TORONTO, Mar. 16, 1994 -- Northern Telecom Ltd. and Cisco Systems, Inc.today announced a technology alliance for bringing Ethernet LAN routingcapabilities to the new Magellan Access Switch and the DPN-100 frameswitching system. Under terms of the alliance, Cisco and Northern Telecomwill jointly design a router card while Northern Telecom will licenseCisco's LAN routing software for use with the card.
"We were looking for solid LAN routing capabilities to complement theSNA, traditional protocols, and Token Ring feature sets on these switchingproducts. Cisco's internetworking expertise is a good match with ourrequirements," said Bill Conner, Northern Telecom's Vice-President ofGlobal Enterprise Networks. "We're pleased to add Cisco to a growing listof alliances we have formed to enhance our core competencies in switching,network management, and broadband technologies.
"We are delighted that Northern Telecom has chosen Cisco technology,"said John Chambers, Cisco's Senior Vice President. "Integrating Ciscorouting technology with the Magellan Access Switch and DPN-100 simplifiesnetwork management and lowers the total cost of network ownership byproviding a single point of contact for service and support. We believethat Northern Telecom's global presence and strong customer base, coupledwith Cisco's market share, will create a compelling product vision."
The Magellan Access Switch and the Magellan DPN-100 switch are membersof the Magellan portfolio of broadband multimedia products, which includesthe Magellan Passport enterprise switch, the Magellan Gateway carrieraccess switch, and the Magellan Concorde backbone network switch.
Northern Telecom is a leading global manufacturer of telecommunicationsequipment, providing products and services to telephone companies, cabletelevision companies, corporations, governments, universities, and otherinstitutions worldwide. Among its major products are its DMS digitalswitching systems; Meridian private branch exchanges (PBXs) and Norstar keysystems; multimedia communications solutions, including the Magellan familyof asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)-based products; digital high-capacity,cellular mobile telecommunications switches and radios; the Companionfamily of wireless business and public personal communications systems; anda complete range of optical fiber transmission and cable products,including synchronous digital hierarchy (OC-48) transmission equipment.
Northern Telecom had 1993 revenues of $US8.15 billion and hasapproximately 60,000 employees worldwide.
