Nine Solutions for an ATM Upgrade Fore Systems' Solution Summary FORE Systems believes today's applications benefit from scalable, flexible, high-performance networks implementing ATM switches and ATM-attached servers in the core and a switched solution to the desktop. FORE is the only vendor offering a complete ATM-based product line using a single software platform, ForeThought Internetworking Software, from the desktop across wide-area networks, and managed by ForeView Network Management Software. · Improve server access, ease administration, reduce downtime. Centrally locating the servers in the Administration building and attaching them directly to the ATM backbone at 155 Mbps improves server access, eases administration and reduces downtime. FORE's support for multiple traffic priorities, combined with advanced ForeThought Bandwidth Management, will provide higher network utilization and protect mission-critical database inquiries from bursty server traffic. Additionally, key servers can be dual-homed using FORE's unique load-balancing capabilities to improve performance, reduce latency and enhance fault tolerance. · Reduce congestion and collision domains. Replacing repeaters with FORE's PowerHub network access switches isolates collision domains, reducing the number of users per segment from more than 1,000 to fewer than 50. Further performance enhancements are achieved by moving more than 75 percent of users to dedicated 10-Mbps ports on ForeRunner ES-3810 Ethernet switches. · Ensure fault tolerance. ForeRunner ASX-200BX and ASX-1000 ATM switches have fault-tolerant features, including redundant load-sharing power supplies and cords, r edundant fans, hot-swappable switch components and environmental monitoring. PowerHubs also feature redundant power supplies. · Provide scalable, cost-effective infrastructure lasting more than five years. Adding ATM switches increases processing power, bandwidth and intelligence. ForeThought Private Network-to-Network Interface (PNNI) is the industry's only hierarchical PNNI implementation, scaling to 2,500 switches. ForeRunner network modules are interchangeable and can be redeployed as the network evolves, preserving existing investment. · Support integrated media services and video traffic in the multimedia lab. FORE Systems' ATM switches provide the most advanced bandwidth management capabilities in the industry, including Smart Buffers, Per-VC queuing, packet-level discard and support for dual leaky buckets-- capabilities essential to providing guaranteed quality of service and effective implementation of integrated media services. Network Compu ting's Evaluation of FORE's RFP The FORE Systems RFP provides XYZ with a unique balance of switched and shared Ethernet and a powerful ATM backbone. The FORE proposal gives XYZ a network that exceeds its immediate bandwidth needs, supports its multimedia training lab and leaves plenty of room for growth at the edge of the netw ork. It deserves to get the RFP bid for the ATM upgrade. At the heart of FORE's solution are three ASX-1000 backbone switches. These switches, which form the core of the network, are connected via OC-12 622-Mbps ATM connections, with a minimum of 310 Mbps of OC-3 connections going to the campus buildings. The departments with the highest volumes of traffic, Engineering and Sales & Support, are connected via OC-12 622-Mbps connections with 155-Mbps load-sharing backup connections. Under the plan FORE suggests, XYZ's servers are connected directly to the ATM backbone via OC-3 155-Mbps connections. At the edge of the network, FORE uses its PowerHub 6000 , PowerHub 7000 and ES-3810 Ethernet switches to provide switched network ports where they are needed most. The FORE solution gives XYZ a complete backbone overhaul in the first phase of deployment. By the end of Phase 2, more than 60 percent of the users will have been moved to switched Ethernet ports, with room to add more switched ports as demand dictates. Finally, FORE's RFP provides an excellent ATM25 solution for XYZ's multimedia training lab, including dedicated hardware to convert National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) standard video directly into ATM video streams that can be multicast to the desktop. The solution is rounded off with a single management platform, ForeView, which lets XYZ manage its entire network from a centralized point. The ATM backbone in FORE's solution extends all the way to the wiring closet. It starts in the basement, where a single ASX-200BX provides connectivity between the network operations center (NOC) and the floors above. By placing a single ASX-200BX in the basement of every building, FORE has balanced cost with availability. Should one of the ASX-200BXs fail, the entire building would be without service. The advantage to this is the much lower cost of deployment, about $2.37 million, which includes the cost of ATM-155 and ATM-25 adapters for the servers and multimedia lab, but doesn't specifically addre ss our need for SNA connectivity (see "Pricing and Ports" chart on page 68).

View the RFP documentation and diagrams Windows NT Versus Unix: The Chase Is On by Dan Backman Updated May 12, 1997