Verilink boosts management capabilities of access device >BY Chris Bucholtz, West Coast Bureau Chief

In the face of increasing competition, Verilink Corp. has upgraded the management capabilities of its Access System 2000 integrated access device.

The San Jose-based company announced the addition of a new node controller module and node manager software to the AS2000, bringing protocol processing, transmission, signaling and switching under the control of a single management solution.

The upgraded system will allow service providers to deploy ISDN, frame relay, switched multimegabit data service and asynchronous transfer mode services through a single integrated platform by adding software modules to the basic AS2000 platform.

The node controller module will let network administrators manage different levels of functionality within their networks, including operations, administration, maintenance and provisioning of all the AS2000 systems worldwide. Using a simple network management protocol agent, the controller lets managers oversee as many as 51 nodes from a single Internet protocol (IP) address. Full redundancy for system management can be added by installing a second node controller module to the platform.

"That degree of management density is vital today with the increasing complexity of carrier networks," said Richard Swett, director of business development for Verilink. The node controller module also provides intelligent bandwidth management, allowing users to allocate bandwidth according to network demand across the entire system through its embedded database. The module serves as the controller for the AS2000's distributed digital cross-connect system, managing DS-0/DS-1 switching across all 51 nodes to consolidate bandwidth.

Verilink is also adding management software for the device that will provide a graphical user interface compatible with a Windows 3.1 environment. By simplifying network management tasks to point-and-click functions, network administrators can reduce their learning curve in adopting the new system, said Swett.

Verilink hopes the addition of the node controller module will keep the two-year-old AS2000 competitive in a growing field of integrated access offerings by playing off the device's easily updated architecture, said Leo Defonzo, marketing manager for Verilink.

That will work to Verilink's advantage, said Beth Gage, broadband analyst for TeleChoice, Verona, N.J. "Redundancy is an absolute must within the carrier environment," she said.