SAN JOSE, Calif.- September 22, 1997 - Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced its next-generationuniversal access server, the Cisco AS5300, designed to support the growing volume of dial-inconnections to service providers and corporate networks.
The Cisco AS5300 delivers near line-speed performance for as many as 120 concurrent analogmodem calls and ISDN B channels over a single dial-in telephone number. It incorporateshigh-performance, reduced instruction set computing (RISC)-based processing with high-densityModem ISDN Channel Aggregation (MICA&3153) technologies.
The Cisco AS5300 universal access server is intended for telecommunications carriers and otherservice providers, as well as large enterprises that require consistent high-densityconnectivity for subscribers and telecommuters connecting to the Internet and corporateintranets.
"We are very impressed by the early performance and reliability testing results the CiscoAS5300 universal access server has yielded," said Bradley Rhoades, principal engineer, of!NTERPRISE. Networking Services from US WEST.. "The Cisco AS5300 will integrate seamlesslyinto our existing dial access infrastructure with Cisco IOS Software providing a common platform for the delivery of advanced network services and applications."
Scalable Performance
The Cisco AS5300 universal access server incorporates a 150-MHz RISC CPU with fast secondarymemory cache. This high speed processor enables the Cisco AS5300 to easily sustain 120concurrent sessions at or near line speed. In addition, the Cisco AS5300 supports advancedCisco IOS software features such as data encryption, Multilink PPP and data compression whilemaintaining per-user data throughput. The Cisco AS5300 represents a new generation of dialaccess servers, surpassing first- and second-generation products that supported only basictext-based applications such as e-mail and Web-based applications such as Web browsing. Thisnew-generation server enables advanced multimedia-based applications such as virtual networktunneling, data encryption and network conferencing for a large number of concurrentconnections.
The Cisco AS5300 is the first access concentrator to incorporate dual Ethernet LAN ports, one10-BaseT port and one auto-sensing 10/100 port, eliminating LAN bottlenecks and enablinghigh-speed LAN access and redundancy.
The Cisco AS5300 can be configured with up to four T1/E1 Primary Rate Interface (PRI)interfaces, each with integrated channel service units (CSUs). Alternately, the Cisco AS5300supports the same Microcom-based modems currently shipping in the Cisco AS5200 universal accessserver, providing an upgrade path for existing customers.
Acquisition Integration
The Cisco AS5300 universal access server is the first Cisco product to benefit from advancedMICA technologies acquired from Telebit Corp. MICA technologies enable the simultaneous supportof remote access users through both analog modems and ISDN devices, thereby providing higherdial densities, product flexibility and investment protection for both new and existingcustomers. MICA technologies support native R2 signaling, the dominant signaling method usedfor Channelized E1 networks that are common outside of the U.S. Digital modem technology offers"any-to-any" multisession functionality for current analog modem standards, including theRockwell/Lucent K56Flex standard, supplying value-added functions for ISDN channels andChannelized E1/T1. These functions include data compression, rate adaptation and framing assistfor such protocols as PPP, SLIP or HDLC.
AccessPath Integration
The Cisco AS5300 will integrate seamlessly into existing dial server pools based on theaward-winning Cisco AS5200. The Cisco AS5300 will therefore become an integral component in thecarrier-class AccessPath dial access system architecture, providing network administrators withincreased density in a single unified solution. By deploying the Multichassis Multilink PPP(MMP) capability of Cisco IOS software, network architects can now deliver AccessPath portdensities capable of supporting more than 1600 simultaneous connections in a single rackcabinet. The Cisco AccessPath system is centrally managed with the Web-based managementsoftware application, AccessPath Manager.
"With the announcement of the Cisco AS5300, Cisco now has a full suite of remote access serverstargeted toward service provider and enterprise customers, from low-cost asynchronous Cisco2509-12 servers to modular multifunction Cisco 3600 series servers, to carrier-classAccessPath solutions," said Kevin Kennedy, vice president and general manager of theNetwork-to-User Business Unit in Cisco's Service Provider Line of Business. "The Cisco AS5300is representative of Cisco's ability to listen and respond to customer requirements."
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is theworldwide leader in networking for the Internet. athttp://www.cisco.com.
Cisco IOS is a trademark, and Cisco, Cisco Systems, and the Cisco Systems logo areregistered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and certain other countries. All othertrademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
