Sunnyvale, California-based Digital Link Corp has introduced the Wide Area ATM GateWay, an Asynchronous Transfer Mode access multiplexer said to translate, multiplex and switch a wide variety of information, including speech, video, cell-based and packet-based data for Asynchronous Transfer Mode transmission. According to the company, the W/ATM GateWay Access 1 Subsystem, the initial shelf system in what is intended to form a family of Asynchronous Transfer access products, will enable carriers’ existing data transport infrastructures to access high-speed Asynchronous Mode networks. The offering is also claimed to function as a broadband multiplexer for customer premises wide area network access and large private network access, multiplexing ‘a wide array’ of data services onto a common Asynchronous Mode network. It can also be used as a switch for both network-to-network or subscriber-to-subscriber Asynchronous Mode cell transfer and communications, says the company. It is claimed to provide Asynchronous Transfer Mode and Switched Multimegabit Data Service, Data Exchange Interface N by 56Kbps-64Kbps service, full or fractional DS1/E1 Circuit Emulation (N by 56Kbps or 64Kbps for voice and video), Frame Relay UNI (DS1/E1), Asynchronous Transfer Mode UNI (DS1/E1), Switched Multimegabit Data Service Interface Protocol Relay and Switched Multimegabit Data Service Subscriber Network Interface interfaces, says the company. The product converts subscriber traffic to Asynchronous Transfer Mode cells for internal concentration or switching, and according to Digital Link, its cell-based bus infrastructure minimises internal delays for data switching and concentration.
AT&T Network Systems
The product is said to be software-configurable for different services, while the four-port DS1/E1 Subscriber Interface Module interface is software configured per DS1/E1 or Fractional DS1/E1. For example, says the company, one Subscriber Interface Module convert can be configured for Frame Relay, one port for Asynchronous Transfer Mode, one port for Switched Multimegabit Data Service and one port for isochronous traffic. It is managed directly through an ASCII terminal, through direct connection to the W/ATM GateWay chassis or through a remote login via Telnet, or locally via Simple Network Management Protocol, using an RS232 connection or via a direct Ethernet connection. Another on-board processor provides access to SNMP management, file transfer and craft terminal support. The dual port network interface modules which support DS3/E3 Asynchronous Mode UNI, offer a fully redundant back up interface and the Subscriber Interface Modules are protected by a 1 by N redundancy scheme. The W/ATM GateWay will be in evaluation during the next quarter, with production quantities available in the first quarter next year. The price for an entry level W/ATM GateWay system will start at approximately $60,000. AT&T Network Systems says it will market a version of the W/ATM GateWay product under its own brand name to service providers.
