San Jose, California-based Cisco Systems Inc has outlined a strategy for managing IBM Corp-routed internetworks, CiscoWorks Blue. It is designed for SNA users with NetView for the mainframe or Sterling Software Inc’s Netmaster. The first release provides Native Service Point support, enabling an operator to issue a command normally entered at the router console, from NetView, said Cisco. Routers appear as PU 2 devices, forwarding alerts to NetView. Conversely, they respond to run commands in the form of NetView network management vector transports. The software will ship next month for $900. Subsequent elements will include Blue Maps, enabling networks running both SNA and IP to be managed from CiscoWorks. The company is also planning new SNA-related Management Information Base variables and applications to use them. Applications for Advanced Peer-to-Peer Networking and Remote Source Route Bridging will ship next quarter for $5,000. Others will include DLSw Data Link Switching, Binary Synchronous Protocol Tunnelling, Qualified Logical Link Control, SDLC-to-LLC2 conversion, and serial tunnel; no prices or shipping dates yet. Further out, the company will provide an application based on EView Open technology from Raleigh, North Carolina-based NetTech Inc. Running on top of CiscoWorks Blue Maps, it will map SNA physical and logical units to router ports. Also promised is Response Time Reporter, to detect SNA or IP congestion problems. Both offerings will ship in the first quarter next year. The company said it is also planning tools, based on technology from Netsys Technologies Inc, for modelling, designing and problem-solving of routed networks in IBM environments.
