Harris & Jeffries, Inc. Announces Soft-ATM^TM Multi Protocol over ATM-Server (MPS) Software Subsystem

Server-side Software Provides Network Equipment Manufacturers a Standards-based Methodology for Transporting Layer 3 Data Flows over Switched Asynchronous Transfer Mode Networks

DEDHAM, MA — May 19, 1998 — Harris & Jeffries, Inc. (H&J), a leading developer of networking protocol software subsystems, announced today its Soft-ATM^TM Multi-Protocol over ATM-Server (MPS) Software Subsystem. Harris & Jeffries is expanding its product offerings in the IP over ATM solutions market, adding MPS to its previously announced Soft-ATM Multi-Protocol over ATM-Client (MPC) Software Subsystem.

The ATM Forum’s Multi-Protocol over ATM (MPOA) specification provides a standardized methodology to transport IP and legacy network traffic over switched ATM networks. The H&J advanced architecture defines a number of key capabilities:

• High-performance, low latency routing of IP and legacy data traffic over asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks
• Creation of virtual subnets that span physical network boundaries
• Enabling of emerging time-sensitive applications, such as Voice over IP, to leverage the inherent Quality-of-Service (QoS) capabilities of ATM networks.

MPOA is a critical implementation issue for many large organizations that have a variety of data networking topologies such as Ethernet and Token Ring, and protocols such as TCP/IP, which must be transported over wide-area networks (WANs). Network equipment manufacturers are seeking to satisfy these end-user demands. H&J's Soft-ATM MPS subsystem will expedite the time-to-market for equipment vendors to solve such network issues.

Harris & Jeffries’ MPOA-Server subsystem provides the route resolution functionality of the MPOA architecture to routers, switches and other server-side network equipment. It is co-located with router functionality, interfaces efficiently with a Layer 3 route determination facility and supports the next-hop routing protocol, Next Hop Resolution Protocol (NHRP) server implementation as specified by The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

Soft-ATM MPS provides a connection management and a data manager library to support Virtual Circuit sharing by multiple traffic flows. This allows delivery of unique traffic flows to meet individual resource requirements. Soft-ATM MPS also includes Harris & Jeffries’ Traces and Probes which allow developers to monitor software interaction in their target systems, to help shorten development cycles. Soft-ATM MPS is pre-integrated with other Soft-ATM subsystems such as the LAN Emulation v.2 Client, UNI Signalling and ILMI.

The Soft-ATM Multi-Protocol Server Subsystem is standards-compliant and comes with Harris & Jeffries’ Interoperability Guarantee. H&J actively participates in many independent interoperability testing laboratories. Soft-ATM MPS is undergoing extensive interoperability testing against H&J’s industry-leading MPOA-Client (MPC) software subsystem announced in December, 1997 and the MPC & MPS offerings of other suppliers that comply with The ATM Forum MPOA specification.

“As Internet Protocol (IP) has become the dominant layer 3 transport mechanism throughout enterprises and the Internet, ATM has emerged as a powerful and viable carrier-based service, in part because of its ability to deliver quality of service. Concurrently, bandwidth requirements are exploding, as increasingly powerful systems use ever more sophisticated applications. MPOA, using ATM-based switched services supporting different QoS levels in a standards-based manner, offers a paradigm shift in the way that IP networks are engineered and used. MPOA offers the potential for increased performance, on demand services, and QoS tailored to requirements of a particular application,” noted Barbara Fox, member of the technical staff at Lucent Technologies, Inc.

“Harris & Jeffries is continuing to bring its experience and knowledge of ATM to its customers by providing the software subsystems they need when they need them. Companies benefit from H&J’s world-class software, advanced architecture, powerful development tools and superior support organization that together provide the unequaled time-to-market advantages that has made H&J the ATM software supplier of choice,” said Ethan Harris, president of Harris & Jeffries, Inc.

Pricing and Availability

Soft-ATM products range from $15,000 to $80,000 per target system, per development license; volume discounts may apply. Soft-ATM Multi Protocol over ATM-Server Subsystem will be available in August '98.

Visit Harris & Jeffries, Inc. at These Upcoming Tradeshows:

Harris & Jeffries is exhibiting at several tradeshows in coming weeks: ATM Year '98 conference in San Jose, CA, at the San Jose Convention Center, June 2-4, booth #526; at SuperComm at the World Congress Center in Atlanta, June 8-11, booth #864; and in the Nissho Electronics booth (#3U13) at Networld+Interop, Tokyo at the Nippon Convention Center in Tokyo, June 3-5. Visit any of these upcoming shows to learn more about H&J and its premier networking software subsystems.

Soft-ATM and High-Performance Frame Relay are trademarks of Harris & Jeffries, Inc. All other trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks are the property of their respective holders.

last update: 15.08.2008		© 2008 by ikon GmbH, Ulm