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Alcatel proposed a core router and building aggregator switch with redundant management and power supplies. It also highlighted its support for VRRP (Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol), 802.1w and 802.3ad, though it did not propose any redundancy in the network between the buildings and the core. Alcatel did discuss its "Smart Continuous Switching" feature, which it claims makes it possible to switch to a backup management module without any interruption to existing connections, including voice conversation. This sounded impressive.

Alcatel also appears to have mature centralized GUI management capabilities comparable to those of the other vendors, provided by its OmniVista applications. OmniVista was designed to do discovery and inventory of equipment, even gather serial numbers. The other vendors provide this capability as well, and it's a welcome feature for anyone who has tried to maintain a large inventory of switches for maintenance contracts. Unique to Alcatel's management platform was its ability to manage both voice and data, an advantage for companies that also own Alcatel's VoIP platform. If C2G's plans were delayed, it would want to reconsider Alcatel's offering in light of the company's plans to add 10 Gigabit support and more options for gigabit links later this year.

Peter Morrissey is a full-time faculty member of Syracuse University's School of Information Studies, and a contributing editor and columnist for Network Computing. Write to him at ppmorris@syr.edu.

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