FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- January 12, 1998 -- Maker Communications, Inc. -- the first supplier to ship 622 Mbps cell processing technology for Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networking -- today announced that Cisco Systems has selected the MXT3010 cell processor and CellMakerTM-622 OC-12 SAR firmware as the core building blocks for providing IP over ATM network connections in its new Cisco 12000 Gigabit Switch Router (GSR). Powered by CellMaker-622, the industrys most powerful Segmentation and Reassembly (SAR) solution, new ATM line cards for the Cisco 12000 allow users to transmit and receive IP traffic across their ATM networks at 622 Mbps -- or four times faster than ATM links currently in use on the Internet. The Cisco 12000 is shipping with this capability today.
"While several vendors promised OC-12 solutions, Maker was able to deliver a viable solution in a timely manner," said Graeme Fraser, vice president of engineering for Ciscos Internet Service Provider Business Unit. "Makers exceptional technical support coupled with their programmable product architecture has allowed them to react quickly to accelerate the design and system integration phases of our program."
CellMaker-622 is being used by Cisco to build a one-port OC-12 (622 Mb/s) ATM card and a four-port OC-3 (155 Mbps) ATM card. These cards enable the Cisco 12000 to be directly attached to an ATM network, and transmit and receive IP streams across the network at wire-speed rates. They perform segmentation and reassembly of IP packets in accordance with RFC 1577, Classical IP over ATM and RFC 1483, and Multiprotocol Encapsulation over ATM adaptation layer 5 (AAL5). The combination of these wire-speed ATM line cards and the Cisco 12000 series optimized architecture allows end users and service providers to achieve new levels of IP performance for their ATM networks.
"Makers products were conceived to help high performance systems vendors like Cisco quickly bring to market strategic next-generation products -- while allowing their in-house engineering resources to focus on adding value at the systems level," said Bill Giudice, President and CEO, Maker Communications. "Using our MXT3010 cell processing chip and CellMaker-622 software as key system building blocks, Cisco was able to significantly reduce the development cycle for adding advanced ATM services to the Cisco 12000 series of routers."
The new Cisco 12000 series of routers is the first in a new product class of gigabit switch routers to deliver Internet routing and switching at gigabit speeds. The Cisco 12000 GSR provides scalability and high-performance services in a carrier-class platform, enabling IP backbones to scale to OC-12 and OC-48 (2.4 Gb/s) speeds. The Cisco 12000 also supports a combination of IP over SONET/SDH and ATM.
About the MXT3010 and CellMaker-622
The MXT3010 is the highest-performance software-controlled cell processor on the market today. Its programmability allows it to support a variety of applications ranging from integrated voice/data systems at T1 speeds using AAL1, AAL2, and AAL5; to wire-speed SARing or traffic shaping at OC-12 rates.
CellMaker-622 is a firmware solution that executes on Makers MXT3010 cell processor and performs ATM Adaptation Layer 5 (AAL5) SAR functions at full-line rates for 622 Mbps and quad 155 Mbps communications links. It supports multiple classes of service including CBR , VBR and is compliant with the ATM Forums Traffic Management 4.0 ABR specification. The MXT3010 and CellMaker-622, which are based on Makers software programmable architecture, provide the highest levels of system design flexibility. Through simple firmware upgrades, they can accommodate changes in evolving industry standards and easily be enhanced to add new functionality to existing systems. This powerful and flexible technology is adaptable for use in a wide range of high performance ATM communications systems for both LAN and WAN environments.
Maker Communications
Founded in 1994, Maker Communications, Inc. develops and markets a complete line of programmable high performance communications processors, firmware and development tools for ATM switches, edge devices and access products. Maker supplies ATM technology to leading communications and networking systems vendors worldwide. Makers headquarters are based in Framingham, Massachusetts. Product information may be obtained by contacting www.maker.com, calling 508.628.0622, or writing to info@maker.com.
CellMaker-622 is a trademark of Maker Communications, Inc.
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is theworldwide leader in networking for the Internet. News and information areavailable athttp://www.cisco.com.
Cisco, Cisco Systems, and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
