San Jose, California-based Cisco Systems Inc has added two interface boards to its mid-range 4500 router (CI No 2,646). The first of these, the OC-3 STS-3c/STM-1 Network Processor Module, is a 155Mbps Asynchronous Transfer Mode module that is said to provide multimode data transmission and native Asynchronous Mode cell processing, eliminating the need for an external Asynchronous Mode DSU. Support for the ATM Forum’s RFC 1577 is claimed, while support for the forum’s LAN Emulation specification will be added later in the year. Point-to-multipoint signalling is also supported, according to the company. The product is shipping now, priced at $9,500 for use with single-mode fibre, or $11,500 for multimode. The second module, the Ethernet Network Processor, triples the port density of the 4500 by providing six 10Base-T Ethernet ports. It will be out in August for $6,000.
