Rochester, New Hampshire-based Cabletron Systems Inc has decided to back both horses in the 100Mbps local area network race. Having been a long-time member of the 100Base-T Fast Ethernet Alliance (CI No 2,327), the company now says that it is also planning to develop products conforming to the rival 100VG-AnyLAN standard. Simultaneously, Cabletron announced the first products resulting from the integration of Cisco Systems Inc’s Internetwork Operating System into its line of intelligent hubs. Unlike many of the other companies supporting both 100Mbps local area network standards merely to give users a choice, Cabletron says that it sees the two technologies as being deployed in different environments: 100VG-AnyLAN is more suitable for larger local area networks using multiple wiring closets, or for power users requiring 100Mbps to the desktop; while 100Base-T will find a home in smaller shared workgroups, or for 100Mbps server connections. In terms of product specifics, Cabletron detailed a 12- month statement of direction under the name FastLAN. For both technologies, the company is planning high-port-density repeaters, a modular uplink through the company’s Bridge Router Interface Module technology, and new enterprise switching modules for the Internal Network Bus version of the MMAC-Plus. For 100Base-T these will be designed to aggregate stand-alone 100Base-T devices, while the AnyLAN switches will be designed to incorporate multiple AnyLAN hubs into a switched domain. Management will be provided via extensions to Cabletron’s Spectrum for Open Systems network management system. Cabletron says that it hopes to introduce the new products during the second half of the year, with detailed product specifics and prices announced closer to the time. The new products resulting from the agreement with Cisco Systems include two modules based on Cisco’s 2500 Series routing technology, the CR-BRIM, for use in Cabletron’s MicroMMAC and MMAC-FNB Token Ring and Ethernet hubs, and the CRM2 Media Interface Module, for use in the Cabletron MMAC-FNB.
More modules
The modules are designed to provide wide area asynchronous communications for remote users, says the company, and prices will start at $2,700 and $3,250 respectively; both will ship in 90 days. Further up the scale, Cabletron has integrated Cisco’s 4000 Series modular routing technology into the MMAC-FNB, in order to provide Ethernet, Token Ring, Fibre Distributed Data Interface and Integrated Services Digital Network internetworking. The module, dubbed the CRM3, is shipping now with prices starting at $6,200. Finally, Cabletron has put Cisco’s 4500 routing technology into a new wide area network router module for the MMAC-Plus, aimed at the Integrated Services Digital Network market. It will ship in 90 days for $25,500. Cabletron says it is planning more modules for the MMAC-Plus, and that it plans to work with Cisco on the development of new interoperable standards-based virtual network architectures.
