Concentrating on access at ComNet

Several companies gearing up for ComNet are putting their biggest efforts into access. General DataComm will announce at the show a new concentrator designed so service providers can measure and guarantee local area and asynchronous transfer mode traffic. Newbridge Networks will announce the Multiservices Remote Access Solution, the newest addition to its Versatile-IP strategy.

Key to the M-RAS announcement is the MainStreet Xpress 36100 access concentrator, which brings virtual private networking to road warriors and telecommuters, said Marc Pfeiffer, director of internetworking marketing at Newbridge. "M-RAS combines Versatile IP with remote access services [and] extends business-class VPNs to the users," he said. The 36100 access concentrator supports digital subscriber line, hybrid fiber/coax and wireless networking, and it works with the 36170 switch.

Carriers typically use frame relay or time division multiplexing to provision and tunnel permanent virtual circuits. M-RAS takes a different approach, said Rob Clarke, marketing manager internetworking at Newbridge. It's "easier to manage because it's not based on tunneling, which has scaling issues and manageability issues," he said. "This allows them to migrate to the next stage [of VPNs], and it's all integrated under the same service management platform."

GDC also is announcing an access concentrator. The AT-1000E is an ATM network termination unit that service providers can deploy as the physical and logical demarcation point between the user and carrier networks, said Rich Stankevich, product marketing manager for GDC's broadband systems division. It has traditional network terminating unit capabilities and also per virtual circuit queuing capabilities for a more granular network view, he said.

Sitting between the customer's ATM, Ethernet or fast Ethernet network and the public network, the unit shapes traffic and measures service levels and supports up to three ATM interfaces. Two can be attached to the network side to create primary and redundant paths, or they can provide two access points for users. Similar devices, Stankevich added, "don't have the more sophisticated traffic shaping capabilities" of the AT-1000E.

TTC plans to use the ComNet show this week to showcase a new addition to its portable test line that gives technicians the ability to test Sonet functions in the field.

The development of the T-Berd 2310 Communications Analyzer was driven by the growth in the high-speed leased-line market and the outward migration of Sonet.

"We're seeing more and more Sonet deployed closer to customer locations and even purchased by end users as a leased service," said Laura McInerney, product line manager at TTC. "The technicians that deploy this technology are no longer confined to the central office."

TTC expects the set to appeal to carriers that require complete field testing capabilities, as well as infrastructure manufacturers.

"Because the operating companies have been on a downsizing trend, the people remaining have to be better equipped," McInerney said. "They're also outsourcing the installation and maintenance to the equipment manufacturers."

TTC is also confident that the cost of the unit-beginning at $13,500-will distinguish it from portable test alternatives.

One industry analyst said both the functions and the cost of TTC's new set are important for carriers facing more pressure to guarantee fast service activation and quality. "Carriers need to be a heck of a lot quicker to reply to service orders and more responsive to [service level agreements]," said Eric Hindin, director of data communications research and consulting for The Yankee Group. "Your service is only as good as the weakest link."