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Technology Stocks : Ascend Communications (ASND) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sector Investor who wrote (23162)	11/13/1997 2:08:00 PM
From: Maverick	Respond to of 61433

"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. 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. 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." TNT and AS5300 are in different classes. AS5300 doesn't have nearly as many features and doesn't support high port density and many different traffic types as ASND. Comparing them is similar to comparing a Mercedez-Benz to a Pontiac with the cars half-full, driving on a free way where there is no traffic light, with crusise control on at 60 mph, the road condition is excellent, on Xmas day.

To: Sector Investor who wrote (23162)	11/13/1997 2:22:00 PM
From: sepku	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 61433

>>>Does anyone know if ASND plans or has a test in the works, testing MAX or TNT against the CSCO 5300? The test vs BAY was very good, but rightly or wrongly the market perceives CSCO as the one to beat.<<< According to the press release, the independent lab that tested the MAX TNT vs BAY's top product intended to test the MAX TNT against all other high-density comparable products offered by any and all competition. Unfortunately, only BAY had a product that could qualify to be categorized as high-density...all the others, including CSCO and COMS' top offerings only qualified as "medium to low density". CSCO's products didn't make the cut. Style Pts.