The University of California at Los Angeles was one organization that a few years ago saw the handwriting on the wall. According to Bill Jebson, director of computing for the graduate school of architecture and urban planning and manager of UCLA's Visualization Center, the school installed 144. fiber-optic backbones across the campus, with a minimum of 24 and a maximum of 48 fiber drops into every building. While 90% of that fiber is not yet carrying traffic, the basic infrastructure is in place for future growth.
"The decision to pull the fiber was part of a campuswide Tiffany 1837 Hoop Earrings process to futureproof our structured wiring plan, but we had no idea that ATM was coming down the road at the time," he said. "We just knew that fiber was the way to go."While users such as Jebson who are building new nets or adding segments onto existing infrastructures are considering pulling fiber in an effort to be well-positioned for future technologies, users with copper-based structured wiring plans have several options to get them to the next step in high-speed networking.In addition to copper-based standards for ATM, high-speed alternatives, such as FDDI over copper and fast Ethernet and token ring, have been geared to take advantage of the existing Category 3, 4. and 5 unshielded twisted-pair wiring environments, as well as IBM Type 1 and 2 shielded twisted-pair cabling.
When the scope of physical change a network must undergo becomes apparent, it will cause net managers to actually rethink their approach to networking, according to Charlie Robbins, director of data communications research at Aberdeen Group, Inc., a consultancy in Boston."ATM is going to force people to think about how they approach their networks and, ultimately, their businesses," he said. "The thinking has to change because the barriers that used to exist between networks are being knocked down with the promise of ATM and the virtual networking capability it brings with it. Corporations must Heart Clover Earrings thinking about sharing information logically rather then physically."
Robbins also pointed out that users should be wary of vendor claims that the changes required to move to ATM will be seamless and painfree. "I'm very skeptical that these various ATM strategies will really work because I've never seen any strategy work the Somerset basic hoop earrings it was supposed to," he said.
"The move to ATM is going to require some portion of a forklift upgrade. There is an impact here, and it is not seamless. Seamlessness can only be achieved when there is no installed base to worry about."A commitment to ATM will also have a snowball effect, McClimans warned. Users can make the needed changes to accommodate ATM, but they should be prepared to up that investment once word gets out.
"If you provide more bandwidth on the LAN, more people will want to use it and then expect it to be carried over into all other aspects on the network, including the wide area," he said."It's the Kevin Costner approach to networking: If you build it, they will come."IMPACT ON APPLICATIONSThe arrival of local ATM will also bring about changes in the way users employ the network since the added bandwidth and power can support a Elsa Peretti Butterfly Earrings class of sophisticated applications that will help users be more efficient and productive.
ATM will support any bandwidth-intensive and time-sensitive application such as three-dimensional computer-aided design and manufacturing, multimedia, compound documents, video electronic mail, image databases and CD jukeboxes, Korostoff says. "It's easy to argue that some of these applications haven't been fully developed and users don't have the need for them now, but they are starting to roll out and will become more important as network needs change and grow."
For the UCLA crowd, the ability to dynamically allocate a certain amount of bandwidth and have it guaranteed from one end of a connection to another puts it head and shoulders above the alternatives."We do a lot of visualization here at UCLA, meaning we need to move huge chunks of integrated data, video and image," Jebson says. "In order to do that, we need dedicated bandwidth, and that's what ATM can provide. I'm unaware of any other Atlas Cube Earrings that allows you to request X-amount of bandwidth from point-to-point and have it guaranteed."
However, some long-haul carriers such as Sprint Corp. have announced ATM-based wide-area services. Other long-distance companies such as AT&T and MCI Communications Corp. are planning to roll out wide-area ATM services (see accompanying story).
If it is to be the rage of local- and wide-area networking, ATM must fend off a variety of high-speed choices, including 100M bit/sec Ethernet, the emerging 100M bit/sec token ring, 100M bit/sec FDDI over fiber and FDDI over copper, as well as switched Ethernet and token ring that can deliver 10M and 16M bit/sec of dedicated bandwidth to the desktop, respectively.To its advantage, ATM stacks up well against its high-speed alternatives, says Kathryn Korostoff, principal of Sage Network Research, a market research firm in Newton, Mass. "Local ATM is an extremely efficient and flexible technology, and the standards are still Tiffany Notes Round earrings, so you know there will be new features available. The other thing with local ATM is that it can scale into the gigabit-speed range, depending on product implementation, while the alternatives max out at 100M bit/sec."
Korostoff says the speed difference should be put in proper perspective. "Some people argue that ATM has a higher bandwidth potential than FDDI, but that is a far too simplistic argument. FDDI has some very key features--such as Frank Gehry Torque Bead long drop earrings homing and Station Management--that are related to reliability, network management and control that local ATM doesn't have. Depending on your configuration and how critical your data is, there may be some parts of the organization that really need FDDI's reliability and control. Where there is simply a need for real speed, local ATM will be a better choice."
ATM's scalability also gives it a distinct advantage, McClimans says. "When we look at 100M bit/sec Ethernet and copper-based FDDI, we're talking about existing technologies that have a finite cap. They're not easily scalable beyond that 100M bit/sec barrier. Circle Link drop earrings beauty of ATM is that it gives you the infrastructure that can go from the LAN across the WAN seamlessly, while scaling nicely from 25M [bit/sec] to, ultimately, gigabit speeds."
The impact ATM will have on the LAN is a multifaceted issue, actually raising more questions than it answers in some areas. One fact, however, is easily agreed on: The technology will require significant changes to the network's physical infrastructure.
Adopting LAN-based ATM will require users to at least buy new adapter cards for workstations, servers and LAN hubs. It could possibly do even more financial damage by requiring users to buy new hubs or switches that have been designed to Graduated bead drop earrings ATM.Adopting a true ATM environment will also result in having to pull fiber cable to the desktop. To achieve the highest speed possible, ATM should be run over fiber cabling and operate in a star topology.
If users simply want more throughput between LAN nodes, then opting for a hub that supports switched Ethernet is a good choice, Korostoff says. A switched Ethernet hub works like a circuit switch. Each LAN node is connected to the Ethernet switching hub in a star topology.When nodes must communicate, the switch provides a clear 10M bit/sec channel between them.
But Korostoff found users that are looking more long term have other alternatives under consideration. The alternatives were uncovered when 256 users contacted by Korostoff and Robbie Forkish of RPTC, Inc. for their study, "High Speed LAN Market Analysis: Customer Elsa Peretti Open Heart earrings, Selection Criteria & Buying Intentions.""If you're going to get involved in rewiring in a large organization, that is a substantial investment," Korostoff says. "Users want a structured wiring scheme that will last between five and 10 years because they don't want to be faced with rewiring every two years as they go from one interim solution to another."
The UB ATM strategy is to offer an ATM switching module based on a codevelopment arrangement with Bolt Beranek and Newman: The joint company is named LightStream. Panditi stresses that UB will provide ATM technology that will coexist with existing networks: and not be a hardware replacement strategy. "You will only need to tap into an ATM leased lire from a WAN vendor," he said.
Like the owners of starter homes that have become too small for growing families, many users feel their local-area networks are busting at the seams from new, bandwidth-hungry applications.And as more people vie for limited resources, both network Frank Gehry Fish earrings and starter homeowners face a similar dilemma.Do they abandon what they have for something new? Or do they a add onto what they already have, leveraging knowledge of their existing environment and hoping the addition will seamlessly meld in with the current one?
That's where the commonalty ends. Network managers who opt for a new environment will undoubtedly explore high capacity options such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology, 100M bit/sec Ethernet and Fiber Distributed Data Frank Gehry Fish drop earrings.
For many network managers facing this decision, ATM is a wild card. The technology promises to provide improved performance over existing Ethernet and token-ring LANs. Yet it is not entirely clear whether a move to ATM will require net managers to buy a whole new LAN infrastructure, including wiring, adapter boards and software, or simply swap out such components as workstation- or hub-based network interface boards to achieve ATM performance.TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW
In a true ATM environment, workstations and LAN servers are linked directly to a hub or ATM switch in a star topology. The ATM hub or switch may also support a few traditional shared media access LAN segments such as Ethernet. Geographically dispersed ATM-based LAN hubs and switches must be linked via wide-area ATM services.
When traffic is transmitted between local- or wide-area nodes, Return to Tiffany technology chunks data into standard 53-byte cells, which are then switched by the ATM switch or hub.Proposals for a variety of ATM data rates are currently under development and range from a low of 25M bit/sec to a high of 622M bit/sec, with gigabit-speed specifications soon to follow. ATM is currently a fiber-based technology, but copper-based implementations are being explored. According to industry experts, ATM running over copper wire could reach speeds of 155M bit/sec, but fiber will be required for higher speeds.
The variance in ATM wiring and speed is a potential Elsa Peretti Open Heart hoop earrings block for network managers. And there are no easy answers."I've got some concern about the continued technology fragmentation that's going on in the debate about using low-speed or high-speed ATM," said Sam Shuler, a principal in the Dallas office of The Yankee Group p. "We can't continue to introduce significant variations on the same set of basic choices. Most network managers and operations people have too many choices today, and all of the options are not of significant value."
In order to integrate traditional Ethernet, token-ring and FDDI networks into this environment, ATM adapters or hub modules with segmentation and reassembly (SAR) technology can be used. A device with SAR capability can accept a traditional Ethernet packet and cut it up into a series s of 53-byte ATM cells. After being switched to their destination, the cells can then be converted to their original frame formats.Despite the confusion, Elsa Peretti Open Wave earrings promised benefits are easiest to envision for a high-performance work group of engineers running bandwidth-intensive applications."Initially, users will have to focus their high-bandwidth in the local work group arena because the net infrastructure to go beyond that is simply not in place anyway," said Fred McClimans, program director at Gartner Group, Inc., a consultancy in Stamford, Conn.
John Boyle, director of marketing, says that a strength of 3Com is "Elsa Peretti Sevillana earrings proofing, meaning that our customers don't have to worry about migrating to future services." As an example, he cites the backplane on the Multi-Services Hub. "It was tested for higher speed services and will support 100-Mbps Ethernet and ATM, or other cell-based services, without upgrading or adding additional management," Boyle said. Network management is unique at 3Com additionally because of its distributed management architecture. Each module "takes care of statistics, and the manager card is a supervisor of the other cards," Boyle pointed out. For users, this translates into less expensive network management modules because "every time you buy another media or LAN card, you're buying a little more management," according to Boyle. 3Com modules also lave built-in repeaters, meaning there is no single point of failure and "even if the management module fails, you lose supervision, but the hub keeps running," he added.
The Multi-Services Hub is often used in a mixed Ethernet Elsa Peretti Sevillana drop earrings Token Ring environment, particularly as a floor wiring concentrator in collapsed backbone configurations. The backbone can support up to 11 unmanaged Ethernet or Token Ring networks, up to 10 managed Ethernet networks, three interconnected managed Ethernet work groups, or five managed Token Ring networks. The new 3Com hub was particularly intended to establish the company in the Token Ring market. Its Token Ring modules provide 12-port multistation access units and can support as many as nine TIFFANY KNOTS EARRINGS access unit interface modules, or a total of 108 end stations.
The ATM plan at 3Com is clearly defined, with implementation slated for late 1993 or early 1994. Stage one of the 3Com ATM strategy will be a collapsed backbone configuration with multiple LAN ATM segments in hubs on each floor to handle increases in backbone segments and performance demands. When requirements for bandwidth increase, stage two provides an ATM downlink by installing appropriate hub modules. The third stage is a collapsed backbone with routed ATM to the desktop
In March, Ungermann-Bass Ungermann-Bass (UB) upped the ante in intelligent hubs with the introduction of its Dragon Switch Module ($900 per port) for the Access/One Enterprise Hub. This created an advanced switching hub based on the 76-Mbps Intel i960 RISC processor. Each Dragon Switch module independently switches full Ethernet bandwidth at each port and can be configured in the Access/One with five modules in HEART LINK DROP EARRINGS 11-slot chassis. Access/One is also available in two-and five-slot configurations. While the Dragon Switch module supports only Ethernet- connections, Access/One supports multiple interfaces, including router/bridges for Token Ring, Ethernet, and FDDI. The UB Access/One backplane, PlusBUS, provides high-speed switching technology at up to 400,000 packets per second, as well as management capabilities. Network management is provided through its NetDirector application for both OS/2 and Unix environments. It is standards based and uses a structured query language relational data base and enhanced SNMP functionality that permits configuration and management of UB and third-party products.
"Dragon Switch is pure horsepower at a multiplexed rate of 400 Mbps," said Surya Panditi, general manager of UB's Access/One business. The architecture is similar to a multiport bridge in that it operates at layer two of the open systems interconnection stack. There are 18 Ethernet ports on each module, and with the maximum of five modules on one hub, 40 Ethernet connections can be delivered. Among the possible configurations Tiffany Cushion Drop earrings an Access/One with Dragon Switch modules is high-performance work group, department, enterprise concentrator, or collapsed backbone. UB stresses that this versatility provides a "lower cost of ownership," according to Panditi. He also points out that when Access/One was introduced in 1988, it contained a high-performance backplane that was not disclosed at the time. "We created a highway that configures to your needs," he said. UB takes configuration to the virtual LAN level to prove it. Its Virtual Network Architecture can create 65,000 virtual LAN segments that are allocated on the basis of work groups, servers, authorization, and management domains. Ports can also be reassigned in software, rather than through wiring changes.
Customers searching for well-founded guidance may discover that the most prudent approach is to locate a specialist who has been through this thicket before. To locate the best integrator for a particular company, follow the course of satisfied experience and seek references from satisfied colleagues. Determine whether a potential integrator has a detailed understanding of multiple high-speed networking products or just one or two. Identify Elsa Peretti Round earrings the integrator is an innovator, an early adopter or a laggard. Then assess your own organization and determine whether you and this potential partner share a common view about what comprises a truly comfortable exposure to risk.ABOUT THE STUDY
"Dynamics in the High-Speed Network Market," used quantitative primary research. An interactive disk survey was mailed to more than 1,000 systems and network integrators, value-added resellers, consultants and distributors. About 200 surveys were received. Respondents completed the survey in April and May 1994. "Dynamics in the High-Speed Network Market" is available for $2,495. ParaTechnology can be reached at (800) 377-2021.
Peter Raulerson is president and CEO of ParaTechnology, Inc., Bellevue, Wash., a market research and consulting firm. ParaTechnology's clients include Microsoft, Lotus, WordPerfect, Digital Equipment, Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems. Before founding ParaTechnology in 1990, Raulerson was CEO of InterConnections. He previously held engineering, marketing and management positions with 3Com, Telenet and Digital. Return to Tiffany Round tag drop earrings holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard.Microcom Inc. is banking on a new, scaled-down remote connectivity product and a new beefed-up channel program to establish it as a leader in the emerging remote-access server market .
After much study, the Norwood-based company concluded that delivering an inexpensive entry-level product that can be purchased by a departmental chief instead of a company MIS manager will increase its chances of becoming a leader among Shiva Corp., Novell Inc. and a growing number of other players.
To achieve that goal, Microcom developed a new scaled-down version Tiffany 1837 Bar drop earrings on the old LANexpress 2.0 product, which has been renamed LANexpress 4000.Microcom's new LANexpress 2000 remote-access server includes most of the features of the LANexpress 4000, but sells for substantially less.
The LANexpress 2000 series, which ships in a server and client bundle, includes support for Ethernet and Token Ring, support for as many as eight ports and a variety of protocols including IP, IPX and NetBEUI. The LANexpress 2000 also Paloma's X earrings Microcom's own 14.4-Kbit-per-second internal modems and Watch network-management software. LANexpress 2000 server with support for four ports lists for $3,999; LANexpress an eight-port 1000 server: server package lists for $5,200.
A Basic Remote Client that connects remote DOS and Windows now, and Macintosh nodes in the future, ships with LANexpress 2000 packages free. However, the basic remote client does not support full Windows graphical usage like the advanced remote client. Nor does it support simultaneous remote control and terminal emulation like the premium remote client.
Pricing for a 20-user Advanced Remote Client and Premium Remote Client are $499 and $999, respectively.
"What we have tried to do is recognize that there is a difference between the Paloma Picasso Loving Heart ring market that is better served with our LANexpress 4000 product and the grass-roots, departmental market that we now address with LANexpress 2000. We needed a cost-effective solution that price-sensitive individuals working with remote users could buy on their own," said McGovern.
Customers searching for well-founded guidance may discover that the most prudent approach is to locate a specialist who has been through this thicket before. To locate the best integrator for a particular company, follow the course of satisfied experience and seek references from satisfied colleagues. Determine whether a potential integrator has a detailed understanding of multiple high-speed networking products or just one or two. Identify Elsa Peretti Round earrings the integrator is an innovator, an early adopter or a laggard. Then assess your own organization and determine whether you and this potential partner share a common view about what comprises a truly comfortable exposure to risk.ABOUT THE STUDY
"Dynamics in the High-Speed Network Market," used quantitative primary research. An interactive disk survey was mailed to more than 1,000 systems and network integrators, value-added resellers, consultants and distributors. About 200 surveys were received. Respondents completed the survey in April and May 1994. "Dynamics in the High-Speed Network Market" is available for $2,495. ParaTechnology can be reached at (800) 377-2021.
Peter Raulerson is president and CEO of ParaTechnology, Inc., Bellevue, Wash., a market research and consulting firm. ParaTechnology's clients include Microsoft, Lotus, WordPerfect, Digital Equipment, Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems. Before founding ParaTechnology in 1990, Raulerson was CEO of InterConnections. He previously held engineering, marketing and management positions with 3Com, Telenet and Digital. Return to Tiffany Round tag drop earrings holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard.Microcom Inc. is banking on a new, scaled-down remote connectivity product and a new beefed-up channel program to establish it as a leader in the emerging remote-access server market .
After much study, the Norwood-based company concluded that delivering an inexpensive entry-level product that can be purchased by a departmental chief instead of a company MIS manager will increase its chances of becoming a leader among Shiva Corp., Novell Inc. and a growing number of other players.
To achieve that goal, Microcom developed a new scaled-down version Tiffany 1837 Bar drop earrings on the old LANexpress 2.0 product, which has been renamed LANexpress 4000.Microcom's new LANexpress 2000 remote-access server includes most of the features of the LANexpress 4000, but sells for substantially less.
The LANexpress 2000 series, which ships in a server and client bundle, includes support for Ethernet and Token Ring, support for as many as eight ports and a variety of protocols including IP, IPX and NetBEUI. The LANexpress 2000 also Paloma's X earrings Microcom's own 14.4-Kbit-per-second internal modems and Watch network-management software. LANexpress 2000 server with support for four ports lists for $3,999; LANexpress an eight-port 1000 server: server package lists for $5,200.
A Basic Remote Client that connects remote DOS and Windows now, and Macintosh nodes in the future, ships with LANexpress 2000 packages free. However, the basic remote client does not support full Windows graphical usage like the advanced remote client. Nor does it support simultaneous remote control and terminal emulation like the premium remote client.
Pricing for a 20-user Advanced Remote Client and Premium Remote Client are $499 and $999, respectively.
"What we have tried to do is recognize that there is a difference between the Paloma Picasso Loving Heart ring market that is better served with our LANexpress 4000 product and the grass-roots, departmental market that we now address with LANexpress 2000. We needed a cost-effective solution that price-sensitive individuals working with remote users could buy on their own," said McGovern.
100baseT fast ethernet, which is expected to gain wide acceptance because it is a natural extension of basic ethernet--the current network topology of choice for most channel members and their customers. Operating at 10 times the speed of standard ethernet, fast ethernet is the IEEE 100Base-X standard developed by the fast ethernet alliance, a consortium of about 20 vendors including Grand Junction Networks, 3Com, SynOptics, and Intel.
A similar, rival standard is 100BaseVG (Voice Grade), backed Atlas earring Hewlett-Packard, IBM and AT&T. Both preserve the basic ethernet frame structure and four-wire wiring. The 100BaseVG differs in that it abandons its rival's multiple access/collision detection (CSMA/CD) transmission method for a hub-based switching system. High cost will remain something of an obstacle to total acceptance by the market.
ATM is a data transmission technology that could revolutionize computer networks by permitting hundreds of megabits per second to move on demand throughout LANs, WANs, and desktops. ATM uses fixed-length, 53-byte cells to transmit data across a network connected by switches. ATM's ability to operate at a range of transmission speeds makes it a scalable solution for many different kinds of traffic, including data, voice, CD-quality audio, and real-time video. However, its relative immaturity and current high cost, including the need for new network adapter cards and software drivers, remains a Tiffany 1837 Hoop earrings barrier to adoption.
FDDI/CDDI (fiber/copper distributed data interface) have been available for some time. FDDI is a fiber-optic cable standard developed by the ANSI X3T9.5 committee. It operates at 100 Mbps and uses a dual-ring topology that supports 500 nodes over a maximum distance of about 60 miles. It's considered an excellent technology for building backbone networks, but is considered expensive both in equipment and in Elsa Peretti Open Heart earrings costs. Eventual price reduction could lead to wider adoption.
The other technologies that integrators believe will follow these three by 1997 include switched ethernet (today's number one choice), 100baseVG, full-duplex ethernet and fibre channel, a high-speed channel (with a British spelling) that uses fiber optic technology and a variety of cable types to interconnect computing devices in small network configurations at speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second.
Contrast these projections with the reality of today's Elsa Peretti Starfish earrings for resolving customers' bandwidth problems. Of the technologies expected to be available by the end of 1994, the report found that LAN segmentation is recommended by about 65 percent of the participants, switched ethernet by 50 percent and FDDI by about 42 percent. Trailing the market are recommendations of compression devices and 100baseT fast ethernet, each recommended by about 25 to 30 percent of the respondents.
In evaluating systems, users may also want to be aware of the services and product characteristics that their resellers and integrators consider most important because this often determines which products their trusted advisers will eventually recommend. The key criteria are a product's Elsa Peretti Apple earrings with accepted standards, a vendor's reputation, competitive pricing and interoperability of components. What users don't see also counts. Many resellers look to vendors to provide discounts and incentives, often in the form of cooperative marketing programs, seminars and sales leads, as well as high-quality technical support.