"The beauty of IP switching technology is that it solves real customer problems in practical
ways," said Larry Blair, vice president of marketing at Ipsilon. "This announcement by 3Com,
Cascade and IBM broadens the applicability of IP switching for Intranet and Internet
environments, which will no doubt have long-term implications for the growth of the market.
We are pleased that Ipsilon's IFMP -- the IETF RFC 1953 -- is playing a role in that
growth."
Technology Available in 1997
3Com's Fast IP is protocol-optimized, intelligent switching technology that simplifies,
reduces the cost of and accelerates data transmission in Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring,
FDDI and ATM LAN infrastructures. Fast IP will be a standard feature in 3Com's full range
of High-Function and Boundary LAN Switches and in 3Com's DynamicAccess' software for
its full range of network interface cards. It will be available in the third quarter 1997, when the
nearly 50 million 3Com users will be able to download Fast IP client software to their existing
network interface cards from 3Com's World Wide Web Site.
IP Navigator is the industry's first carrier-class switching solution for IP wide area networks
(WANs). IP Navigator combines the efficiency of WAN switching with the intelligence of IP
routing in a single platform. IP Navigator extends across the entire Cascade product line,
delivering IP transport with end-to-end QoS guarantees. Enhancements in the first half of
1997 to IBM's award-winning Multiprotocol Switched Services (MSS) server will include the
industry standard Next Hop Routing Protocol (NHRP) which will allow high performance
ATM campus backbones to participate in full end-to-end enterprise virtual LANs. IBM's
MSS provides full connectivity among ATM attached devices at both bridge and router levels
while reducing traffic with broadcast management and increasing performance with direct
connections. Upgrades for existing MSS users will be available and configurable using a Web
browser. The new MSS capabilities will operate with the IBM Nways 8270, 8271, 8272 LAN
Switches, the IBM 8273 and 8274 Nways Route Switches, and the IBM 8260 Nways
Multiprotocol Intelligent Switching Hub. |
