Harris & Jeffries Delivers Enhanced ATM Signalling Software Subsystem with UNI 4.0 ABR Support and PNNI Signalling.

DEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 1997--

Enhanced Call Handler and ILMI complement H&J's field proven PNNI 

Routing subsystem; Company maintains industry leadership,

guarantees interoperability

Harris & Jeffries, Inc. (H&J), has begun delivery of a new version of its industry-leading Soft-ATM Signalling Software Subsystem (SSS). The company said the release maintains H&J compatibility with industry standards and further extends its dominance in the Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Frame Relay software markets.

ATM is a communications protocol that effectively integrates the transport of voice, video and data, each of which requires different levels of quality of service. It enables new classes of applications such as multimedia and visualization to realize their full potential and capabilities.

H&J's new ATM source code is used by network equipment manufacturers to add reliable, advanced signalling functionality to network devices such as switches and routers. Soft-ATM products provide a variety of networking source code components and tools that facilitate development of advanced ATM products cost effectively, while improving overall product performance and dramatically improving product time-to-market.

The new version, Release 1.6, supports industry-compliant PNNI signalling in addition to non-associated signalling, Designated Transit Lists (DTLs), crankback and support for soft PVC procedures. It also includes support for UNI 4.0 Available Bit Rate (ABR), Leaf Initiated Join (LIJ), Anycast Group Address, Proxy Signalling, and ILMI 4.0. This version builds on the field proven, Soft-ATM Signalling Subsystem for user and network side UNI 3.0, 3.1 and IISP (Interim Interswitch Signalling Protocol). These capabilities assure that ATM network products will interoperate properly with all of the various types of ATM networks and network components.

The Soft-ATM SSS enables different signalling types -- UNI 3.0, 3.1, 4.0, IISP and PNNI -- to be selected, at run time, to operate over different interfaces. This is important to ensure that products built using Soft-ATM will be interoperable with other ATM devices, regardless of the type of signalling used.

"UNI 4.0 signalling is critical. It enables the use of ABR and other important features, plus it provides the signalling framework for emerging standards such as LAN Emulation V2.0, MPOA and Voice/Telephony Over ATM (VTOA). PNNI Signalling is another major enhancement in this release that works seamlessly with Harris & Jeffries' recent major product offering, PNNI Routing," said Robert A. Zockoff, H&J's vice-president of sales and marketing.

Another major feature of this release is the Harris & Jeffries' Enhanced Call Handler (ECH). The ECH is a hardware independent, portable set of sample source code that contains a set of functions for implementing a CAC (Call Admission Control) and a signal handler in an ATM PNNI switch and ATM UNI end system. CAC functionality includes bandwidth reservation and the signal handler includes support for PNNI Route Determination, DTL processing and Point-to-Multipoint support. Soft-ATM signalling is compatible and easily integrated with H&J's entire Soft-ATM product line.

Highest SVC Calls per Second (CPS) Rating

Soft-ATM Signalling Software Subsystem is designed and developed to provide the highest switched virtual circuit (SVC) calls-per-second rate in the industry. In measured tests Soft-ATM achieved a call set-up rating in excess of 4800 calls per second (CPS), the highest CPS ever demonstrated by any ATM software vendor. This performance is the result of Soft-ATM's innovative architecture and highly compact source code which requires no more than 156K of memory in target systems. Different signalling options can be compiled out to minimize the size of target system memory requirements. Typical Soft-ATM SSS implementations require only 75K of target system memory.

The new Soft-ATM subsystem, like all H&J source code packages, includes H&J's Interoperability Guarantee. Soft-ATM SSS includes extensive documentation, in a very clear and usable format, for both Signalling and ILMI to help speed product development. Additionally, every release of a Soft-ATM product is backwards compatible with prior releases.

"The documentation for SSS Release 1.6 is clear and complete. Even though significant feature enhancements were present in the 1.6 release, the porting effort went smoothly because H&J takes great care in providing backward compatible upgrades. We were able to upgrade without once calling H&J technical support," said Jacque Meyers, vice-president of ATM System Development at Switched Network Technologies.

Soft-ATM SSS includes an updated suite of development tools including: diagnostic traces, probes, loopbacks, multiple sample porting files and test applications. These tools assist developers in performing fast, easy, and straightforward porting & integration. Soft-ATM SSS is also compatible with the Windows NT Tornado IDE.

Pricing and Availability

The company said Soft-ATM Signalling Software Subsystem with UNI 4.0 & PNNI Signalling compliance is available now, as is ILMI 4.0. All H&J customers under warranty will receive the update at no additional cost. Pricing of each Soft-ATM subsystem ranges from $15,000 to $80,000 per development license depending on configuration.

Free ATM Signalling Reference Poster

Visit www.hjinc.com for your free ATM Signalling reference poster. This signalling reference poster is suitable for framing and has reference information that is quite useful for engineers and developers designing and implementing ATM signalling into their company's products

About Harris & Jeffries, Inc.

Harris & Jeffries, Inc. is the industry's "ultimate" ATM software source. Its flagship product line, Soft-ATM includes ATM Signalling, PNNI Signalling, ILMI, PNNI Routing, IP over ATM, LAN Emulation Client, LAN Emulation Server (LES, BUS, LECS), Frame Relay-to-ATM Network Interworking (FRF.5), and Frame Relay-to-ATM Service Interworking (FRF.8) subsystems. The company's products also include High-Performance Frame Relay software. H&J provides provides its source code to networking manufacturers, OEMs and integrators worldwide. Its software incorporates high performance, advanced architecture, and a leading-edge engineering toolkit to enable customers to achieve fast time-to-market, reduced development costs and technically advanced products with market-leading performance capabilities. H&J's expertise includes ATM, frame relay, network management, SNMP, RISC, real-time operating, embedded and proprietary systems. Its products are in use by over 100 major networking companies worldwide.

Please note, on September 1, 1997 the area code for Dedham, MA changed to 781. H&J can be reached at [phone], or by E-mail at: [e-mail], or on the World Wide Web at: http://www.hjinc.com . -0-

October 2, 1997 Soft-ATM and High-Performance Frame Relay are trademarks of Harris & Jeffries, Inc. All other trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks are the property of their respective holders.

CONTACT: Harris & Jeffries, Inc.

Chris Berluti

781/329-3200

[e-mail]

or

The Strayton Group, Inc.

Rob Strayton

508/655-6965

[e-mail]