News Release

Users Gain Easier Access to High-Bandwidth Applications on the Internet and Corporate Networks Via New Technology

Communication and software vendors unite to propose an IETF
cisco_building_corporate_002-jpg-1889882-1-0
Jan 04, 1996

Communication and software vendors unite to propose an IETF specificationfor bandwidth control


(January 4, 1996) - To help end users get seamless access to highbandwidth applications on the Internet and corporate networks, eightleading data communication industry vendors today announced a new,collectively authored draft specification. This new protocol, BandwidthAllocation Control Protocol (BACP), will help end users simply managemultiple links in a dial-up connection. BACP will enable bandwidth tochange on demand through a standard set of rules, while minimizing the needfor the end user to be involved in complex connection configuration issues.The protocol, especially useful in ISDN environments , also specifiesmeansfor the dialed end of a connection to economically call back the end userusing multiple links. BACP will work in conjunction with the existingInternet Engineering Task Force (IETF) PPP Multilink specification (RFC1717). As ISDN deployment grows, PPP multilink implementations areincreasingly common and users have a greater need for standards-basedinteroperabilty for managing dynamic bandwidth. The eight BACP sponsorsworking together towards this goal are Ascend Communications, Bay Networks,Cisco Systems, Microsoft Corporation, Shiva Corporation, 3Com Corporation,U.S. Robotics and Xylogics.

"PPP Multilink (MP) provides an industry-standard approach for thedelivery of incremental bandwidth," said John Coons, principal analyst atDataquest. "However, it lacks the ability to dynamically control multipleconnections in a standardized manner. The new BACP specification, whenused in conjunction with PPP multilink, will offer users the best of bothworlds," added Coons.

An informational Request for Comment (RFC) on BACP is now in thehands of the IETF and is based upon original work from Shiva Corporationand Ascend Communications, with technical modifications from all of theother consortium members. The vendor consortium will also work togetherfor interoperability testing of their solutions in order to ensure seamlessconnectivity for the end user. This new RFC has also been submitted to theIETF PPP Mailing List to facilitate broader feedback from other keyindustry players to begin the formal standardization process. Detailedinformation on the current draft is available through IETF lists andftp.shiva.com in the outgoing/eng directory.


Posted: Tue Apr 2 16:00:06 PST 1996