IBM and Xylan Expand Relationship
New Product Offering Increases Portfolio of Networking Solutions
Research Triangle Park, NC, & Calabasas, CA (June 08, 1998) – IBM and Xylan Corporation today announced an expansion of their strategic marketing and development relationship. This long-standing partnership continues to grow as IBM agreed to resell the Xylan OmniStack 5024 and Xylan plans to add the Multiprotocol Over ATM (MPOA) Client to software code for new and existing products. In addition, Xylan plans to use a new Token Ring switching ASIC from IBM in upcoming products. IBM and Xylan share a commitment to provide a complete range of solutions for end-user organizations while maintaining excellent customer service and support.
IBM will resell the Xylan OmniStack 5024 10/100 Ethernet switch as the IBM 8277 Ethernet RouteSwitch model 524. The IBM 8277 Ethernet RouteSwitch model 524 features 24 10/100 Ethernet auto-sensing switch ports, with one uplink slot for optional ATM or Fast Ethernet module, with a future uplink to Gigabit Ethernet. This competitively priced switch features wire-speed layer-two switching and layer-three routing of IP and IPX, giving customers the functionality of a router within the switch resulting in increased bandwidth and simplified traffic management. The future upgrade path for this unit includes layer-three hardware-based switching. The 8277 runs a full range of software options based on a common set of code with the IBM 8274 RouteSwitch, including policy-based networking. An optional backup power supply is available for improved switch uptime.
Xylan will add the MPOA client function from IBM’s award-winning Multiprotocol Switched Services (MSS) software to the Xylan Operating System (XOS), which operates in all of its switches. In conjunction with the MPOA Server on MSS, this will allow the Xylan OmniSwitch and OmniStack to more efficiently move IP traffic and push routing decisions to the edge of an ATM network. MPOA provides the connectivity of a fully routed environment with direct ATM connections between MPOA devices.
Xylan will also use IBM’s innovative eight-port Token Ring ASIC in their development of upcoming Token Ring switching products. As the industry leader in Token Ring, IBM is uniquely able to deliver high-performance, high-density, low-cost chips. Xylan will use these chips to build advanced Token Ring modules for its modular OmniSwitch products, as well as new stackable Token Ring switches. Millions of workstations are currently connected to Token Ring MAUs and hubs; the Xylan OmniSwitch and IBM 8274 provide a wide range of switching capabilities that support these workstations as traffic loads require switched solutions. These products also switch Token Ring to other protocols at both the layer two and layer three level, easing the migration from Token Ring to Fast Ethernet and ATM.
“Through this partnership, IBM and Xylan are not only dedicated to providing high-performance, cost-effective solutions, we are committed to providing outstanding customer service and support,” stated Bob Greenberg, IBM business line manager, enterprise networks, Networking Hardware Division.
“This extension to our relationship further couples ATM and Token Ring technology with Xylan’s switching technology and demonstrates the power that is available through partnering,” added Steve Kim, Xylan president and CEO.
Source: IBM