The network entryway

In the continuing evolution of the telecommunications industry, access technologies and vendors appear to hold the key to network development.

The access speeds and capabilities that end users need will shape the demands placed on the rest of the network. Their influence will continue to grow as various access technologies vie for a place in service providers' networks.

Multiservice access products are gaining prominence as carriers prepare for all the possibilities of access technologies. These devices allow aggregation of voice and data traffic through a single device and handle a variety of incoming traffic protocols.

Acclaim Communications Inc. will showcase its Acclaim 3600 multiservice access concentrator. Acclaim's 3000 series of access concentrators aggregates various traffic types onto frame relay and asynchronous transfer mode. The 3600 is the latest in the series and is scalable from four to 120 voice channels. It also has a 10/100 Mb port, supports IP/IPX routing, and has up to four T-1/E-1 links and optional upgrades to T-3/E-3 and OC-3.

Atmosphere Networks, having recently completed its first year in business, will highlight its Cirrus Full Service Node Sonet/synchronous digital hierarchy-based solution. The platform uses a so-called thin layer of ATM to integrate access, transmission and termination into a single integrated access system.

Another year-old newcomer is GVN Technologies Inc. The company will introduce its D'Lite 200 and D'Lite 400 dynamic loop internetworking telecom equipment. The 200 is a four-port unit that combines multiprotocol routing, data transmission, Ethernet control and network management. The 400 also handles routing and network management, and it offers channelized T-1 cross-connections and support for analog and digital voice services.

The devices also feature investment protection in that the interfaces can be changed from T-1 to digital subscriber line (DSL) with a card swap. That feature is critical for companies afraid to invest in T-1 for fear of a forklift upgrade in the near future, says Angus McNeely, the company's product management director.

The company's main objective at Supercomm is to establish its name in the market. "The milestone for us is to get the product out there, start on the path of getting GVN's name out there and demonstrate that we've got a product we can deliver," McNeely says.

Escalate Networks will focus its Supercomm efforts on its new family of Escalynx access switches. The Escalynx 4000, designed as an inexpensive, stackable switch, and the Escalynx 5000 will be on display at the show. The switches turn copper phone lines into "multimegabit pipes to the Internet or remote corporate offices," according to one company official.

The devices combine Ethernet and ATM switching for local area network; Internet protocol (IP), point-to-point protocol (PPP) and ATM routing for wide area network connections;and DSL for multimegabit transmission.

Premisys, among the market leaders in integrated access, will introduce its Q-155 integrated broadband access solution.

The Q-155 combines time division multiplexing, ATM, frame relay and Sonet/SDH on a single platform. It integrates legacy TDM and broadband services by grooming DS-0 circuit-switched voice, T-1/E-1 data, and cell- and frame-based T-1 data traffic onto Sonet/SDH. The device also integrates multiple interfaces at remote sites, performs high-speed DSL multiplexing and Sonet/SDH add/drop functions, and can be tested and managed remotely. Premisys is touting a combination of its IMACS products with the Q-155 as an end-to-end managed network solution.

Another familiar name, ADC Telecommunications, will feature its Cellworx service transport node. The Cellworx STN, designed to leverage Sonet networks using virtual path ring technology, was introduced at last year's show. The company will announce beta test sites for the product this time around.

Assured Access Technology's featured product will be the new X1600 access switch. This 16-slot, high-capacity access switch can support up to 832 V.90 modem ports or a mix of up to 3120 ISDN connections. It also supports a number of uplink alternatives, including 100 Mb/s Ethernet.

The device resides in an Internet service provider super point of presence (POP) or in a telephone central office. It reduces network complexity by combining the functionality of traditionally separate POP platforms into a single platform, according to a company spokesperson.

The X1600 uses a distributed processing architecture to support high-density multiservice access, including dial-up and leased-line access.

DSL technologies are shaping up to be major factors in the future of access, and Supercomm will be an important forum to display the solutions that have emerged during a busy year for DSL vendors.

Westell will demonstrate several products, including its Supervision DSL access multiplier and AccessVision products for DSL. The Supervision product will be running PPP over ATM over asymmetrical DSL (ADSL) in both Westell's and Lucent Technologies' booths. Both carrierless amplitude/phase modulation and discrete multitone versions will be on display. AccessVision is an element management solution designed for access networks, especially DSL.

Westell also will demonstrate its SmartLink and ProAct lines. SmartLink is an automatic protection switch that serves up to eight DS-1 circuits, including T-1 and high bit-rate DSL. In case of circuit defects, signal loss or bit errors, it switches the defective circuit to a "hot spare" protection circuit.

ProAct is a network interface unit that monitors T-1 bit stream performance in both directions, allowing service providers to respond to degrading circuit performance before an outage occurs.

Paradyne will be on hand with its Hotwire DSL and MVL systems. The Hotwire MVL is designed to "transform regular copper wire telephone lines and in-home wiring into a unified high-speed digital network," according to one company spokesman. It includes loop qualification and service-level verification (SLV) among its functions. The MVL supports simultaneous basic service without a premises splitter or filter, and it offers Internet access, audio and video streaming, and videoconferencing.

Paradyne will also showcase its FrameSaver SLV system. Built in conjunction with NetScout, it offers multilevel network monitoring and management for both service providers and end users. It is designed to allow service providers to offer more exact service level guarantees by delivering more detailed and timely monitoring. It also allows end users to monitor their levels of service to ensure that guarantees are met.

Advanced Fibre Communications, a manufacturer of digital loop carriers (DLCs), will introduce a new DSL line card for its UMC 1000 third generation DLC. The ADSL card will be the first in a series of DSL cards. Each channel unit will provide two ADSL circuits and six POTS circuits. The card will work in any of 22general purpose slots on the UMC 1000. The ADSL data circuits can deliver up to 6 Mb/s downstream and 640 kb/s upstream, and the line card automatically adapts the data rate in 32 kb/s increments to match loop length, line condition and interference levels.

Ericsson Inc. will showcase its ANx-DSL system, demonstrating applications that require ADSL speeds. Those applications will include high-speed Internet access, streaming video, real estate applications and Ericsson World, a three-dimensional virtual catalog of Ericsson products. The demonstration system will be equipped with Ericsson's new edge router, expanding the system's capabilities to support IP routing. A prototype of Ericsson's DSL.Lite modem also will be on display at the show.

Telect Inc. plans to introduce newly enhanced versions of its four- and eight-channel Vanguard digital loop subscriber carrier systems in Atlanta. Among the enhancements are a connectorized backplane for easy installation and increased reliability, and a line-powered repeater for increased signal distance. Introduced in 1996, the Vanguard system provides up to eight voice channels over a single copper pair. In addition to the performance modifications, Telect will offer a Craft interface for better remote monitoring and management later this year.

Conklin Corp.'s new C8000 multiservice single-line digital subscriber carrier will debut at Supercomm. The eight-channel C8000 is designed to replace embedded analog carrier systems. It uses two-wire DSL technology to deliver to subscribers custom local area signaling services, high-speed analog data and ISDN.

IP's role also will be crucial to the development of network access and its effect on the overall network. PipeLinks Inc. will be debuting an IP-focused product line at the show. The startup's Parkway 2000 and its related product family are designed to move IP over channelized Sonet to enable managed IP, IP-on-demand and IP access services. The product gives carriers competing in the local business services market the ability to deploy IP on an individual subscriber basis. The Parkway system will enable IP virtual networks via flexible LAN and IP interconnect services with options for TDM and IP services monitoring.