Madge Networks Launches Industry's Most Powerful Token Ring Strategy.WEXHAM SPRINGS, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 16, 1998--Madge Networks (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 :MADGF), a worldwide provider of networking solutions, has unveiled the company's Madge Perspective(TM) strategy for 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. incorporating layer 3 switching, enhanced backbone and workgroup switching, High Speed Token Ring, multiservice deployment, and Token Ring-Ethernet integration. The industry's most powerful and comprehensive framework for the future of Token Ring, Madge Perspective demonstrates that Token Ring users can best accommodate their network needs by harnessing and building on their existing Token Ring investment rather than changing to Ethernet. Simon Gawne, head of Token Ring marketing and business management at Madge Networks Madge Networks NV. founded by Robert Madge and best known for its work with Token Ring, was a global leader and pioneer of high speed networking solutions in the mid 1990s, and also made significant contributions to technologies such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Ethernet. , said: "In terms of architecture and performance capability, Token Ring is a superior technology to Ethernet. To compensate for its shortcomings A shortcoming is a character flaw. Shortcomings may also be:
tr.v. re·in·vent·ed, re·in·vent·ing, re·in·vents 1. To make over completely: "She reinvented Indian cooking to fit a Western kitchen and a Western larder" itself every two or three years, requiring Ethernet users to have to upgrade their network more often. In contrast, Token Ring has consistently provided corporations over the last 15 years with a stable network infrastructure to support their business operations Business operations are those activities involved in the running of a business for the purpose of producing value for the stakeholders. Compare business processes. The outcome of business operations is the harvesting of value from assets . With Madge Perspective, we are taking Token Ring forward in the next millennium, enabling users to unleash the full power of their Token Ring networks A LAN access method that uses the token passing technology in a physical ring. Each station in the network passes the token on to the station next to it. Token Ring and FDDI LANs use the token ring access method. See Token Ring, FDDI and token passing. ." "The Madge Perspective strategy helps ensure the continued development of Token Ring. This is the most far-reaching industry strategy for Token Ring because it is the only one which meets head on all the key challenges users face," Gawne continued. "Given Token Ring's superiority and our concrete plans to take it forward, users should be pleased that they have made the right investment from the start. Madge is working to ensure that the technology remains ahead of their needs as it has always done." Madge Perspective uniquely addresses the four key challenges facing Token Ring users, which Madge Networks has identified as `scalability', `affordability', `applications' and `integration': Scalability A cornerstone of the Madge Perspective plan is to provide users with scalable bandwidth from current 16Mbps to 100Mbps, and eventually Gigabit speeds, across the network. Madge addresses this with High Speed Token Ring (HSTR HSTR Harry S Truman National Historic Site (US National Park Service) HSTR High Speed Token Ring ), ATM and workgroup switching solutions. In the backbone, Madge has already committed to deliver HSTR modules for its Smart Ringswitch(TM) family of awarding winning Token Ring switches, and a 100/16/4 adapter for high performance servers. As HSTR becomes more widely deployed in corporate backbones, Madge intends to deliver significantly higher density, multi-gigabit HSTR switching solutions for the core of the network backbone. This Ringswitch platform will accommodate high density classical 16/4 Token Ring and 100Mbps HSTR connections, as well as 1Gbps speed HSTR connections. For the workgroup, Madge Perspective provides an incremental migration path to more bandwidth through an easy three-stage process. The process includes: network micro-segmentation using segmentation switches; per-port workgroup switching, in which each user receives a dedicated full duplex (Computers) arranged so that the information may be transmitted in both directions simultaneously; - of communications channels between computers; contrasted with Affordability Another key strand of the Perspective strategy is to drive down the cost of Token Ring networking by reducing equipment, installation and maintenance costs. To achieve this, Madge has been developing industry leading Token Ring silicon technology for over five years and is currently developing the fifth generation of its unique Ringrunner(TM) ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) Pronounced "a-sick." A chip that is custom designed for a specific application rather than a general-purpose chip such as a microprocessor. (application specific integrated circuit integrated circuit (IC), electronic circuit built on a semiconductor substrate, usually one of single-crystal silicon. The circuit, often called a chip, is packaged in a hermetically sealed case or a nonhermetic plastic capsule, with leads extending from it for ). This technology has enabled Madge to deliver unrivalled capabilities in many of its products while maintaining a significant price-performance lead over the competition. Applications Madge Perspective also delivers powerful solutions to the needs of Token Ring users who are increasingly deploying IP-based applications in their networks, along with emerging multimedia applications, such as video, voice and real-time data Real-time data denotes information that is delivered immediately after collection. There is no delay in the timeliness of the information provided. Some uses of this term confuse it with the term dynamic data. . Building on Madge's unique Active Broadcast Control(TM) (ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. ) technology, which can reduce broadcast traffic levels in a flat layer-2 network by up to 90 per cent, Madge plans to develop by early 1999 layer-3 switching capabilities on its Smart Ringswitch Plus(TM) platform to provide high speed inter-subnet switching for IP traffic. Madge Perspective also utilizes the in-built quality of service (QoS) capabilities present in every IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, www.ieee.org) A membership organization that includes engineers, scientists and students in electronics and allied fields. 802.5 Token Ring network to support real-time video, voice and data applications. Unlike Ethernet - which relies on a new standard called IEEE 802.1q IEEE 802.1Q (also known as VLAN Tagging) was a project in the IEEE 802 standards process to develop a mechanism to allow multiple bridged networks to transparently share the same physical network link without leakage of information between networks (i.e. trunking). IEEE 802. , is not backwards compatible See backward compatible. backwards compatible - backward compatibility , and requires significant changes to the network infrastructure - Token Ring's priority scheme was designed into the standard from the start, making all IEEE 802.5 Token Ring equipment QoS-ready. Madge Perspective uses the multiple frame queuing mechanisms present in the Smart Ringswitch family to support high quality, end-to-end real-time multimedia sessions across the Token Ring network. Integration Madge Perspective also solves the real-life problem faced by many network managers of how to connect Token Ring and Ethernet networks together through a common network infrastructure. Unlike the proprietary solutions offered by some vendors, Madge Perspective utilizes the inherent capabilities of HSTR and the IEEE 802.1q standard to allow a HSTR-based backbone to carry both Token Ring and Ethernet traffic simultaneously, enabling Ethernet and Token Ring users to share the same network resources. Madge plans to provide connectivity between the HSTR backbone and the Ethernet network in the future by adding a 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. interface on the Smart Ringswitch Plus backbone switch. Madge Perspective is detailed in the company's white paper "Madge Perspective: Blueprint for Token Ring in the 21st Century," which is available for download from the Madge web site at http://www.madge.com. About Madge Networks Founded in 1986, Madge Networks (NASDAQ:MADGF) is a worldwide supplier of advanced networking solutions. A manufacturer of award-winning adapter cards, workgroup switching and backbone products, Madge has pioneered advances in Token Ring, ISDN ISDN in full Integrated Services Digital Network Digital telecommunications network that operates over standard copper telephone wires or other media. , video networking and ATM technologies. The company is also at the forefront of developments in High Speed Token Ring (HSTR) technology, and is a founder member of the HSTR Alliance. Madge is committed to providing key components of converged networks - networks which handle simultaneous data, video and voice traffic. Madge's main business centres are located at Wexham Springs, United Kingdom and Eatontown, New Jersey Eatontown is a Borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 14,008. What is now Eatontown was originally incorporated as Eatontown Township . The company serves its international customer base through a global network of distributors and resellers. Information about Madge's complete range of products and services can be accessed on the World Wide Web at http://www.madge.com. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and Statement Investors should take note that certain statements in this press release are forward-looking and may not give full weight to all of the potential risks (e.g., potential delays and difficulties in developing high technology products, changing industry standards, intense industry competition and changed priorities and resource allocation resource allocation Managed care The constellation of activities and decisions which form the basis for prioritizing health care needs resulting from these and other factors). Forward-looking statements included in this press release include statements which refer to the Madge Perspective strategy, High Speed Token Ring, a framework for the future of Token Ring, taking Token Ring forward in the next millennium, ensuring continued development of Token Ring, plans, ensuring that technology remains ahead of needs, commitment to delivery of HSTR modules and a 100/16/4 adapter, delivering higher density, multi-gigabit HSTR switching solutions, accommodating additional connections on the Ringswitch platform, a migration path to more bandwidth and the process, delivering high performance, cost effective workgroup switching solutions well into the future, affordability reducing equipment, installation and maintenance costs, development of a fifth generation Ringrunner ASIC, development of layer 3 switching capabilities on the Ringswitch Plus platform in early 1999, providing high speed inter-subnet switching for IP traffic, planned connectivity between the HSTR backbone and the Ethernet network provided by a Fast Ethernet interface on the Smart Ringswitch Plus backbone switch and other statements which are not completely historical. Actual results, actions or events could differ materially. For more information on risk factors, please refer to Madge's SEC filings, including Madge's most recent SEC filings on Form 6-K and Form 20F. Madge, the Madge logo, Madge Perspective, Active Broadcast Control, Ringrunner, Smart Ringswitch, Smart Ringswitch Express, Smart Ringswitch Plus are trademarks, and in some jurisdictions may be registered trademarks, of Madge Networks or its affiliated companies Affiliated Companies A situation that occurs when one company owns a minority interest (less than 50%) in another company. Also refers to companies that are related to each other in some way. Notes: An affiliated company is sometimes referred to as a subsidiary. . Other trademarks appearing in this document are the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Keene Communications
Deborah Hermans, +44 171 439 7227
Email: madge@keene.com
or
Madge Networks
Zoe White, +44 1753 661 000
zwhite@madge.com
or
Technology Solutions, Inc.
Ana Rahona, 212/696-2000
arahona@tsipr.com
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion