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Volume 3 Number 1, First Quarter 1997
With new interface modules and Release 11.2 of the Cisco Internetwork Operating System (Cisco IOSTM) software, the Cisco LightStream® 1010 Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switch is extending its applications from the campus and enterprise backbone to metropolitan and wide-area coverage.
Several new interface modules expand the application and connectivity options for the LightStream 1010. They include the following:
Also available as a hardware option is a -48-volt DC power supply that enables installation of the LightStream 1010 switch in central office facilities.
Cisco was the first vendor to support the ATM Forum's Private Network-to-Network Interface (PNNI) specification, with software released in 1996. This software enables dynamic ATM routing with support for quality of service (QoS) features in an internetwork.
With Cisco IOS Software Release 11.2, the PNNI functionality will now support implementation of the PNNI Management Information Base (MIB), multilevel hierarchy signaling support as a first step for Hierarchical PNNI capabilities, "any-casts" for group broadcasts, and Available Bit Rate (ABR) signaling.
Several enhancements to the LightStream 1010 switch will be of particular interest to network service providers. These enhancements include:
In addition, the new software release incorporates several enhancements in support of ATM signaling that increase LightStream 1010 switch performance and optimize overall efficiency of the network. The new hardware modules and software are available now.
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Rapidly escalating Internet use is placing tremendous demands on Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecommunications carriers. The appetite for networked information resources seems insatiable, and as multimedia data types enter the mix, service providers must upgrade their WAN infrastructures to keep pace with demand. Keeping traffic running smoothly on the main network thoroughfares rests with a handful of large organizations such as WorldCom.
"We needed a solution with unprecedented scalability that would enable us to easily and cost-effectively expand our network in a timely manner as requirements dictate," says Russ Ray, Vice President of Engineering at WorldCom. "Our top ISP customers are experiencing huge demand for Internet services. It's up to us to provide the necessary capacity--and lots of it. Cisco's StrataCom® BPXTM switches give us a high-speed, high-capacity, multimedia-capable backbone."
WorldCom recently added 18 StrataCom BPX switches and 11 StrataCom AXISTM shelves to its worldwide network, each with a maximum capacity of 20 gigabits per second. That brings to 42 the total number of StrataCom BPX switches installed in WorldCom's extensive ATM network.
One of the largest telecommunications companies in the USA, WorldCom offers domestic and international voice, data, and video services to business customers, other carriers, and the residential market. The company operates a nationwide digital fiber-optic network, and its worldwide network capacity makes it a key player in the overall Internet infrastructure.
"With full redundancy and hot-swappable modules, the StrataCom BPX products meet WorldCom's critical reliability and availability requirements," Ray says. "The ability to manage hardware failures and software upgrades with minimal cell loss allows us to provide a robust and extremely reliable ATM service."
Ray and other WorldCom engineers especially like the way the StrataCom BPX switch continuously monitors trunk utilization throughout the network--adjusting bandwidth to all connections, proactively avoiding queuing delays, and virtually eliminating cell losses.
With the addition of the new StrataCom BPX switches, WorldCom is increasing its capacity significantly, giving it the ability to handle more than one million packets per second across the USA. When all 42 StrataCom BPX units are in place, the WorldCom network will be able to scale to more than 100 million packets per second, enabling the carrier to support extensive Internet growth going forward.
The StrataCom BPX ATM switches are the industry's first to be fully compliant with the ATM Forum's Traffic Management Specification 4.0. This compliance allows WorldCom to rapidly deploy new services to its customers while continuing to maximize existing network infrastructures.
The new ATM backbone will operate at speeds of up to OC-3, with further expansion to OC-12 planned for later this year. In addition to offering support for ATM and Frame Relay nationwide and in more than 20 countries worldwide, WorldCom is now able to support T1 and DS3 frame/ATM access in more than 20 cities throughout the USA. The service provider is also offering commercial Available Bit Rate (ABR) services on all of its T1 connections, making it the first end-to-end ABR network in the country.
"Cisco's StrataCom BPX/AXIS switches are fast, highly scalable, and extremely reliable," Ray concludes. "With Cisco's StratmTM technology and Tag Switching, these switches give us a high-speed, high-capacity, multimedia-capable backbone that is well-suited for the transport of voice, data, and video."
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Cisco recently launched the ATM Associates program, a joint interoperability, marketing, and reference selling program designed to make it easier and less expensive to use Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology for a single, multiservice campus backbone infrastructure.
Cisco will work closely with 11 other leading vendors to provide customers with complete solutions. "With our ATM Associates program, Cisco and the participating vendors are giving customers access to a host of complementary products that enable them to deploy complete solutions over Cisco ATM networks," says Steve Pomeroy, ATM Associates Program Manager for Cisco.
Products include ATM video compression/decompression systems (codecs), ATM network adapter cards for servers and high-performance workstations, ATM network monitoring and analysis tools, and ATM security and encryption systems.
The ATM Associates program allows customers to choose the best products for their needs from any one of several vendors; for example, a customer may choose from four different vendors' advanced video codecs. These systems, used with Cisco LightStream® 1010 ATM switches, will give customers complete, highly integrated solutions for transporting interactive or broadband video over ATM backbones.
Associate members will ensure that all products adhere to the latest ATM Forum standards and have been tested for interoperability, allowing customers to reduce implementation costs and deploy complete solutions quickly and easily. Cisco plans to add more companies and new product categories to the program and to provide an up-to-date listing for these companies and products. For more information on the program, the companies, and their products, see http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/730/associates/index.html.
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