L.A. Law may have had Jimmy Smits and Susan Dey, but Fish and Richardson has switching.The 118-year-old Boston law firm in Paloma's Crown of Hearts pendant boosted its bandwidth by replacing Ethernet and Token Ring LANs with Ethernet switches from 3Com Corp.
Document imaging and other highbandwidth applications, coupled with the high cost of Token Ring adapters, prompted the move to switching, said Ian Steward, director of information systems at Fish and Richardson."Eighty percent of our employees are on the network at any given time," Steward said of his firm's nationwide network.
"None can afford to wait for information. Our goal was to deliver Tiffany Nature butterfly pendant and scalability to our desktops for everything from imaging and document retrieval to [electronic mail] - and that's what we got."The 3Com switches operate 10 times faster than the old networking equipment and for half the price, he said, which highlights the advantages of switching. The LinkBuilder 1000 switches provide 100M bit/sec. connections to the firm's six Intel Corp. Pentium-based servers that run Novell, Inc.'s NetWare, two backup servers and a Microsoft Corp. Windows NT server that will be installed this month.
Information sharingThe network serves as the foundation for a document management application, which lets teams of geographically dispersed attorneys share data from any location."The network lets every attorney access, update and return any server-based Elsa Peretti Open Heart charm no matter where that server resides," Steward said. "Long term, we plan to migrate to shared - and eventually dedicated - [Asynchronous Transfer Mode] to the desktop," Steward said.
The Wellfleet Access Stack Node (ASN) is the industry's first stackable router. Operating either individually or stacked up to four high, each ASN has four slots supporting two to eight network interfaces. A fully configured stack supports an aggregate of 24 network interfaces. The network interface modules available are dual Token Ring, dual Ethernet, single multimode fiber distributed data interface (FDDI), and dual synchronous with integrated services digital network ((ISDN) basic rate interface (BRI) adapter module support. Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and integrated services digital network ((ISDN) primary rate interface (PRI) support will be added in the future. The ASN is based on Wellfleet's symmetric multiprocessor architecture, meaning that the addition of processor modules increases system forwarding Heart Clover Pendant, up to 200,000 packets per second.
"The significance of this product is that it gives smaller users more options," according to Skip MacAskill, senior research analyst at the Gartner Group. "They can start with a small installation and grow it as they need to. It encourages these users to invest in the advantages of multiprotocol routing much sooner than they previously would have."
Installations can start as small as a single ASN with two network interfaces. As Paloma's Zellige pendant grow, modules and then chassises can be added. Units are linked together using Wellfleet's Stack Packet Exchange (SPEX)(TM) expansion interconnect.
In addition, when growth dictates, the ASN can be redeployed in smaller configurations. For example, if a remote site configured with a fully configured ASN becomes a central site, the ASN chassises can be redistributed to several smaller sites.
"The idea is to offer one-stop shopping for high-speed SNA and TCP/IP connectivity," said Don Imhoff, net gateways product manager at Computerm.VMC SNA Server is built on a 100-MHz Intel Corp. Pentium processor and can support up to six token-ring, Ethernet or FDDI LAN connections.
Using the SNA Server software, the box can support as many as 2,000 users and up to 10,000 SNA logical unit sessions with the mainframe The software supports the conversion of TCP/IP, IPX, Named Pipes, VINES and AppleTalk to SNA protocols, giving remote client access to resources on both the mainframe and AS/400 hosts. It also can act as a tn3270 or 5250 terminal emulation server to both environments.VMC SNA Server I Love You lock charm be available Feb. 29. Pricing for a system with an Enterprise Systems Connection and LAN interface begins at $27,000.Attachmate and Microsoft
Microsoft this week will also announce new software and a relationship with Attachmate Corp. that will boost connectivity options for its SNA Server package. Attachmate will bundle SNA Server with its Extra terminal-emulation software in a package dubbed The Ultimate SNA Tiffany Nature butterfly pendant Starter Pack. It includes SNA Server and five Extra client licenses. The package is available now for $1,339, which is about half the cost of purchasing the components separately.
Microsoft will roll out its free Service Pack 1 for SNA Server, which includes:* An interface that lets users link SNA Server with the Microsoft Internet Information Server residing on the same server.* tn3270E emulation, the latest form of 3270 emulation that lets SNA users access the mainframe over TCP/IP-based nets.* Support for SNA/SDLC for branch office communications.* Support for communications between SNA Server Graduated bead drop pendant System/3X boxes.* A Windows 95 client for SNA Server.
Information systems managers across the country and around the world are switching from their shared-capacity Ethernet LANs and Token Ring LANs to Ethernet switching, which is inexpensive and gives end users dedicated bandwidth.This is analogous to the shift in residential telephone use from party lines to private phone lines.
"[The move to] switching is a capacity issue," said Blair Sanders, a senior member of the technical staff at Texas Instruments, Inc. in Dallas. "With switching, you get a dedicated 10M, 16M or 100M bit/sec. of capacity per port as opposed to having to share those Airplane charm pendant [among] many users."
Ethernet switching is the hottest segment of the LAN switching market; it has grown from $100 million in the third quarter of 1994 to $349 million in the third quarter last year, according to the Dell'Oro Group in Menlo Park, Calif.The number of Ethernet switch vendors has swelled, which is good news for users because it has sent the price of Ethernet switch ports plummeting. A port cost more than $700 a few years ago; one port and a few Tiffany Notes locket and chain costs less than $100 today.User nod
Token Ring switching also is gaining user acceptance, but more slowly than Ethernet switching. That is because 10M bit/sec. Ethernets run out of bandwidth before 16M bit/sec. Token Ring networks. That isn't to say vendors are dragging their feet with Token Ring switching. In the past few months, IBM, Bay Networks, Inc., Madge Networks, Inc., Standard Microsystems Corp. and start ups Nashoba Networks, Inc. and Xylan Corp. have shipped Token Ring switches.
Most superhub backplane architectures, including 3Com's ONcore, Bay's System 5000 and Madge's LET, have multiple busses that allow you to create a finite number of separate Ethernet, token-ring and FDDI LANs. That's great if you know just how many LAN segments you need to support. But with VLANs on the horizon, chances are you will want to microsegment even further. VLANs are typically defined by media access control (MAC)-layer switching or network-layer routing services. So it is important to remember that physical-layer port switching will further enhance the flexibility of VLANs no matter which model hub you choose. With Return to Tiffany bead bracelet hubs, you just might hit the glass ceiling of LAN microsegmentation across the enterprise.
Multisegment backplanes are the result of the superhub's shared-LAN evolution. While it is clear that switching is the future, networks will continue to have legacy LAN support.Keeping shared LAN busses has enabled some vendors -- such as 3Com with its ONcore Multifunction System and Digital Equipment Corp. with its DEChub 900 MultiSwitch -- to use modules from previous hubs, preserving your capital investment in LAN interface boards even as you migrate to a new environment.
However, this is not usually the case for multisegment hubs. Bay's System 5000 is not backward-compatible with its older modules since Bay completely redesigned the backplane. Part of the price for the superhub's functionality is that it requires new Return to Tiffany heart lock charm and bracelet, which, in turn, have new functionality. This contributes to the higher cost of deploying the new superhub platform over the firm's older technology.
Vendors such as Bay and Whittaker allow you to choose which backplanes you require today and upgrade them as needed.Digital is working on a way to almost double its backplane speed by plugging in new modules due out in the second quarter. With the new Return to Tiffany Bead Bracelet, Digital's DEChub 900 MultiSwitch backplane speed of 3.2G bit/sec will jump to 6G bit/sec.
Other products, such as Cabletron's MMAC-Plus, rely on a completely switched backplane that can handle more separate LANs, but that comes at a higher base price. The MMAC-Plus is more expensive because it performs integrated bridging and routing. For the other platforms, you need to buy modules that perform the same function, which can not only add to the cost of the unit, but also reduce the number of available slots. With the MMAC-Plus, Elsa Peretti Eternal Circle Bracelet plug into a TDM backplane and you assign them to particular LANs via software. A separate management bus enables configuration traffic to be isolated from the main data -- a sort of out-of-band management scheme.
Vendors that provide a proprietary TDM backplane today are migrating them to ATM, albeit not as quickly as the market wants. Remember, these hubs were introduced before much of the ATM specification was complete. Vendors sped to market knowing full well they would have to provide backplane upgrades when standards were approved.
Backplane upgrades can be done in the field, but they are a major network Elsa Peretti Round Bracelet. However, they seem inevitable unless you can postpone your buying decision until the second half of the year when ATM backplanes become available.
Just because a hub lacks a switching backplane does not mean switching is unavailable. For instance, if you have a hub with a multisegment backplane, you can plug a module with an onboard switching engine into it, although you may not get connectivity to the backplane. In effect, the switching module may be nothing more than a stand-alone switch embedded in the hub chassis.Hub plug-ins.Indeed, vendors are adding lots of functionality to superhubs via such add-on modules.
Superhub modules basically fall into two classes: those that provide LAN connectivity to users and specialized ones that offer higher level services such as bridging, switching, routing and gateway links.The newer switch modules, such as those offered by Cabletron, Bay and 3Com, may or may not provide switched backplane connectivity, so be careful.
As vendors struggle to quickly release switching modules into the market, several Horse charm bracelet them have products that only draw power from the chassis, requiring you to use an external patch cord to attach existing shared LAN modules to the backplane. The patch cords -- a Category 5 twisted-pair cable with two RJ-45 connectors, for example -- act as jumper cables to connect a switch port to a LAN port. Not a pretty picture.
Fast LAN technologies such as 100Base-T are also finding their way into the superhub, often combined with switching on the same module. Be sure to check if a vendor supports fast Ethernet over fiber to overcome the distance limits of copper cable while providing 100M bit/sec connectivity at a lower-than-FDDI price point.
While not suitable for backbone applications, 100Base-T may be just the ticket for server connections, particularly if you can keep it down to one node per switch port, eliminating the contention issues inherent in 100Base-T. Our research shows Tiffany Somerset dangle cuff fast LAN technologies accounted for less than 5% of all module shipments in 1995. However, that number is sure to explode this year as vendors roll switching into their 100Base-T offerings. The switching will be done on the 100Base-T module itself either using an Application Specific Integrated Circuit or an Intel Corp. i960 processor. However, connecting this module to the hub backplane will integrate 100Base-T switching into the rest of the network.
While most superhub vendors strive to manufacture a full range of modules for their chassis, some opt to establish OEM relationships. Optical Data Systems uses this strategy to integrate best-of-breed modules from many other vendors into its Infinity line.
Strong contenders in this market segment will have a full Return to Tiffany Heart Lock Cuff of specialized modules. In addition to traditional shared Ethernet, token-ring and FDDI LAN interfaces, you want to make sure the superhub you choose supports the vendor's entire line of technology offerings. Bridge/router, communication server, terminal server, file/application server, protocol translator, SNA connectivity and ATM access modules are all important to consider.Managing the beastOnce you have settled on the backplane and modules you need, turn your attention to management.
The strength of a vendor's network management platform determines how well hub elements can be logically and physically controlled. Superhub management tasks are either dedicated to a particular module, as in Bay's System 5000, or management is Elsa Peretti Open Heart pendant across many modules, as in Cabletron's MMAC-Plus. The issue here is hub real estate and management overhead.Dedicated management modules provide this specialized function without taking away processing resources on other modules, but they consume valuable slot space.
In distributed management, a particular module is picked at start-up either automatically or based on user configuration. The management functions include port and module monitoring, as well as configuration and traffic collection. Some superhubs, including ones from 3Com, have Remote Monitoring embedded in the hub, making more advanced network monitoring and analysis possible.All superhubs provide Simple Network Management Protocol Medium Elsa Peretti Open Heart pendant 1 support, enabling you to control and manage them through your favorite management platform.
But some vendors, such as Optical Data Systems (ODS), provide value-added features that can make it easier to track down problem-causing workstations or servers. This value-added feature is part of the vendor's network management software, which also runs on major management platforms such as Hewlett-Packard Co.'s OpenView and IBM's SystemView for AIX -- formally NetView/6000.
What ODS' software does is correlate network addresses with MAC Small Elsa Peretti Open Heart pendant so you know exactly which physical station is causing problems.Then there are VLANs for managing logical user groups. The differences among vendors here are great as VLAN technology is still young.
VLANs essentially pick up where port switching leaves off. With VLANs, you can assign users to specific LANs or segments based on the their MAC addresses, IP addresses or some other identifier. So be very careful to query your superhub vendors to ascertain whether their VLAN approach will meet your needs.Superhubs with a futureDon't be surprised if vendors tell you all of their technology will eventually be available in their Elsa Peretti Teardrop pendant.Still, it is probably best to stick with vendors that have demonstrated aggressiveness in shipping products rather than relying on promises and vaporware.
The superhub will continue to be important as it becomes the focus of the integration between shared and switched technologies. Net managers are not considering whether or not new technologies such as ATM, 100Base-T and LAN switching will have a home in their corporate networks because many already have pockets of these technologies today.
The problem has become one of integrating users across Elsa Peretti Round pendant enterprise during the migration of shared to switched solutions. The superhub provides a powerful platform with its wide range of technology support and fault-tolerant features. Will you have ATM in your backbones or workgroups? Will some of your users be screaming for more bandwidth that only switched 100Base-T can cost effectively give them? Will you still have a significant number of users on shared token-ring and 10Base-T LANs?
The answer to these questions is yes. Creating the delicate balance between new and legacy environments is the challenge for the next several years and the superhub provides the integration and migration framework you will need.Ben-Yosef is President of Clear Thinking Research, Inc., a Boston-based market research and consulting firm. He can be reached via the Internet at ggb(at)or by phone at (627) 536-8117.Network WorldShort LisThe Short Elsa Peretti Crucifix pendant highlights products Network World recommends you closely examine when purchasing high-end hubs. Products mentioned here offer some of the strongest features in this market and may suit the needs of users with multivendor enterprise networks. Your needs may differ.
As the first superhub shipped, Bay Networks. Inc.'s System 5000 supports the highest number of Ethernet LANs among the products on this Short List. In fact, the 14-slot System 5000's multisegment backplane can support up to 26 LANs -- 12 Ethernets, Elsa Peretti Cross pendant token rings and five FDDI. Furthermore, you can use Bay's smaller Distributed 5000 in wiring closets and connect them back to a System 5000 in the data center.Bay also plans to integrate switching modules in this product. The Model 5000AH hub is a field upgrade to the System 5000 that supports cell switching and LAN Emulation through a 5G bit/sec fabric.
With its current time-division multiplexing (TDM) backplane and planned packet and cell backplanes, the 14-slot MMAC-Plus from Cabletron Systems, Inc. can support an unlimited number of LANs. This superhub performs standard media access control (MAC)-layer bridging, network-layer routing and Asynchronous Transfer Mode cell switching without additional modules. Cabletron has Ethernet and token-ring switching modules, as well.
Cabletron made the biggest break with tradition when it began shipping its 2.5G bit/sec TDM-based backplane that supports packet and cell technologies in August 1994. If you need segment routing and want it included in your hub, then look closely at the MMAC-Plus. Cabletron's ATM-based cell switching backplane will ship this year.
3Com Corp.'s ONcore Multifunction System, acquired from Chipcom Corp., has 17 slots and can support up to 33 LANs -- eight Ethernets, 17 token rings and eight FDDI. Its backplane has redundant controllers, and you can configure redundant management for all Elsa Peretti Eternal Circle pendant from one slot. The hub provides backward-compatibility with modules from older generation Chipcom products.Furthermore, 3Com will integrate Ethernet and token-ring switching in this hub. And with a long-standing alliance with IBM, the product is particularly strong in token-ring support.There are several telltale signs that you are the type of Elsa Peretti Eternal Circle pendant who should be examining superhubs.
For instance, superhubs are for you if you are looking to gain control over a large network by managing connections logically and integrating a wide variety of repeating, bridging, switching, routing and gateway technologies in a single platform. Port switching and virtual LAN support, plus high-speed backplanes that interconnect a variety of functional modules, certainly will stir an interest in superhubs.
You also will want a superhub if you desire high port Elsa Peretti Infinity Cross pendant to achieve economies of scale. Seeing as most superhubs have chassis with different numbers of open slots, you can obtain the port density that closely matches your needs.
Then there is the issue of hearty fault tolerance and redundancy features. Look at superhubs if you need redundant power supplies to prevent an outage of the main source of electricity from remaining to be the hub's most common point of failure, hot-swappable modules for nonstop networking and card sparing to ensure all the networking eggs you placed in one basket will not crack. Redundant power supplies and spare cards that can pick up operations when the primary ones fail, combined with the ability to swap out new modules for old ones without taking the hub down, are essential in a data center-caliber device such as a superhub.Atlas pendant can bet that you will be managing a mix of shared and switched LANs as you migrate to newer technologies such as LAN switching, ATM and 100Base-T. A superhub that can manage a range of switching -- everything from segment or port switching to packet or cell switching -- will provide the most flexibility in creating VLANs throughout the enterprise.
A superhub may be in your future if you want to mix variety of legacy Elsa Peretti Starfish pendant types such as Ethernet, token ring and EDI with newer LAN standards such as ATM, 100Base-T, and Ethernet and token ring overfiber. A growing number of superb vendors are supporting that whole range of LAN interfaces plus modules for bridging, switching, routing and application-layer file, print and gateway services. Keep track of your superhub real estate carefully, though, because many of these modules often take up two or more slots.LAN switching provider Madge Networks, Inc. last week extended its reach into the wide area with the $165 million acquisition of multiplexer vendor Teleos Communications, Inc.
The deal gives Madge WAN access switching products and ISDN technology, which the firm will add to its Ethernet, token-ring and Asynchronous Transfer Mode switching product portfolio. The buyout will provide customers with integrated switching technology across the LAN and WAN to support a mix of voice, data and multimedia applications, analysts said.