StrataCom Inc has developed a new signaling interface designed to alleviate bottleneck problems between dial access servers and Frame Relay switches, but the San Jose, California-based company is pursuing a rather bizarre route to getting the specification into the public domain. Although the specification – dubbed the Dial Access Server Interface – will be presented to the Frame Relay Forum this summer for consideration as a standard, StrataCom is not yet giving it away to rival switch vendors, although it is being offered freely to remote access server vendors. If the Forum adopts it however, it will of course be freely available to switch vendors. Remote access vendors Ascend Communications Inc, Microcom Corp and ControlWare Inc have already signed up to support Dial Access Server Interface, as has Cisco Systems Inc, which is in the process of acquiring StrataCom (CI No 2,907). DASI is designed to improve the efficiency of dial-up and ISDN Basic Rate Interface access to central switches, by enabling permanent virtual circuits to be dynamically allocated without the need for upgrading Frame Relay equipment to support switched virtual circuits. Specifically, it passes the task of establishing permanent virtual circuits from the switch, to the remote access server, meaning that the permanent virtual circuit is only live when it is active; in this way, claims the company, its Frame Relay switches can support more sessions concurrently. Dial Access Server Interface will s upport analog, Point to Point Protocol, and Serial Line Interface Protocol traffic, says StrataCom. StrataCom is not yet giving out the specification to other switch vendors because it gives the firm strategic advantage in the short term, according to a spokesman. It seems very likely that the company would have preferred to keep the technology to itself permanently, but has realized that it will not persuade remote access vendors to support it unless it is put into the public domain. Dial Access Server Interface will be available as an optional feature on StrataCom’s INS Dial Access Switching application for $2,000, and as a standard feature on Ascend’s MAX products, in the upcoming quarter.
