OVERVIEW
The ACX-300 is a third generation ATM Workgroup
Switch which brings industry standard,
high-performance ATM to department level workgroups
at affordable prices. The ACX-300 enables high-speed
LAN connectivity while supporting real-time voice,
video, and data communications. Supporting up to
three 155 Mbps (OC3c) links, redundant load-sharing
power supplies, LAN Emulation, Classical IP and SNMP
management, the ACX-300 is ideal for workgroups with
up to 36 users. The ACX-300 is designed to extend new
or existing high-performance ATM networks, and to
form the high-performance segment of a legacy local
area network.
ARCHITECTURE
Up to three ACX switch modules, each with twelve
25 Mbps ports and one 155 Mbps port, are supported by
the ACX-300's integral 1 Gbps switching fabric. The
compact design provides high port density, supports
standard rack-mount, and supports optional power
supply redundancy. The ACX-300 is scaleable - users
can start with one module and add modules as
requirements grow.
INTEROPERABILITY
AVIDIA's ACX-300 fully meets the ATM Forum UNI 3.0
and UNI 3.1 standards, assuring multivendor PVC/SVC
interoperability at both the PC/workstation and
high-speed uplink level. The ACX-300 is compatible
with virtually all standard 25 and 155 Mbps ATM
adapters (available from AVIDIA Systems or elsewhere)
and with all popular backbone ATM switches.
SIMPLIFIED ATM
The ACX-300 enables higher productivity in today's
corporate networks by providing not just more
bandwidth, but better bandwidth by virtue of ATM's
high-performance, connection-oriented nature. Using
AVIDIA's Classical IP and LANE, existing desktop LAN
applications and environments, such as Lotus
Notes(tm), Netscape(tm), Novell Netware(tm) and
Windows NT(tm), work transparently over ATM. This
greatly simplifies the network manager's job by
giving routers, PCs, and servers, the appearance of
traditional LAN devices.
With Classical IP and LANE, the ACX-300 supports
the attachment of ATM-equipped routers and servers to
greatly boost their bandwidth while they continue to
serve Ethernet and Token Ring Segments.
To the user, the ACX-300 simply enables existing
applications to work better. To the network planner,
the ACX-300 enables the immediate deployment of new
productivity applications such as desktop video,
telephony and high speed Internet access.
SIMPLIFIED SOFTWARE
PersistentPath(tm) software makes call set-up and
management rapid and simple. Switched Virtual
Circuits (SVCs) are rapidly established, and can be
maintained indefinitely. Once a call is established,
PersistentPath insures that additional traffic can
traverse the network without needing to re-establish
a call. PersistentPath eliminates the need to
"time out" SVCs by prioritizing the SVC
shared buffer memory and reassigning new SVCs as
needed. PersistentPath automatically prioritizes SVC
assignments based on class of service, assuring ATM
Quality of Service while minimizing call set-up time.
The result is faster, better and more consistent
network performance and reduced network
administration costs.
FLEXIBLE and SCALEABLE
The ACX-300's modular 3-slot design allows for
growth. Users can start with 12 ports, and add
modules as requirements grow and change. Each ACX-300
supports connections for up to 36 networked PCs, and
up to three high-speed file servers, high-performance
workstations, or high-speed uplinks.
HIGH PERFORMANCE
The CMOS ASIC based high-speed, low-power 1 Gbps
switching fabric provides ample capacity to service
the full duplex 25 and 155 Mbps ATM ports. By using
highly integrated complex VLSI ASIC devices, the
ACX-300 ensures worry-free buffer management, low
cell latency, full support of Quality of Service
(QoS) for multimedia applications, and low power
consumption. This results in cooler operation and
greater reliability.
NETWORK MANAGEMENT
The ACX-300 is automatic, self-learning, and does
not require a special network management system or
application. Initial set-up is done through a simple
ASCII serial port. Full support for SNMP (RFC-1213)
with AVIDIA extensions provides configuration and
fault management from any standard SNMP platform such
as HP OpenView(tm). When used with AIMS(tm) (AVIDIA Internet
Management Server) software, the ACX-300 can be
managed from any location in the world by using any
standard Java(tm)-enabled browser (such as Netscape
Navigator(tm)) via the Internet, or via a private
network.
The ACX-300 ATM Departmental Switch provides up to
thirty six 25 Mbps ATM ports for high-speed
connectivity within a workgroup and provides up to
three 155 Mbps OC3c ports for high-speed
workstations, servers, and for uplink to an ATM
network.
