Jeff
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Switches With Two Modes
ATM-Ethernet combo provides both rival high-speed options
By Brian Riggs
T managers struggling with which high-speed
networking technology to use may have an
answer: Equipment vendors are developing
switches that can handle both asynchronous
transfer mode and Ethernet traffic.
Lucent Technologies Inc. last week released a
LAN switch called the Cajun M770, which has
a dual-switch fabric that can process ATM
cells and Ethernet frames. It will support an
Ethernet-to-ATM card that translates frames to
cells and vice versa.
This summer, Fore Systems Inc. plans to
begin shipping its own ATM-Ethernet switch,
code-named Hydra, which is expected to
support Gigabit Ethernet and ATM, as well as
WAN interfaces. Hydra will also be able to operate as a LAN
backbone switch.
"Products like these really give users a choice," says Eddie Hold,
research analyst at Current Analysis Inc. "Demand keeps rising
above the capabilities of Ethernet. These boxes give the flexibility
[to deploy Ethernet now and] go to ATM if you want to."
While some users are unsure which high-speed technology they will
use in the future, analysts are betting Gigabit Ethernet will be the big
winner. The Dell'Oro Group predicts Gigabit Ethernet port
shipments will far outpace ATM port shipment in the next few years
(see chart).
Multilayer switches should appeal to companies sitting on the
high-speed networking fence and those that have both Gigabit
Ethernet and ATM. "We have limited rack space, so having ATM,
Ethernet, and Gigabit Ethernet in one box is very important," says
David Porter, senior LAN/WAN specialist at the Women and Infants
Hospital in Providence, R.I., who uses Lucent's Cajun M770.
Network convergence is another reason to deploy integrated
equipment because when it comes to voice traffic, Ethernet
networks are considerably less mature than ATM technology,
analysts say.
Fore says its Hydra switch will let network managers extend ATM
voice capabilities to desktops on Ethernet network segments. And
Lucent is developing a "clock card" that increases voice-traffic
reliability across ATM networks so businesses can build more
reliable and fault-tolerant voice networks than those based on
leased lines.
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