A new Token Ring management module, aptly named TRMM, has been announced by the Newbury, Berkshire-based UK end of Cabletron Systems Inc. The product is designed for use within Cabletron’s Multi Media Access Centre, and replaces the company’s previous offering in this market, the IRM2. Unlike the IRM2, however, which could be used for the management of both Ethernet and Token Ring networks, TRMM is dedicated solely to Token Ring nets, though it can work with networks running at both 4Mbps and 16Mbps. It is built around Intel’s powerful 80960 RISC CPU, and the company is pushing the extra performance which this brings as the main reason for upgrading from IRM2. The new product also brings features including port-level control, status information, ring speed control, Media Access Layer addresses with station names, and automatic station-to-port mapping. Additionally, the company has introduced a feature known as Automatic Fault Isolation, which identifies malfunctioning parts of the network and isolates them. The UK price for the product is UKP2,800. Also announced from Cabletron are two high-density Token Ring modules which double the number of ports when used with the company’s Multi Media Access Centre. The TRMIM-24A and TRMIM-44A, which are two different configurations, work on the same principle as 24-port 10Base-T Ethernet Media Interface Modules and are designed to meet IEEE 802.5 specifications. The price on these has yet to be decided, the company advised.
