Lucent's PortMaster 4 Concentrates On Remote Access
techweb.com
August 17, 1998, Issue: 728
Section: Reviews
Wayne Rash
Pleasanton, Calif. - Lucent Technologies bills its PortMaster 4 as the highest
capacity remote access concentrator in the business. Considering the device's
864-connection capacity and 5-Gbps ATM backplane, that claim appears to
be accurate.
This carrier-class remote access solution is aimed at ISPs and companies that
need to support a significant number of dial-in analog and ISDN access users,
and concentrate their traffic on to a 45-Mbps T3 line.
To accomplish its aims, Lucent's Remote Access Business Unit (formerly
Livingston Enterprises) has designed a product that has more in common with
the high-end ATM and Gigabit Ethernet switches we usually test than it does
with other remote access products. These similarities include the ATM
backplane, which can provide a full OC-3 (155-Mbps) pathway to each
concentrator module, with an OC-12 (622-Mbps) link to a single card. Other
key features include fault-tolerant designs for the power supplies, support for
redundant management units, complete environmental instrumentation and
support for enterprise management systems.
Redundancy support includes hot-swap management and communications
modules and power supply units, meaning that you can simply pull out a
nonfunctional module and replace it without having to take the entire unit off
line. In many cases, however, the PortMaster 4 will warn you before trouble
arrives. Lucent includes a Java-based management and configuration tool that
can help you keep an eye on the health of your PortMaster 4. But even if you
forget to check on the device, it can selectively shut down individual modules
if necessary, rather than simply refusing to operate if something goes wrong.
The PortMaster 4 supports a variety of Ethernet and T1 connections. The T1
boards will support four connections each, as well as the T3 connection. Most
access protocol requirements, including IP and IPX, work with the
PortMaster 4. Likewise, callers can use Serial Line IP, Point-to-Point
Protocol, Multilink PPP (single and multiple chassis) and dynamic addressing.
We tested the PortMaster 4 at Lucent's facility here because of the highly
specialized test equipment required. The test environment included a pair of
Madge/Teleos telco switch simulators set for AT&T 5E emulation, and an
Abacus line simulator. We used a pair of Sun Microsystems Ultra 5
computers running a "perf" utility to simulate the required number of sessions.
Once we got the test environment running, we found that the PortMaster 4
easily managed a sustained level of operation required to fill a T3 line. While
the testing was in progress, we also pulled out power supplies, unhooked fans
and otherwise attempted to toast the product. We weren't able to accomplish
that, although when we disabled all the fans, the PortMaster 4 began shutting
down access modules as they began to overheat. This was the appropriate
response to ensure that damage to the product would be avoided.
Included in the package is Lucent's Java-based configuration and monitoring
tool, which makes the PortMaster 4 easy to use and manage. The product has
an intelligently designed user interface that updates in real time and has such
features as the ability to indicate alerts in flashing red, for example. Lucent also
has dedicated MIB-II support for enterprise management systems, such as
HP OpenView. We were unable to test the EMS support.
Overall, Lucent's PortMaster 4 is an impressive product indeed. The
connection density is much higher than anything else in the industry and its
speed and capacity surpass anything else that's out there. Combined with its
next-generation design and its manager-friendly reliability and redundancy, it's
clearly the class leader. In fact, the PortMaster 4 may define an entirely new
class.
Wayne Rash is senior technology editor at InternetWeek. He can be reached
at wrash@mindspring.com or wrash@cmp.com.
PortMaster 4 Integrated Access Concentrator
Lucent Technologies
Remote Access Business Unit
4464 Willow Road
Pleasanton, Calif. 94588
800-737-5454
www.lucent.com
List prices: $4,495 (base 10-slot chassis); $10,995 (system mgm't module);
$600 (hot-swap power supply); $47,995 (quad T1/PRI module); $16,495
(quad T1/PRI ISDN module); $18,995 (channelized T3 multiplexer module)
Copyright r 1998 CMP Media Inc. |
