NETWORLD + INTEROP: RACAL ANNOUNCES ATM INTERFACE AND SONET OC-3 LINKS FOR
PREMNET ENTERPRISE BACKBONE

--PremNet is first fiber backbone system to integrate support for ATM,
SONET/SDH, LAN and non-LAN data, voice and video into a single network--

SUNRISE, FL -- Racal-Datacom today became the first company in the industry
to offer integrated, multimedia support for ATM (Asynchronous Transfer
Mode), SONET (Synchronous Optical Network), LAN and non-LAN data, voice
and video in a single high speed fiber optic backbone. With the
introduction of the PremNet ATM Interface Module and the PremNet SONET/SDH
Link Modules, organizations can now use Racal's PremNet fiber backbone
system as a cost-effective means to explore emerging SONET and ATM carrier
services across the country, without committing to a massive capital
investment or full-scale replacement of legacy applications.

Painless ATM/SONET Migration

"Our strategy is simple: we're giving network managers the means to
experiment with integrating ATM and SONET with their legacy applications
at their own pace," said Phil Wilson, vice president of the Racal-Datacom
Strategic Fiber Products Division. "Because the PremNet system is highly
scaleable and flexible, network managers can use our ATM interface modules
and SONET/SDH link modules to create everything from a small
point-to-point application to a full-blown wide-area ATM-over-SONET
network."

Demand for both ATM and SONET products and services is expected to grow
rapidly, as increasingly complex applications become the norm. Distance
learning, video conferencing, LAN interconnect, resource sharing,
telephone communications, production control and monitoring, long-distance
mainframe/minicomputer access and highway traffic monitoring are among the
many applications made possible by PremNet.
The move towards introduction of a Bellcore standard, Synchronous Optical
Network (SONET) in the United States and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy
(SDH) in Europe, and the move towards SONET/SDH and ATM standardization in
the fiber optic world, have influenced many network managers to specify
these standards for their fiber backbone systems.

Applications for PremNet ATM

ATM networks operate by transforming streams of information into uniform
53-byte. The PremNet ATM interface module enables users to send and
receive ATM traffic across the PremNet fiber backbone, either within a
building, campus or metropolitan-area network or, if used in conjunction
with an ATM switch, across a carrier's backbone ATM network.

By implementing switching (PVC route switching) within the PremNet network,
the ATM interface module eliminates the need for ATM switches at the user
premises in many campus and metro-area configurations. If wide-area ATM
connections are desired, the ATM interface module can connect to ATM
switches and the external ATM network.

In this scenario, shown in Figure 1, the ATM interface module allows
multiple ATM sites on the PremNet network to access a central ATM switch,
greatly reducing infrastructure costs. In short, the ATM interface module
for the PremNet fiber backbone system is a rapid-deployment way to provide
cost-effective ATM transport.

SONET/SDH Links: Immediate 50% Increase in Bandwidth

The PremNet SONET/SDH link modules convert the PremNet backplane data into
SONET or SDH frames, which are transmitted at a bit rate of 155 Mbps. This
bit rate allows the SONET/SDH link cards to pack 30 PremNet TDM timeslots
(an increase in capacity of 50 percent over the standard 20 timeslots at
100Mbps) into a SONET/SDH frame.

The SONET/SDH link modules contain all of the hardware required to build
and disassemble the STS-3c (or STM-1) frame. Each module consists of a
microprocessor, a sophisticated framing chipset, the transmit and receive
optics and additional custom hardware and software.

Any enterprise can connect to -- or between -- the public SONET/SDH
infrastructure by connecting their SONET PremNet network through any
industry-standard add-dop multiplexer (ADM).

Racal-Datacomm, 1601 N. Harrison Parkway, Sunrise, FL 33323-2899
Mailing Address: PO Box 40744, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33340-7044
305-846-1601;  Fax: 305-846-3935

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