kozel@milano.cisco.com (Edward R. Kozel) (05/29/90)
CISCO SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT DECNET PHASE V PROTOCOL WITH TRANSITION GATEWAYS, INTERNETWORK ROUTERS MENLO PARK, Calif., May 8, 1990 -- Support for Digital Equipment Corporation's DECnet/OSI Phase V networking protocol will be available beginning later this year in cisco Systems' family of internetwork routers. A three-step implementation effort for DECnet/OSI Phase V is now underway at cisco, based on the Phase V specification provided to cisco by Digital in January 1990. Available immediately is a dynamic connectivity capability for DECnet Phase V host computers implemented with cisco's OSI-compatible routing protocol. Next, a "transition gateway" capability, available in fourth quarter 1990, will allow networks based on DECnet Phase IV -- the DECnet protocol version in current use -- to communicate with new Phase V-based networks using cisco routers. By the end of 1990 the ISO dynamic routing protocol (IS-IS) for DECnet/OSI Phase V network traffic will be added to the routers. The three functions will be available as standard features in all new cisco routers, and as software upgrades for existing routers. ****************** [boilerplate deleted] ******************************* FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEW SIX-PORT ETHERNET CONNECTOR ALLOWS CISCO SYSTEMS ROUTERS TO SUPPORT 28 ETHERNETS OR LINK FDDI WITH MULTIPLE ETHERNETS MENLO PARK, Calif., May 7, 1990 -- A new six-port Ethernet connector card that allows a single cisco Systems internetwork router to support up to 28 Ethernet LAN connections -- more than any other router on the market -- has been added to cisco's line of interface cards for its router/bridge family. The new Multiport Ethernet Connector (MEC) operates in the firm's AGS+ router/bridge chassis, introduced in October 1989 as the platform for cisco's Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) products. Used in conjunction with cisco's FDDI interface card, the new MEC card allows the AGS+ to support connections between an FDDI ring and more than 20 Ethernets. Douglas Tsui, manager of product marketing, said the new card is designed to help users minimize connection space in installations where large numbers of LANs need to be integrated. "In a workstation environment, for example, the AGS+ fully configured with four MEC cards can interconnect 24 Ethernets in one box. It replaces multiple local Ethernet level-2 bridges while gaining all the advantages of level-3 routing and delivering superior switching performance and higher bandwidth availability on each Ethernet," Tsui said. "In an installation where the user wants to use his FDDI ring as a backbone to connect a few LANs, he can configure the AGS+ with one FDDI card and one MEC card, leaving plenty of slots for later growth." Based on a custom-designed bit-slice processor executing 16 million instructions per second (MIPS), the MEC card provides a high-speed path from Ethernet, or from Ethernet to FDDI, over the AGS+'s 533-megabit-per-second cBus. Data are transmitted at rates of up to 20,000 packets per second, more than twice the speed of other available routers. Rates are expected to approach 80,000 packets per second as a result of system enhancements now underway. Up to four MEC cards can plug into cBus slots, creating 24 Ethernet connections; with four additional ports available from two cisco MCI (Multiport Communications Interface) cards that work in the AGS+'s system backplane, the user has a total of 28 Ethernet connections. Alternatively, the user can plug in up to two FDDI interfaces and still have as many as 16 Ethernet connections available. Token ring, RS-449 and V.35 interfaces are also available for the AGS+. Like all cisco Systems routers, the AGS+ routes 14 communication protocols, including TCP/IP, OSI, XNS, DECnet, Appletalk, Domain, X.25 and IPX. The Multiport Ethernet Connector (MEC) card, available 60 days after receipt of order, is priced at $12,000 with six Ethernet ports, $9,500 with four ports, or $6,000 with two ports. ************************* [boilerplate deleted] ***************************** ### -------