LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- May 11, 1999 -- AT&T today unveiled its strategy for providing companies that use SNA with a path for easily evolving their global networks from SNA to an IP-based Virtual Private Network (VPN), incorporating SNA applications and users.
The first in a series of offers to support the SNA-to-IP strategy is an enhanced managed service targeted at global enterprises dealing with the challenges of integrating SNA and IP networks. The offerings are designed to optimize the performance of SNA in multiprotocol environments.AT&T's Managed Data Network Services with SNA enhancements deliver the elements required to design, build, implement, manage and operate a global wide area data network, the company said.
"Last week we completed the U.S. phase of our acquisition of the IBM Global Network, and renamed it AT&T Global Network Services (AGNS)," said Rick Roscitt, president and CEO, AT&T Solutions Group. "Today, we're announcing enhancements that leverage our expertise in SNA, and this is only the first of many contributions AGNS will make as we transition its expertise into AT&T to enhance our business and the capabilities we offer clients."
Bruce Jackson, vice president, global offering management and marketing for AT&T Global Network Services, said: "The strategy we are executing and the enhancements we are announcing are a direct result of our work with Cisco Systems over the past nine months. We have a common vision of the options customers will need to move forward and the technologies and services to support them."
AT&T Global Network Services provides SNA customers a fully-managed, global WAN service, including full network configuration support, to link sites requiring SNA and TCP/IP applications. Together with Cisco, AT&T has developed a migration blueprint for customers making the transition from SNA to IP-based networks.
"SNA is a critical piece of the insurance industry business and we're enthusiastic about working with AT&T Global Network Services on their enhanced SNA offerings," said Gene Hengel, vice president of product management for IVANS (Insurance Value Added Network Services). "With the transition plan AT&T is mapping out for us, we'll be helping our customers - 30,000 independent insurance agents and 500 major insurance companies around the country - move to the more flexible and cost-effective IP standard, while maintaining the security and reliability of their SNA applications. At the same time, we're protecting the investment the insurance industry has made in its SNA platform."
AT&T Global Network Services has joined the Cisco SNA/IP Integration Partner program for delivering these enhanced SNA/IP services. Combining AT&T Global Network Services' unmatched global reach and expertise in SNA internetworking with Cisco's market-leading SNA/IP technology will provide a compelling business proposition to domestic and multinational customers.
"We are delighted AT&T Global Network Services chose to align with Cisco to provide the technology that enables this multiprotocol managed networking solution," said Selby Wellman, senior vice president, InterWorks Business Division, Cisco Systems.
AT&T Global Network Services is deploying Cisco's latest SNA technology for enhanced network management, traffic prioritization and data flow control for improved performance for Managed Data Network Services SNA customers. Using the CiscoBlue Maps and SNA View tools gives AT&T enhanced visibility of customer SNA devices and better correlation and mapping of frame relay and router resources used in support of SNA applications. This improves trouble isolation and response through the frame relay and router networks and allows AT&T to take corrective action when an SNA resource is not active.
Priority Queuing and Custom Queuing technologies in customer site routers will prioritize traffic for optimal service response times on delay-sensitive SNA data traffic. This will be coupled with enhanced prioritization for SNA PVCs provisioned across the AT&T Global Network Services frame relay backbone.
Improved data flow control is achieved through traffic shaping techniques which provide consistent throughput and end-to-end service to maximize network performance. These techniques use network congestion indicators efficiently while minimizing packet loss, which can cause delays and retransmissions. The result is more reliable, consistently performing SNA and IP data networks.
These service improvements will become available in the U.S. in June, in Europe in the third quarter and in Asia and Latin America by the end of the year. Additional SNA-to-IP integration services are under development.
About AT&T
AT&T is the world's premier provider of voice and data communications, with more than 80 million customers, including businesses, government and consumers. AT&T runs the world's largest, most powerful long-distance network and the largest wireless network in North America. The company is a leading supplier of data and Internet services for businesses and the nation's largest direct Internet service provider to consumers. AT&T also provides local telephone service to a growing number of businesses.Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet.For more information visit Cisco PR Contacts
AT&T Solutions, based in Florham Park, N.J., provides seamless solutions that maximize the competitive advantage of networking-based electronic commerce applications. It uses state-of-the-art tools to operate and manage voice, data, video and Internet /intranet services, including local and wide area networks, PBXs, voice-processing systems and voice and data terminals. The AT&T Solutions Group includes AT&T Global Network Services, the former IBM Global Network business, which AT&T is in the process of acquiring, the AT&T Solutions outsourcing and outtasking business and AT&T Solutions Information Technology Services.
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