent end-to-end network performance. The GIGArray also increases reliability by rerouting traffic over redundant links in the event of an ATM link failure. Up to 16 switches can be interconnected in a GIGArray to provide aggregate throughput of more than 10 million packets per second. Multi-LAN Network Management and Optivity Support The full suite of SpeedView(TM) network management capabilities, including configuration and statistics monitoring, is available to manage the new Ethernet and GIGArray capabilities. Additionally, Centillion's extensive custom filtering, traffic re-direction and roving monitor capabilities, already available for Token Ring, will now allow users to reduce broadcast traffic, increase network efficiency and manage their switched Ethernet environment. In the fourth quarter of 1995, rollout of Optivity management of the Centillion 100 will begin. Optivity Autotopology can discover Centillion 100s and map them onto an enterprise network diagram This article is about computer network diagrams. For project management network diagrams, see Network diagram (project management). A network diagram is a schematic depicting the nodes and connections amongst nodes in a computer network or, more generally, any . The Optivity PathMan(TM) application will enable users to conduct hop by hop troubleshooting for Centillion networks, while Optivity Enterprise Command Center and Enterprise Health Advisor provide a network wide view and integrated fault correlation and diagnosis. Planned for the first half of 1996, the Expanded View(TM) features of Optivity will allow users to see all details of the switch's operation in real time. Other available capabilities will include OmniView for advanced fault and performance diagnosis and LANarchitect for management of virtual LANs. Pricing and Availability The 16-port EtherSpeed Module and 8-port EtherSpeed MCP (1) See Microsoft certification. (2) (MultiChip Package) A chip package that contains two or more chips. It is essentially a multichip module (MCM) that uses a laminated, printed-circuit-board-like substrate (MCM-L) rather than ceramic (MCM-C). Module are priced at $6,495 each and the target general availability is October. The GIGArray is a free software upgrade for existing Centillion 100 users and will be available in September. Bay Networks, Inc. is a leading worldwide supplier of a full range of highly available, multiprotocol routers, intelligent hubs, high-speed switches, and sophisticated network management products for organizations building enterprise-wide information internetworks. The company was established in October 1994 with the merger of SynOptics See Bay Networks. Communications and Wellfleet Communications Wellfleet Communications was an Internet router company based in Billerica, Massachusetts. In an attempt to more effectively compete with Cisco Systems, it's chief rival, it merged in October, 1994 with SynOptics Communications of Santa Clara, Calif to form Bay Networks in a deal , and now has combined revenues in excess of $1.3 billion for its most recent year. With more than 1,000 resellers and over 1,200 direct sales and service personnel worldwide, Bay Networks markets and supports its comprehensive product suite in 110 offices, providing 7x24 global support coverage. -0- Note to Editors: Bay Networks, Centillion 100, EtherSpeed, SpeedView, GIGArray, Expanded View and PathMan are trademarks and Optivity is a registered trademark of Bay Networks, Inc. CONTACT: Centillion Networks, a Business Unit of Bay Networks Drusie Demopoulos, 415/969-6700 ext. 136 Email: drusie@centillion.com |
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