SAN JOSE, Calif. -- March 23, 1998 -- Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced that Deutsche Post AG has completed the first phase of its multi-service backbone implementation as it continues to build a nationwide network capable of dynamically switching voice, Frame Relay and ATM traffic over a single ATM backbone.
Late last year, the European postal delivery leader signed an agreement to purchase more than 200 Cisco IGX multiservice, wide-area network switches and 12 Voice Network Switching (VNS) systems.
Deutsche Post AG has deployed 13 Cisco IGX switches and four VNS systems and is now switching voice phone calls across its data network. By integrating its voice and data networks, Deutsche Post AG has reduced the management costs associated with maintaining two separate infrastructures.
"Cisco's advanced solution integrated easily into our existing network and we are transporting high-quality voice traffic over our data network now," said Sabine Velmeden, head of the network section at Deutsche Post AG. "We look forward to getting the entire network in place and implementing newer, even more advanced features in the future."
Deutsche Post AG is Europe's largest postal enterprise, offering private and business customers a wide variety of services ranging from traditional letter and parcel mail, to electronic mail, to integrated, customer-specific package logistics solutions.
Its current router-based network supports data applications for five operations and service centers in Berlin, Hannover, Cologne, Darmstadt and Augsburg. The network also serves 83 letter mail centers, 53 postal branch offices, 33 freight mail centers, 18 offices of the postal employees' health insurance fund and 800 smaller delivery bases. Also connected to the data network are the different subsidiary companies of Deutsche Post AG.
Additionally, Deutsche Post AG will implement Cisco next-generation ATM technology to its existing backbone by deploying the Universal Switching Module (UXM) for the IGX. This new technology will allow the postal delivery firm to effectively manage its bandwidth into 16 classes of service, bringing unprecedented flexibility and Quality of Service (QoS) to its existing network. With the high-performance, high-density UXM module, a network administrator can introduce an additional eight ports of T1/E1, six ports of T3/E3 or four ports of OC-3/STM-1 by simply installing a single module to the IGX. This capability allows an organization to expand its network without having to introduce additional switches, and because the module brings the latest ATM features and functionality, it greatly increases the life of the installed switch.
The IGX is a versatile, standards-based ATM switch capable of supporting a wide range of narrowband and broadband applications for enterprise networks and service providers. The scalable architecture of the VNS system, a standards-based, high-capacity, voice-network server, enables the system to handle calls from multiple PBXs. As a customer's network grows, additional VNS systems can be added seamlessly to the ATM network to provide switched voice capabilities. The VNS system provides a fully fault-tolerant, semi-distributed architecture where calls originating from multiple PBXs can be serviced by a single VNS.
"Organizations such as Deutsche Post AG are deriving the full competitive advantage of the latest technology with a solution that easily adapts to its existing network," said Juergen Bott, product marketing manager for the IGX at Cisco. "Cisco's leadership and vision in ATM and cell-based technology ensures that early adaptors, such as Deutsche Post AG, have the most advanced solutions in their hands before the competition."
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