Giants focus on wide area networks
[I guess we're in the pre-Supercom announcement season...]
news.com
Excerpt: "Ascend soon will take the wraps off a new
multiservice access concentration device for
multimedia traffic called the SA 1200, sources said.
The equipment, due to be announced next month,
according to sources, supports a variety of
interfaces and is designed specifically for multimedia applications, targeting a niche in which Yurie
Systems has excelled.
By Ben Heskett
Staff Writer, CNET NEWS.COM
May 27, 1998, 4:00 a.m. PT
Across the networking landscape, companies
continue a collective rush to provide
next-generation equipment for carriers, service
providers, and large corporate networks, with an
emphasis on support for particular networked
services and multimedia traffic.
Cisco Systems, Cabletron Systems, Bay
Networks, Ascend Communications, and 3Com
are all attempting to
address the needs of
high-end customers that
require fault-resistant
equipment, which also
happens to cover the
highest profit margin areas
in the networking
business--a key driver in
what has become a
volatile market.
Whatever flavor of
technology a customer
requires for links of wide
geographic
regions--whether it is
asynchronous transfer
mode (ATM) or frame relay, among
others--networking firms are scrambling to get their
high-end houses in order.
Cisco is expected to launch an assault on the high
end of the ATM-based switching business next
week, attempting to augment the momentum of its
Stratacom line of equipment with new devices
incorporating higher speeds and densities,
according to sources.
According to a Cowen and Company report, the
new equipment will feed into the company's plans
to incorporate voice capabilities throughout its
product line: "This platform will likely have
integrated voice capabilities and allow Cisco to
enhance its strategy of competing effectively at the
edge of service provider networks where most of
the intelligence in the network resides."
Sales of ATM-based equipment are expected to
grow about 55 percent to 60 percent over the next
12 months at Cisco, according to a NationsBanc
Montgomery Securities report.
Cisco's announcement is expected next week at the
ATM Year 98 conference and trade show,
according to sources.
Cabletron also will use the occasion of ATM Year
98 to roll out a new line of ATM-based switching
devices. One switch is the result of the company's
recent deal to acquire elements of Digital
Equipment's networking business; another will be
an internally developed SmartSwitch model.
Ascend soon will take the wraps off a new
multiservice access concentration device for
multimedia traffic called the SA 1200, sources said.
The equipment, due to be announced next month,
according to sources, supports a variety of
interfaces and is designed specifically for multimedia
applications, targeting a niche in which Yurie
Systems has excelled.
Not to be outdone, Bay announced plans to deliver
a new type of routing device that incorporates a
frame relay switching capability in the same chassis,
obviating the need to deploy separate equipment
within the core of a service provider network.
The Bay launch, which will result in shipments in the
first quarter of next year, is targeted at the growing
opportunity for service providers to sell leased lines
and particular services on top of them. The
Verselar Access Switch 15000 can support up to
672 TI-based connections at prices of about $500
per link.
Sally Bament, a vice president of product marketing
at Bay, said the new equipment is intended to
satisfy the service provider appetite for devices that
support next-generation Net services.
Analysts said the combination could be a positive
for Bay. "They've done a very good job of finding a
niche," said Ray Keneipp, principal analyst for
carrier infrastructure at Current Analysis. Currently,
a combination of Cisco routers and Ascend
switches provides similar functionality within most
service provider layouts, he said.
All this activity follows the announcement last month
from 3Com that it would target wide area needs
with repackaged ATM-based switching devices
gained via the company's partnership with
Newbridge Networks. The new PathBuilder line is
aimed at carriers, with the addition of support for
frame relay and Net access due by the second half
of this year.
3Com's rollout also targeted the merging market for
equipment that supports voice, video, and data
traffic within a single piece of hardware.
The networking firm--largely known for the
consumer-oriented networking card and modem
products it provides--has spent the past couple of
years shoring up its corporate and service provider
equipment story. "This is the first big step in our
WAN convergence piece," noted Randy Brumfield,
director of product management for 3Com's
broadband access division.
related news stories
Cabletron looks to corporate niche May 7, 1998
Bay expands networking plans May 6, 1998
ATM resurgence noted by networkers May 1,
1998
Nortel adds data networking April 22, 1998
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