Equinox announces Ethernet option for Modem Pool.SUNRISE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 5, 1997-- PAC Option supports Microsoft PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) A protocol from Microsoft that is used to create a virtual private network (VPN) over the Internet. Remote users can access their corporate networks via any ISP that supports PPTP on its servers. for NT RAS (1) See network access server. (2) (Remote Access Service) A Windows NT/2000 Server feature that allows remote users access to the network from their Windows laptops or desktops via modem. See RRAS and network access server. applications Equinox Systems Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :EQNX) Monday introduced an intelligent Ethernet controller for its SuperSerial Modem Pool. The new "PAC Option" permits the company's SuperSerial Modem Pool to directly connect to a 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. or WAN and serve as a 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 Access Concentrator (PAC) using Microsoft's Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol See PPTP. (communications, protocol) Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol - (PPTP) A tunneling protocol for connecting Windows NT clients and servers over Remote Access Services (RAS). PPTP can be used to create a Virtual Private Network between computers running NT. (PPTP). PPTP was announced by Microsoft one year ago at the Networld + Interop Show as an enabling technology for building Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and allowing modem pools to serve as front-end communications concentrators (PPP Access Concentrators). The award-winning Equinox SuperSerial Modem Pool is a low-cost alternative to expensive proprietary modem pools. Unlike other modem pool products, the Equinox offering uses commodity modem cards. It consists of a compact, intelligent chassis with 16 ISA (1) (Instruction Set Architecture) See instruction set. (2) (Interactive Services Association) See Internet Alliance. (3) (Internet Security and Acceleration) See .NET. slots into which modems are inserted. The SuperSerial Modem Pool accepts any vendor's off-the-shelf internal modems supporting the standard COM port. These include modems from US Robotics, Boca Research, Hayes, Zoom, Practical Peripherals and others. Prior to this announcement, an Equinox Modem Pool would be physically connected to a server through an Equinox host controller installed in the server's I/O bus. This approach provides a very high bandwidth low-cost connection between the network server and the Modem Pool. According to Equinox, it is still the preferred method of connecting multiple modems to a Novell or UNIX server. For Windows NT RAS applications, however, there are now two choices -- bus attached or LAN attached. With the new PAC option, instead of being directly connected to the NT RAS server (bus attached), the Modem Pool is attached to the network and communicates with the server using the PPTP and TCP/IP TCP/IP in full Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol Standard Internet communications protocols that allow digital computers to communicate over long distances. protocols. This permits the Modem Pool to be located any distance from the server. The PAC Option also permits the Modem Pool to support more than one NT Server for scalability and redundancy. In addition, the PAC Option offloads low-level PPP processing chores from the NT RAS server. For Internet Service Providers (ISPs) using NT RAS, the new PAC option is particularly interesting. PAC-enabled Modem Pools need only communicate with the NT Server via standard TCP/IP (PPTP is tunneled in IP packets). As a result, PAC-enabled Modem Pools with attached routers can be located elsewhere as unattended Points-of-Presence (POPs) -- while the NT servers providing Internet access and added services can be conveniently concentrated at a central site. To connect an Equinox Modem Pool to a LAN, the new PAC Option card is installed in the option slot at the rear of the Modem Pool chassis. It can then be configured from any Windows NT 4.0 Server using the supplied EquiView Plus management and configuration software. A configuration wizard walks the user through the simple configuration process. According to Bob Gintz, Equinox vice president of development: "The SuperSerial Modem Pool has become very popular with customers looking to avoid the trappings of proprietary modem pool products and technologies. The new PAC Option embraces Microsoft's Virtual Private Networking strategy and enables our Modem Pool to be deployed as a communications front-end processor for local or enterprise-wide PPP dial-up connections. Because it employs our award-winning custom SuperSerial Processor technology, it maintains the very high throughput that has become synonymous with Equinox products." Suggested list price for the Modem Pool PAC option is $995. The Equinox Modem Pool carries a suggested list price of $1,695. This includes the chassis, universal power supply and power cord. An optional rack-mount kit is available for $95. Equinox SuperSerial products are certified and supported on all major operating systems including Novell NetWare, Microsoft Windows NT, Citrix WinFrame, Citrix WinView, SCO UNIX, SCO XENIX, SCO UnixWare, BSDI BSDI - Berkeley Software Design, Inc. UNIX UNIX Operating system for digital computers, developed by Ken Thompson of Bell Laboratories in 1969. It was initially designed for a single user (the name was a pun on the earlier operating system Multics). , Solaris, Linux and others. Equinox Systems Inc., headquartered in Sunrise, designs and markets I/O (Input/Output) The transfer of data between the CPU and a peripheral device. Every transfer is an output from one device and an input to another. See PC input/output. I/O - Input/Output communications products for remote access and multi-user computer systems. Their products are available world-wide through leading distributors and systems integrators. OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and customers who have selected Equinox for their I/O needs include AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, Unisys, NCR (NCR Corporation, Dayton, OH, www.ncr.com) A technology company specializing in financial terminal transactions, retail systems and data warehousing. Until the late 1990s, NCR was heavily invested in the hardware side of the industry, known worldwide as a major manufacturer of computers , Attachmate and General DataComm. Detailed information on Equinox products, news announcements, seminars, service and support is available on the Equinox web site at www.equinox.com -0- All product, company and brand names are the property of their owners. NOTE TO EDITORS: In the Internet/email address noted in this news release, there is an "at" symbol between news and equinox.com . This symbol may not appear properly in some systems. CONTACT: Equinox Systems Inc., Sunrise Mary Dyer, 954/746-9000 ext. 481 news@equinox.com |
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