Cabletron penetrates ATM networks

Cabletron Systems' new management software solution provides single-platform management of multivendor asynchronous transfer mode networks.

Part of Cabletron's Spectrum product line, the Spectrum ATM Services Manager helps carriers meet service level agreements using a combination of administration, usage-based accounting and billing, quality-of-service prioritization and end-to-end connection management.

The product automates the installation of customer virtual circuits, thereby eliminating the need to send technicians into the field to verify the circuit at various points in the network, said Tom DiMiselli, Cabletron's ATM program manager. That, in turn, speeds provisioning time.

"Customers can get service immediately," he said. "Service providers can advertise and guarantee one-day delivery."

The platform includes a built-in scheduler that can turn up circuits at certain times of the day and allocate flexible bandwidth among circuits. By using the scheduler, service providers can offer very "granular" time billing options, including daily and weekly billing, DiMiselli said.

"It becomes more flexible for a small business owner. It gives them a more flexible payment package," DiMiselli said.

And flexible bandwidth allocation can help maximize revenue. "I may be able to sell the same circuit to multiple customers at different rates" based on length and usage volume, DiMiselli said.

Such a multivendor management system is unique in the industry and important for Cabletron, said Dan Taylor, senior analyst at The Aberdeen Group. The solution helps Cabletron extend its management tools from the edge into the core and moves ATM network management away from proprietary platforms, he said.

"[Cabletron] needs to be able to manage elements from other vendors inside the network," Taylor said.

But others may soon follow with similar multivendor management products. As multiprotocol label switching is deployed, multivendor management will become more of an issue, he said.