Stepping up its efforts to win over SNA network users, Bay Networks Inc has set out its 5745 Enterprise Server Module ESM, a channel-attached gateway providing SNA-to-IP capabilities to IBM Corp mainframes, due in November. Based on the company’s System 5000, the 5745 ESM combines routing, LAN local area network and WAN wide area network switching, and shared media access as well as an SNA-to-TCP/IP gateway. The 5745 ESM functions as a TN3270E gateway, enabling TCP/IP users to access a mainframe that does not support TCP/IP. Mainframe connectivity is established via a LAN connection or via an IBM channel attachment. The unit also supports passthrough of SNA and IP traffic, allowing the 5745 ESM to act as a traditional channel-attached LAN gateway, says Bay. The 5745 ESM requires two slots in the System 5000 platform, allowing multiple modules in a single System 5000 chassis. Each module contains an integrated 10Base-T Ethernet interface and supports the attachment of up to two network adapters. Three LAN adapters are available, these are: 16/4 Token Ring, 10/100 ethernet or FDDI. Both Parallel PCA and ESCON ECA channel adapters are available. A maximum of one channel card is supported per ESM. The unit also provides browser-based access to mainframe data and applications through the BayWeb Integrator software suite. The 5745 Enterprise Server Module for the System 5000 is planned for a November launch. Pricing starts at around $12,000 for the hardware with software licensing fees based on the number of concurrent users.
