CompactPCI POWERS ForeRunner ASX-4000 ATM Switch
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 3, 1998--The CompactPCI computer standard is quickly becoming a major architecture component of
asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switches, Internet service provider (ISP) servers and other network communications equipment designed by both traditional
telecommunications companies and major data-networking firms.
Conceived and developed in 1994 by embedded-computer manufacturer Ziatech Corp., CompactPCI is an open standard supported by hundreds of
manufacturers and increasingly adopted by major companies in the highly competitive and converging worlds of telecommunications and data communications.
FORE Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:FORE - news) of Pittsburgh, a leading global supplier of multiservice networking solutions, recently introduced a family of advanced
ATM switches utilizing CompactPCI. Designed for the backbone of large enterprise networks and for Internet protocol service providers, the company's
ForeRunner ASX-4000 is the first in a new family of ATM switches to utilize CompactPCI.
Major industry players such as FORE have adopted the CompactPCI architecture because it combines several elements important to designers of major network
equipment.
Electrically identical to the PCI standard utilized on desktop personal computers, CompactPCI provides the performance bandwidth required of
information-intensive applications. The standard supports a 32-/64-bit data path and 132/264 Mbytes-per-second data-transfer rate.
The connection to PCI also gives many CompactPCI systems the familiarity and fast development capability of a desktop PC but in a modular, rack-mount
packaging standard. This packaging addresses many needs of telecom- and datacom-equipment makers, including rear I/O connections for easy servicing and
''hot-swap'' I/O cards that can be removed and/or replaced from an online system.
The modular nature of CompactPCI also allows more flexibility than proprietary computer designs. The Ziatech processor board in the ForeRunner ASX-4000 is
designed to accommodate a variety of operating systems, including VxWorks, Windows NT and QNX, with the help of board-support packages provided by
Ziatech. The processor boards are also designed with the rapid pace of technology in mind.
''We like the upgrade capability of Ziatech's CompactPCI processors, which allows us to quickly increase the performance of our systems without redesigning
from the ground up,'' said Kevin Nigh, vice president of engineering at FORE Systems.
''CompactPCI provides a core technology with the kind of performance and scalability we require, and does so in an open- architecture model that promises
long-term, multicompany support,'' he continued.
The ForeRunner ASX-4000, available since August, initially supports 40 Gbps of full-duplex, nonblocking capacity, in a platform just over 4 feet tall that fits in a
19-inch rack. It offers industry-leading scalability and resiliency, enabling customers to deploy a networking solution based on an Intelligent Infrastructure that lasts
over a long period of time. |
