MENLO PARK, Calif., Sept. 23, 1992 -- Cisco Systems, Inc. and Digital Link Corporation have been chosen by SprintCorporation as partners in the carrier's recent selection byLawrence Livermore National Lab, an affiliate of theDepartment of Energy (DOE), for creation of a publicAsynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) service for initial use bythe DOE and National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA).
Cisco Systems will provide AGS+ routers to interface tothe ATM network through Digital Link ATM Digital ServiceInterface (DSI) units. Digital Link DL3200/ATM DSIs willconnect the Cisco Systems routers to Sprint's T3 ATM service.The DL3200 DSI and Cisco AGS+ routers will interface tonetwork management systems using the Simple NetworkManagement Protocol (SNMP).
Under the contract, the first awarded under the NationalResearch and Education Network (NREN) program, Sprint willsupply the DOE and NASA with ATM service at 45 Mbps speedsbased on the specification approved by the ATM Forum.
The first phase of the network will link the LawrenceLivermore National Laboratory and NASA Ames Research Centerto Sprint's ATM test bed located in Burlingame, California.Additionally, eleven user sites (6 DOE and 5 NASA) will belinked to Sprint's ATM service as the initial implementationsites. The network upgrade is a five-year program and willeventually link government supercomputers at 33 researchinstitutions, providing them with the capability oftransmitting data at speeds up to 622 Mbps.
ATM is another high-performance first for the Cisco AGS+router. With the High-Speed Serial Interface (HSSI),customers can choose among ATM, SMDS, frame relay, or privatelines at 45 Mbps and higher, with just a softwareconfiguration change. This flexibility, combined withindustry-leading, multiprotocol routing, bridging, and IBMconnectivity, lets customers introduce ATM into theirnetworks, while protecting their existing investment.
Flexibility is the key of the DL3200/ATM. TheDL3200/ATM provides the users with either a High Speed SerialInterface (HSSI) or V.35 interface, software selectable, andsupports the protocols necessary to process the data packetsfor T3 and ATM transport. In addition, through downloadablecode, the DL3200 can provide 45 Mbps and higher speed accessto various cell-based technologies simply by adding a newsoftware-based function set.
ATM can support both Permanent Virtual Circuit (PVC)transport such as frame relay, Switched Virtual Circuits(SVC), connectionless services such as SMDS, and isochronous(voice and video) traffic over the same Wide Area Network(WAN).
According to Tac Berry, Digital Link Vice President ofMarketing, "Digital Link is proud to be a part of thisprestigious project. Our being selected to provide theaccess equipment throughout the network is just one moreexample of this company's commitment to the timely deploymentof high-speed cell-based services such as ATM and SMDS.
"The Department of Energy and NASA are clearly ATMpathfinders for the internetworking, and Cisco looks forwardto exploring this technology in partnership with them,' saidLarry Lang, Cisco's product manager for ATM.
"Sprint is proud to be on the team that will be thefirst to offer a commercial ATM service," said Dale Williams,assistant Vice President for Marketing, Government SystemsDivision, Sprint. "We look forward to participating in thisbreakthrough effort."
Cisco Systems, Inc., is the leading worldwide supplierof high-performance, multimedia and multiprotocolinternetworking products, including routers, bridges,communication servers and router management software. Ciscotechnology can be used to build enterprise-wide networkslinking an unlimited number of geographically dispersed LANs,WANs, and IBM internetworks. Cisco is publicly traded in theUnited States over-the-counter under the NASDAQ symbol CSCO.
Digital Link is a leading provider of high-speed dataconnectivity products for the T1, Fractional T1, T3, CEPT,Frame Relay, SMDS and ATM markets. Digital Link's dataaccess, bandwidth management and network monitoring systemsare based on modular designs that allow user's to fillpresent day data transport requirements while, at the sametime, installing building blocks to tomorrow's networks andservices.
Sprint is a diversified international telecommunicationscompany with $8.9 billion in annual revenues and the UnitedStates' only nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network.Its divisions provide global long distance voice, data andvideo products and services, and local telephone services tomore than four million subscriber lines in 17 states.
Posted: Dec 15 14:56:53 1992
