CS may not be a formidable foe when it comes to CSCO, but as IP VPN services take off, it will be interesting to see how Cabletron supports the new encryption and tunneling protocols.
Cabletron also will allow users, for the first time, to access the WAN using its gigabit switching router, enabling companies to replace traditional routers on enterprise backbone networks.
Cabletron to unleash VPN product barrage
By Jim Duffy
Network World, 10/19/98
Atlanta - Convinced that the rules of the remote access
market are changing, Cabletron this week will unveil a
slew of products designed for companies building
virtual private networks (VPN).
Currently, Cabletron is not a leading supplier of remote
access gear, and is well behind Cisco and other rivals in
access router market share. But with VPNs in vogue,
the company is looking to increase its market presence
by delivering gear supporting the latest security and
connectivity technology.
"As IP VPN services take off, it's a whole new
ballgame" because customers will de-mand support for
new encryption and tunneling protocols, says Eric
Hindin, an analyst at The Yankee Group in Boston.
"Maybe that's where the real opportunity opens up for
Cabletron," he says.
Cabletron's new offerings, to be announced at
NetWorld+Interop 98, will enable users to access
corporate networks and Internet VPNs using the latest
high-speed technologies, including digital subscriber line
(DSL). Cabletron also will allow users, for the first
time, to access the WAN using its gigabit switching
router, enabling companies to replace traditional routers
on enterprise backbone networks.
An uphill climb
Even with the new products, Cabletron will have an
uphill climb in the market for low-end and small
office/home office (SOHO) routers, frame relay access
devices, and remote access servers and concentrators.
For example, according to second quarter data from
The Dell'Oro Group, Cisco outdistanced other vendors
in low-end routers with 66.7% of the $399 million
market. Cabletron had a 1.3% share, which put the
company behind Bay Networks, IBM and 3Com.
Undaunted, Cabletron this week will unveil the
SmartSwitch Router 510 and 520. Both support the
Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) and IP Security
(IPSec) for VPN tunneling, and network address
translation for arbitrating private and Internet
addresses.
The 510 supports one Ethernet port, one ISDN Basic
Rate Interface and a single T-1/E-1 interface. The 520
sports a single Ethernet connection and two T-1s/E-1s
interfaces. Both devices can route IP, IPX, AppleTalk
and DECnet traffic and support frame relay, X.25 and
Point-to-Point Pro-tocol (PPP) data links.
For remote access concentration, Cabletron will roll
out two modules for its SmartSwitch LAN switches.
The HSIM-SSA 710 sports two ISDN Primary Rate
Interfaces (PRI) or T-1s, and 24 V.90 modems; the
HSIM-SSA 720 has two PRIs or E-1s, and 24 V.90
modems.
The 710 and 720 also support IP, IPX and AppleTalk
routing, and PPP, frame relay and X.25 data links. In
the first half of 1999, the modules will support IPSec
and L2TP VPN tunneling protocols, and up to 60
modems each.
For SOHO remote access, Cabletron will unveil the
SmartSwitch Router 100 and 200 series. These routers
feature VPN support as well as ISDN and DSL
options for high-speed Internet VPN access.
Both the 100 and 200 series routers provide IP and
IPX routing and network address translation, and can
be upgraded to support L2TP and firewall filtering via
optional software packages. The L2TP software costs
$99 and will ship in November. The firewall software
costs $299 and will also ship in November.
Cabletron will ship IPSec software for the routers in the
first quarter of 1999.
Other products to debut
Lastly, Cabletron will unwrap, as expected, WAN
modules for its SSR 8600, 8000 and 2000 gigabit
switching routers (NW, Sept. 14, page 25). The WAN
modules include dual-port High-Speed Serial Interface,
quad-port serial interface with hardware compression
and encryption, and dual-port serial.
The WAN modules "will simplify our network in terms
of the number of devices we have," says Ken
Sorenson, director of networks and systems at Butler
University in Indianapolis, which uses Ascend MAX
and Pipeline products for WAN access. Sorenson says
he has not looked at nor made plans to purchase
Cabletron's new modules.
Cabletron: (603) 332-9400 |
