Cisco IMA entries built for speed

Electronic News, July 29, 1996

San Jose, Calif.--Cisco Systems introduced several asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) inverse multiplexing (IMA) products, designed to lower the cost and simplify the operation of broadband networks. The new products provide Internet access at T1/E1 speeds between 1.544 megabits-per-second and 2.048Mps and at T3/E3 speeds between 45Mps and 34Mps.

Unlike bit-based inverse multiplexing, which requires synchronization of T1/E1 links, IMA products are cell-based, allowing network managers to run connections across multiple carrier networks and maintain ATM quality of service features. By using ATM networking techniques, they enable high-speed connections at speeds ranging from 1.5Mps to 16Mps. IMA modules will initially support an interim specification for ATM inverse multiplexing developed by StrataCom, with free upgrades once a final IMA standard is available from the ATM Forum.

Cisco plans to make IMA a strategic part of its ATM product lines, which include Lightstream 1010 campus ATM switches and Cisco 7000 family of routers. The IMA modules will initially support trunk connections between StrataCom BPX switches at speeds from 1.544Mps to 16Mps and are priced at $18,000.

Cisco also released a high-performance, low-latency, standalone Token Ring switch for the workgroup switching market. The Catalyst 2600 provides customers with low-cost Token Ring switch ports that can be used for ring segment microsegmentation or dedicated, full-duplex attachment of file servers and workstations. It uses IEEE 802.5 standards to provide dedicated Token Ring station attachment and full-duplex data transmission, permitting dedicated switch port connections to busy file servers and other devices.

The Catalyst 2600 Token Ring switch in a 16-port configuration sells for $9,995. Two feature modules are also available: a four-port copper Token Ring and two-port fiber Token Ring. Each model sells for $1,600.

In addition, Cisco began volume shipments of LocalDirector, a network hardware device that allows Websites to accommodate more users by distributing traffic across multiple servers. LocalDirector acts as a transparent front end to a group of servers, distributing workload to the most available server and enabling network managers to transparently add and remove servers from a group and manage a single IP address for a collection of Web servers and operating systems. It supports more than one million simultaneous TCP sessions and features a real-time kernel that provides over 45Mps of throughput with support for 10BaseT and 100BaseTX Ethernet ports. LocalDirector is priced at $32,000.