SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 17, 1998--
New Products and Technology Further Enable Large, Scaleable,
End-to-End Enterprise ATM Networks
Leveraging its ATM LAN leadership and executing its strategy of
providing customers best-in-class, end-to-end enterprise ATM
solutions, Bay Networks(R), Inc. (NYSE:BAY) today announced full
support for PNNI (Private Network to Network Interface) and voice
integration for its Centillion(TM) LAN-ATM switch products.
PNNI dramatically extends ATM's inherent resiliency, scalability,
and fault tolerance in mission-critical networks. Bay Networks is also
announcing the Centillion 1000 product family, including a new network
center ATM switch with high-density OC-3 and OC-12 interfaces, and
several new high-capacity ATM products.
The Bay Networks Centillion LAN-ATM product family has allowed
large numbers of customers to integrate frame-based desktops, servers
and wiring closets into high-performance cell-based enterprise
backbones. Bay Networks' leadership in building industrial-strength
ATM networks is strengthened through the addition of high-performance,
standards-compliant PNNI and fully-redundant ATM core switching. These
new capabilities provide the increased availability essential to the
integration of voice and ATM in today's business-critical networks.
"In order to provide an end-to-end solution, it is important for
us to control ATM technology in the core of the network. The
introduction of the Centillion 1000 product family is a logical next
step in that direction," said Joe Kennedy, general manager and vice
president for the Switching Products Division, Bay Networks.
"The unique, fully-redundant switch fabric of the new ATM switch,
and introduction of PNNI across our product line, provides our
customers with voice integration at levels of service they've come to
expect from our ATM solutions," continued Kennedy.
Today's announcement leverages Bay Networks' Adaptive Networking
strategy of providing best-in-class application support irrespective
of the networking technologies its customers choose to implement. As
networked services and applications become more strategic to its
customers, Bay Networks is providing the platforms to support them,
now and into the future.
About the Centillion 1000 Product Family
The Centillion 1000 ATM switch family, developed by NEC
Corporation, provides Bay Networks with voice transport and PBX
interconnection and expanded network center switching for its
customers' ATM LAN and WAN applications. NEC is highly recognized for
its enterprise voice systems engineering and technology, growing
application areas for ATM, and was selected by Bay Networks for its
best-in-class, business-critical technology.
The new product family includes three new modular chassis with 16
(Centillion 1600), eight (Centillion 1400) and four (Centillion 1200)
slots, respectively. The Centillion 1600 switch has a unique, fully
redundant, non-blocking, 10 Gbps switch fabric supporting high density
OC-3 (up to 64 ports) and OC-12 (up to 16 ports). The Centillion 1400
and Centillion 1200 switches come with 5 Gbps and 2.5 Gbps
non-blocking switch fabrics, respectively.
The Centillion 1000 products support the following interfaces:
622 Mbps (OC-12) single mode, OC-12 multi-mode, 155 Mbps (OC-3) single
mode, OC-3 multi-mode, OC-3 UTP, DS3/E3 and DS1/E1 (with or without
circuit emulation).
The Centillion 1000 switches also support high-performance,
interoperable PNNI dynamic switch interconnections with the entire
Centillion LAN-ATM product line. PNNI further enhances the reliability
of large ATM networks and its auto-discovery capability makes them
easier to configure and manage than networks using the Interim
Inter-switch Signaling Protocol (IISP).
Also new to the Centillion 1000 product family is the ATM voice
concentrator, which provides an efficient means for converting T1/E1
voice or video circuits to ATM cells for transport with data and video
traffic across corporate intranets. The ATM voice concentrator
provides rich integration for either enterprise LAN or WAN voice
connectivity with T1/E1 circuit emulation. The integration of voice
and data over the LAN and WAN drives management and recurring
infrastructure costs down through consolidation of services.
"Bay Networks recognizes the significant trend in large
enterprises leveraging ATM carrier services as well as building
private ATM WAN backbones," said Lloyd Carney, executive vice
president, Enterprise Business Group, Bay Networks. "The Centillion
1000 product family enables Bay Networks to participate in this new
emerging ATM space and fills out our existing ATM LAN and WAN
solutions."
The entire Centillion switching family, including the new
Centillion 1000 products, are supported by Bay Networks'
industry-leading Optivity(R) Network Management applications.
About PNNI
Bay Networks has successfully participated in several
multi-vendor interoperability demonstrations and testing, including
testing conducted at the University of New Hampshire's ATM
Interoperability Lab; testing through the Network Interoperability
Alliance monitored by the Tolly Group; and a full production
demonstration at last year's Networld+Interop show in Atlanta.
The ATM Forum PNNI standard is a link-state, hierarchical dynamic
routing protocol for ATM, which alleviates the need for network
managers to use static routes or proprietary routing protocols;
enhancing the manageability of ATM infrastructures. In dynamically
resolving data paths for call requests that include Quality of Service
parameters, PNNI also further adapts ATM to the integrated delivery of
data, video, and voice services.
Pricing and Availability
The Centillion 1000 ATM switches are expected to begin shipping
in volume in March 1998 with list pricing starting at $15,900. The ATM
voice concentrator is expected to begin shipping in April 1998 and
will be list priced at $7,995. PNNI for the Centillion product line is
expected to begin shipping in March 1998. |
