CISCO, COASTCOM, HP, LUCENT, NEWBRIDGE AND
WANDEL & GOLTERMANN JOIN I3
PR Newswire
Wednesday, October 14, 1998 9:18AM
Alliance
Second Round IMA Interoperability Testing Successfully Completed Between
WAN
Access, Central Office and IMA Test Equipment
MILPITAS, Calif., Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ via NewsEdge Corporation - Members of the
IMA (Inverse Multiplexing over ATM) Interoperability Initiative (I3) today announced the
membership of six additional industry leaders to the I3 consortium, and the completion of
the second round of successful IMA interoperability testing. The new members are Cisco
Systems, Inc., Coastcom, Hewlett-Packard Company, Lucent Technologies'
Microelectronics Group, Newbridge Networks Corporation and Wandel & Goltermann.
Interoperability testing was completed with 3Com's PB330, Ascend's SA100 and SA600,
Larscom's Orion 2000, the IBM 8265 equipped with Mariner Networks' IMA LIMO, the
Newbridge MainStreetXpress(TM) 36170 Multiservices Switch, Nortel Networks' OC-3
Express Ethernet Inverse Multiplexer (EIM), Sentient's Ultimate Access Switch 1000 and
1200, and Sonoma Systems' Sonoma Access. In addition, IMA test solutions for HP's
Broadband Series Test System (BSTS) and Wandel & Goltermann's DominoA(TM)
successfully interoperated with WAN access equipment and Central Office (CO)
equipment to monitor and troubleshoot IMA protocols, showcasing the availability of IMA
test solutions.
The I3 alliance is a consortium of companies formed to facilitate the adoption of the ATM
Forum IMA standard through interoperability testing with verification and IMA technical
and market education programs. With the addition of these six leading networking
vendors, membership in I3 has more than tripled since its inception in May to a total of
15 companies representing both sides of the access spectrum. Earlier I3 member
companies include: leading WAN access vendors and I3 co-founders 3Com, Larscom
and Sentient Networks, and additional members ADC/Kentrox, Ascend, Digital Link,
Mariner Networks, Inc. (formerly Odetics Telecom), Nortel Networks and Sonoma
Systems.
"The success of the I3 in bringing together industry leaders representing a variety of
network equipment categories has created the potential for broad and rapid availability of
IMA-based services which serve pent-up demand for today's applications and enable
innovative applications in the future," said Mihir Mohanty, chairman of the I3 consortium
and product line manager at Sentient Networks, which has spearheaded the formation of
the I3 program. "The I3, in conjunction with independent interoperability lab testing, will
play a key role in delivering cost-effective, scalable and interoperable IMA solutions for
enterprise and service provider markets."
"The endorsement of and participation in I3 by these leading networking companies
should significantly accelerate the adoption of the IMA standard," said Jennifer Pigg,
senior vice president of Boston-based market research and consulting firm The Yankee
Group. "The high cost and, in many cases, scarcity, of T3/E3 bandwidth continues to be
a major issue for users and service providers and IMA holds the promise of solving this
bottleneck and enabling new, interoperable solutions."
Independent Interoperability Testing
3Com, Ascend, HP, Larscom, Mariner Networks, Nortel Networks, Sentient Networks,
Sonoma Systems, and Wandel & Goltermann participated in the successful independent
lab testing and verification which took place September 21-25, 1998 at the
Interoperability Laboratory (IOL) at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). The first
round of testing between six of the initial I3 members -- 3Com, Ascend, Digital Link,
Larscom, Nortel Networks and Sentient Networks -- was completed in May, 1998, and
demonstrated at ATM Year 98 in June.
Inverse Multiplexing over ATM (IMA)
Applications such as LAN interconnection and video conferencing often demand higher
bandwidth than T1, but T3 can be cost-prohibitive and/or unavailable. IMA enables
CLECs and ISPs to trunk from remote POPs to larger POPs, which often demands more
than T1 bandwidth, at a cost lower than T3. IMA bridges the gap between T1 and T3,
providing the ideal solution to LAN interconnection, video-conferencing, and other
bandwidth intensive applications.
About the IMA Interoperability Initiative
The mission of the I3 is to promote IMA solutions via interoperability events, marketing
programs and application showcases that result in increased customer confidence in the
technology and solutions as well as market acceptance.
For More Information
For more information on interoperable products and services based on ATM
Forum-compliant IMA, and additional I3 marketing program information, visit the I3 Web
site at www.go-ima.com. Companies interested in participating in the I3 program and
submitting products for interoperability testing in the verification lab should contact Mihir
Mohanty, chairman of the I3 consortium, at Sentient Networks at 408-473-8032 or via
email at mohanty@sentientnet.com. For I3 member company and contact information,
contact Maureen O'Brien, 650-513-0621, or mobrien@skco.com.
NOTE: Companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective
holdings and are hereby recognized.
I3 NEW MEMBER QUOTE ADDENDUM
October, 14, 1998
"I3 plays an important role in ensuring the availability of IMA-compliant solutions. As a
strategic part of Cisco's ATM switching and routing product lines, IMA trunk and user
interfaces enable Internet service providers, carriers, and corporations to build resilient,
flexible ATM networks with the appropriate interface speed for the application or location.
IMA interfaces effectively lower the cost, accelerate the deployment, and simplify the
operations of ATM networks."
Morgan Littlewood
Director of Marketing, Multiservice Switching Business Unit
Cisco Systems
"IMA has become an important technology for customers whose requirements exceed
the capacity of a single T1 line, but cannot justify the expense of a T3. IMA will offer
Coastcom's customers a cost-effective, scalable solution while I3 testing ensures that
their technology investment is protected."
Jim Dougherty
Director of Product Management
Coastcom
"Until recently, Service Providers have been reluctant to invest in Inverse Multiplexing
technology because of concerns over the reliability of equipment, the maturity of
standards, and the independence of interoperability test results. HP has now
independently developed an innovative IMA test solution for the HP Broadband Series
Test System (BSTS), the world's most widely used broadband tester."
John Nakulski
BSTS Product Manager
HP
"IMA is a viable solution for bandwidth-on-demand applications as it enhances the
utilization of existing networks. As an integral part of I3, we will offer single chip IMA
solutions by working closely with the network equipment manufacturers. This will make
IMA cost-effective, reduce time to market and be instrumental in making IMA readily
available on all future systems."
Amit Banerjee
Transmission IC Marketing Manager
Lucent Microelectronics
"Newbridge remains committed to ensuring standards compliance of our ATM
multi-services platform and its capability to interoperate with other leading-edge
technologies. We are pleased to have an opportunity to participate in an innovative
initiative that will meet the needs of customers well into the future."
Scott Marshall
Executive Vice President, Switching Products Group
Newbridge Networks
"Wandel & Goltermann is committed to the accuracy of our test equipment and view our
participation in the I3 both as an important method to assure this and to help the
industry achieve its interoperability goals. Our participation helps WG refine our
internetwork analysis solutions to assure they meet user demands prior to market
release."
Curtis Johnson
Product Marketing Manager Wandel & Goltermann
SOURCE IMA Interoperability Initiative
Contact:
JoAnn Johnston, 650-322-6245, or jvjohnstn@aol.com, or Maureen O'Brien of
Stirling & Karbo, 650-513-0621, or mobrien@skco.com, both for IMA
Interoperability Initiative
Companies
Mentioned
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Newbridge Networks
Corp.
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