ATLANTA, Sept. 12, 1994 -- The first internetwork router that operatesin a PC chassis yet provides the full multiprotocol LAN and WANfunctionality of a stand-alone router has been introduced by Cisco Systems.
Cisco's new AccessPro PC Card is a cost-effective Access Productthat gives branch office users a single-box solution for connecting to theenterprise internetwork. The card plugs into an ISA or EISA bus-based PCand does not use the PC's CPU.
The AccessPro PC Card is the result of an October 1993agreement between Cisco and Microsoft that called for development of a full-function,board-level remote access router for Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Serverenvironments. Based on the technology in the stand-alone Cisco 2500entry-level router, the new card provides all of the LAN, WAN and switchedservice functions supported in Cisco's Internetwork Operating System (IOS), but at PC module pricing.
In addition, AT&T is developing a MicroChannel bus version of Cisco'sAccessPro PC Card under the terms of a technology transfer agreementbetween the two firms.
Ethernet and Token Ring Versions Now; ISDN to Come
The AccessPro PC Card includes one Ethernet or Token Ring port, onesynchronous serial port (link speeds up to 4 Mbps) and one asynchronousserial port (link speed up to 38.4 Kbps). ISDN Basic Rate Interface (BRI)support will be added later this year.Kevin Kennedy, Cisco's director of remote access products, said, "TheAccessPro PC Card leverages users' existing PC platforms by puttingfull-function routing capability right inside those platforms. Thislow-cost approach lets branch offices share information easily andinexpensively throughout the enterprise."
The new card is suited for a wide variety of uses, includingdial-on-demand routing to minimize WAN access costs for remote sites;asynchronous dial backup to back up a failed or congested synchronous line;packet-switched services such as Frame Relay, X.25 and SMDS; and IBM hostconnectivity through the card's T1-speed SDLC capability.
Its low cost and ease of integration are expected to make the AccessProPC Card attractive to a wide range of system integrators. "A key sellingpoint for integrators selling AccessPro into companies that already useCisco stand-alone routers will be that their customers need no new trainingto use the PC modules," Kennedy added.
No Separate Configuration Console Needed
Easy to administer, the AccessPro PC Card uses the PC monitor forconfiguration display and requires no changes to existing PC serverapplications. Cisco's AutoInstall feature is supported for fast, economicalrouter installation. Flash EPROM (4 MB) provides for fast, reliablesoftware updates. The card can be centrally managed by the CiscoWorks router management applications, and easily configured using Cisco'sConfiguration Builder, which runs under Windows and Windows NT.The AccessPro PC Card is transparent to a PC software reboot,maximizing the reliability of routing applications.
Customers can choose from three feature sets of Cisco's IOS softwarefor the AccessPro PC Card. The IOS IP feature set includes the IP protocol,transparent and source-route bridging, X.25, Frame Relay, HDLC, PPP,dial-on-demand routing, and the IGRP, RIP, OSPF, BGP and EGP routingprotocols; as well as such IBM-oriented features as remote source-routebridging, local acknowledgment, NetBIOS name caching, proxy explorer andClass of Service LU address prioritization. The Desktop feature setincludes all IOS IP features plus IPX, AppleTalkand DECnet PhaseIV. The Enterprise feature set includes all Cisco-supported protocols, WANtechnologies, IBM features and protocol translation software for X.25,Telnet and DEC LAT environments.
Pricing and Availability
The Ethernet version of the AccessPro PC Card, available immediately,is priced from $1,995 to $3,495 (U.S. list), depending on the IOS featureset selected. The Token Ring version, available in October, is priced from$2,495 to $3,995 (U.S. list), depending on the IOS feature set selected.
Posted: Wed Dec 9 12:01:38 PST 1998
