MAX TNT is the Highest Performing WAN Access Switch
Wednesday November 12, 10:57 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
New Study of High-Density Access Concentrators Proves MAX TNT is the Highest Performing WAN Access Switch
The Tolly Group Study Replicates Real-World Network Conditions and Finds MAX TNT Delivers Higher and More Consistent Performance
ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 12, 1997-- Ascend Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASND - news) today announced the results of a study by The Tolly Group, an independent testing organization, of currently available high density WAN access concentrators -- Ascend's MAX TNT WAN access switch and System 5000 MSX/5399 from Bay Networks.
The independent study, commissioned by Ascend, tested both 56Kbps and 33.6Kbps modem connections for compressed files and text files for up to 288 client sessions and found that the MAX TNT outperformed the other product in every test. Please see The Tolly Group document No. 7309 for further information. These test results are part of Ascend's ongoing performance testing program. Please see The Tolly Group document No.'s 7263 and 7284 for information on past test results on the MAX 40XX.
The Tolly Group test was focused on high density products which are currently available for customer purchase. During the testing period, only Ascend and Bay Networks' access concentrators qualified in the high density access concentrator category defined as access concentrators supporting one hundred or more ports. Other products from vendors such as 3Com/USR, Livingston, Cisco and Shiva are low- or medium-density access concentrators.
Recent benchmarking tests, such as the one conducted by LanQuest Labs for Cisco Systems as yet unreleased AS5300, are misleading for decision-makers evaluating high-density remote access concentrators because 1) they use router test methodologies to assess the performance of remote access concentrators designed for high-volume dial-up environments, and 2) they don't use a methodology that simulates a real-world environment.
Rather than using router test methodologies, which use packet-generators to simulate network conditions, The Tolly Group used test beds with 288 PC clients conducting simultaneous dial-in sessions over a PBX to replicate a real-world network environment. This ensured that the MAX TNT and Bay Networks 5000 MSX/5399 were tested in a real-world, high-volume, dial-up environment. Testing was performed in October of 1997.
Highlights of The Tolly Group study include:
A fully loaded MAX TNT showed more consistent throughput of the two remote access concentrators as the load on the device increased. A fully loaded MAX TNT performed with no performance degradation when tested with compressed data. The Bay Networks System 5000 MSX/5399 demonstrated performance degradation as the connection load on the device increased. The MAX TNT exhibited higher performance, up to and including 288 simultaneous connections in terms of ''per client'' throughput and aggregate system throughput, compared to the Bay Networks System 5000 MSX/5399. The aggregate throughput of the MAX TNT is nearly twice as high as that of the Bay Networks MSX 5000/5399.
''We tested the Ascend MAX TNT under rigorous network conditions that are appropriate for high-density WAN access concentrators. It demonstrated more consistent per client throughput as well as significantly higher aggregate system throughput,'' said Kevin Tolly, president of The Tolly Group.
''We have seen other testing companies benchmark the MAX TNT against low- to medium-density access concentrators that are more comparable to our MAX 4000,'' said Kurt Bauer, Ascend's vice president of access concentration product management. ''We have also seen testing companies test the MAX TNT with router test methodologies which do not simulate real-world environments. Customers are hard-pressed to judge the real value of these tests when they are based on test methodologies that are not appropriate for the application.''
The Ascend MAX TNT is a carrier-class WAN access switch based on Ascend's next generation architecture that provides unprecedented capacity at a breakthrough price point. The MAX TNT was specifically designed to provide carriers, ISPs and large corporate customers with a single platform that can support high-volume, multiservice access -- including analog 56K Flex, ISDN, and xDSL.
The MAX TNT uses a fully distributed multiprocessor architecture and a multi-shelf hardware design. Each shelf is 14-inches high and can support up to 16 hot-swappable modules, with fully redundant, load-balancing power supplies. Customers can incrementally add capacity by tightly coupling up to three MAX TNT shelves together as one logical unit. This system can be configured as a single shelf with 288 modems, 672 ISDN connections and 150 Frame Relay connections. It can also be configured as a two-shelf system with the same capacity using one DS3 or as a three-shelf system using T1/PRIs.
Not only does the MAX TNT provide the highest port density in the industry at a low price, it also incorporates integrated security, firewall capabilities and network management for the most complete central site or MegaPOP solution.
About Ascend Communications
Ascend Communications, Inc. develops, manufactures and sells wide area networking solutions for telecommunications carriers, Internet service providers and corporate customers worldwide. For more information about Ascend and its products, please visit the Ascend web site at www.ascend.com, or e-mail info@ascend.com .
Ascend is headquartered at One Ascend Plaza, 1701 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, Calif., 94502. Phone 800/ASCEND4; Fax 510/747-2300.
About The Tolly Group
The Tolly Group provides strategic consulting, independent testing, and industry analysis. Fortune 500 companies look to The Tolly Group vendor-independent assessment of leading edge technologies. For more information on The Tolly Group's services, visit their web site at www.tolly.com, send e-mail to info@tolly.com, call 800/933-1699 or 732/528-3300, or fax 732/528-1888. |
