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"This isn't a router killer," added Frank Dzubeck, president of the Communications Network Architects, Inc. consultancy here. "It is a necessary part of the networking tool kit IBM needs to bring to market, and it will have a place in some SNA environments."

Dzubeck noted that many users could gain what the 2212 promises T&CO. horseshoe charm and chain frame relay and inexpensive Frame Relay Assemblers/Disassemblers (FRAD). Frame relay inherently supports multiprotocol traffic, and many users are already deploying it to integrate LAN and SNA datastreams, he said.

Michael Zadikian, product manager of IBM networking at Cisco Systems, Inc., said the product would have limited use since most SNA backbones are not optimized to handle LAN-based client/server traffic. "There really isn't room to run those applications on an SNA backbone optimized for transaction processing," he said.

The 2212s will come in two models: a PC-based system with support for a single Token-Ring or Ethernet LAN adapter and two wide-area links that support speeds up to T-1. It will be positioned as a low-end feeder node or branch office access link to an SNA backbone.

A larger model will be built on IBM's Pentium-based, channel-connected LAN-to-mainframe gateway--the 3172 Interconnect Controller. The 2212, however, will be stripped of the 3172's mainframe channel interface. The larger box will support six slots, which can I Love You drop pendant configured to support any variety of LAN or WAN links at up to T-1 speed.

The 2212's AnyNet software will convert TCP/IP, NETBIOS and IPX traffic into SNA format for transport across the backbone. A second gateway will convert the data back to its original state and forward the packets to their destinations. Communications Manager ensures SNA class-of-service routines are adhered to and that flow and congestion control are in place.

All of this is done without changing existing applications, and in the past, IBM said AnyNet's Tiffany Key Trefoil key pendant on net performance is negligible. If a customer already has AnyNet for MVS on the mainframe and wants to terminate the LAN traffic there, a second 2212 is not necessary.

In a recent interview, IBM's James Boyle, director of advanced transport in IBM's Networking Systems division, said AnyNet would be a key cog in helping SNA users integrate TCP/IP and other protocols this year.

"We want users to know we don't have any biases; we want to Tiffany Key Oval key pendant the tools to help users build multiprotocol environments," Boyle said.

Once IBM's High Performance Routing (HPR) is available under OS)2, likely by midyear, the 2212s can use it to transport data over an Advanced Peer-to-Peer Networking-based WAN. H PR adds enhancements to APPN, such as the ability to automatically route around failures, improved performance, better data flow control and class-of-service features.

"Because of HPR's advanced features, this is where the 2212 solution really Tiffany Key Grown key pendant to hum," one source said.