General Datacomm Industries Inc, Middlebury, Connecticut has a new Asynchronous Transfer Mode switching hub for corporate networks, which it calls Apex. Apex provides both pure Asynchronous Transfer Mode cell switching and adaptation switching interfaces for non-Asynchronous Transfer Mode traffic on one system. The hub enables the interconnection of local network hubs or Ethernet interfaces; circuit switched data, voice and video; switching of Frame Relay and X25 traffic; and transport of HDLC and SNA-SDLC framed information within a single backbone network. Also new is the LAN*TMS 480, a high-end, multi-protocol backbone router designed for the IBM Corp SNA environment. It supports non-stop routing by using a 32-port, parallel multi-protocol router architecture combined with redundant power supplies. It supports native TCP/IP, Novell Inc IPX/SPX and AppleTalk routing. The company claims it is the first router to offer an Asynchronous Transfer Mode-ready switching backplane capable of 3.2Gbps and capacity for router-to-router and Asynchronous Transfer Mode backbone applications. General Datacomm is also launching Office Communications Manager, a system designed to extend the capabilities of a corporate backbone network to remote sites; and the V.F28.8 modem, which operates at the full V.fast speeds of 28.8Kbps for synchronous traffic and 128Kbps for asynchronous traffic. No prices were given.
