Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire-based GADC Ltd has launced Fibre Distributed Data Interface modules to extend the interconnection capabilities of its OpenGate bridge-routers to 100Mbps fibre optic networks. Called the FDI, it complies with the standards from the International Standards Organisation and the American National Standards Institute X3T9.5, says the company. It provides for dual attached and single attached station configurations. It enables interconnection of multiple local area network segments when used with the C12 or C4 OpenGate chassis. The system may be turned into a combined local and remote router-bridge with multimedia capability by using other local and wide area network modules, communicating via a 640Mbps backplane, says GADC. The FDI uses an 80960CA RISC processor and second-generation Fibre Distributed Data Interface chip-set. Multiple Fibre Distributed Data Interface networks can be connected to Ethernet and Token Ring local area networks, as well as Fibre Distributed Data Interface backbones. GADC claims it supports virtually every protocol and the module provides Layer 3 routing for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, DECnet and Internet Package Exhange. It says the FDI supports both Simple Network Management Protocol and systems management facilities; the company gave no prices.
