Westford, Massachusetts-headquartered Cascade Communications Corp has launched the ATM DXI – Asynchronous Transfer Mode Data Exchange Interface Protocol – software module for its B-STDX 8000 and B-STDX multiservice wide area network switches, launched last February. The module provides 140 Asynchronous Mode connections per switch, says Cascade and, by implementing the frame-based protocol, will reduce the cost barriers to Asynchronous Transfer. It will achieve this, says the company, by eliminating the need for Asynchronous Mode interfaces, providing instead a frame-based User-to-Network Interface UNI to a Cascade network. By so doing, says Cascade, it will provide end-to-end interoperability between non-Asynchronous Mode routers and other kit, and support Asynchronous services at 56Kbps to 45Mbps. The company also claims that the ATM DXI brings an on-demand implementation capability. Through its CascadeView network management system, says the firm, ATM DXI services can be obtained by dynamically configuring ports, thereby eliminating the need to change the switches physically. Out now, the ATM DXI software module is priced at $15,000. Cascade has also announced the opening of a German office in Wiesbaden, near Frankfurt, in a move to increase its European sales and marketing presence. The company says its European sales grew five-fold in 1994, largely due to the fast growth of carrier packet switching services.
