Hypercom Delivers Critical Piece of Enterprise Network Puzzle

Hypercom 6000/7000 Eliminate Need for Separate Host, LAN, Voice Networks When Linking Headquarters to Hundreds of Branch Offices

PHOENIX, Ariz., January XX, 1994 -- A pair of high-capacity, multiprotocol network nodes introduced today by Hypercom provide a critical piece of the enterprise network puzzle, enabling Fortune 500-type companies to efficiently and cost-effectively link a headquarters-size facility to several hundred branch offices. The Hypercom 6000 and 7000 multiprotocol nodes provide the tremendous processing power necesssary for a large number of branch office nodes to be concentrated at host sites while eliminating the need for multiple access devices and parallel networks.

Until now, companies relied on a separate SNA network for IBM traffic, a router backbone network for transporting LAN data and a PBX T-1 backbone network for voice, all with separate lines. The Hypercom 6000 and 7000 multiprotocol nodes work with Hypercom 3000 branch nodes to create a single network that more efficiently links the terminals, personal computers and telephones at a company's branch offices around the world to the mainframes, LAN backbone and PBX facilities back at headquarters. As a result, companies can protect their existing inventory of SNA-based equipment while transitioning to LAN-based distributed systems, and also greatly reduce recurring telco charges for leased lines, simplify network management and create a smooth migration path to future technologies.

"If you're going to consolidate traffic back at the branch office, it has to find a home somewhere, and when you're talking about 200 to 700 branches, you need a device powerful enough to handle the aggregate traffic arriving at the headquarters," said Paul Wickre, Hypercom's director of marketing and sales. "Only Hypercom is delivering this piece of the puzzle, and we're able to do it with a single network transporting normally incompatible protocols over common carrier virtual network offerings."

The Hypercom 6000 and 7000 function as part of Hypercom's Integrated Enterprise Network (IEN), a multi-tiered network integration approach that combines packet and time-slot technologies to overcome the fundamental incompatibility between SNA and the internetworking protocols. Like other IEN products, they combine router, SDLC/SNA interface and time division multiplexing TDM) capabilities in a single system that allows the efficient networking of LANs, legacy protocols and voice over a single network.

Large Networks

The Hypercom 6000 and 7000 significantly strengthen the backbone capabilities of Hypercom's Integrated Enterprise Network. Working in conjunction with Hypercom 3000 branch nodes, they allow large retail operations, banks, insurance and transportation companies and other business with 200 or more locations to consolidate their legacy SNA networks with their LAN internetworks and PBX facilities, eliminating inefficient and costly parallel networks.

The Hypercom 6000 and 7000 greatly simplify the migration and consolidation of existing SNA networks onto efficient transport networks. With Hypercom's exclusive Virtual Mapped SNA, the original logical network is maintained while the physical network becomes part of an efficient and well integrated SNA, LAN and voice network. This permits several devices to appear multi-dropped on a single SNA host line while actually being located in different areas of the network. And Virtual Mapped SNA accomplishes this without new NCP system generation and VTAM configuration changes.

Hypercom's mixed-protocol technology consolidates SNA and LAN protocols in native mode without the use of tunneling or encapsulation through the use of a protocol-independent, connectionless transport mechanism. This transport method lets SNA establish a direct connection between front-end and terminal controllers while allowing TCP/IP, Ethernet, Token Ring and other internetworking protocols to establish their own sessions and transmit their data independently. Unlike tunneling or encapsulation techniques, each protocol sees a dedicated network, and is not subordinated to any other protocol.

Hypercom has integrated a wide range of functions and interfaces into the 6000 and 7000 multiprotocol nodes, which can replace single-function equipment from several vendors for better reliability and maintainability. Like other IEN products, they are capable of combining multiple synchronous protocols, bridge-router functionality and non-routable LAN protocols, as well as asynchronous communications, X.25 and other protocols. Multiple WAN trunks can feed frame relay, public service and private networks for increased reliability. The Hypercom 6000 and 7000 can also incorporate high-speed modems, DSUs, ISDN BRI/PRI and T1/FT1 interfaces, Ethernet, Token Ring, RS-485, RS-232, V.35 and analog telephone lines. Other integrated features include protocol conversion (SDLC to LLC-2), data compression (Lempel-Ziv), DES data encryption and fully automated dial backup.

The Hypercom 6000 and 7000 employ the same parallel processing architecture as Hypercom's IEN branch feeder and regional concentrator nodes, with plug-in dedicated processors for each port providing the transparent transport of SNA, LAN and voice traffic to effectively solve virtually any mixed traffic network application. Unlike most routers that use common processing resources, Hypercom's IEN architecture ensures consistent performance of all ports as new ports and protocols are added, regardless of the configuration

The Hypercom 6000 and 7000 combine predetermined and dynamic routing, providing SNA with the feel of a leased-line network, while allowing the discovery of additional paths in the event of link congestion or failure. As a result, the Hypercom 6000 and 7000 offer very fast re-routing without data loss and with minimum overhead. Routing protocols, such as RIP and OSPF, are supported and can use all possible routes within the network and build their own routing tables. The Hypercom 6000 and 7000 are compatible with existing and future internetwork routers through their support of the RFC1294 and RFC1490 standards for router interoperability, and have been tested with leading routers in a frame relay backbone environment.

Like all IEN products, the Hypercom 6000 and 7000 feature SNMP configuration and management through Hypercom's Transparent Network Management System (XNMS) for single-point control and monitoring of SNA, LAN and WAN network elements.

Pricing and Availability

The Hypercom 6000 and 7000 are available now in a wide range of configurations, depending on the specific application. The Hypercom 6000 can be configured with up to 32 SNA, LAN or WAN ports, while the Hypercom 7000 can be configured with up to 48 SNA, LAN or WAN ports. Each WAN port uses its own Motorola 68340 microprocessor, allowing it to be easily upgraded to support ATM in the future. Both products feature redundant power supplies for added reliability, and through a bus extender can be configured for up to 128 ports. In addition, the Hypercom 6000 and 7000 support Hypercom's Router Plus PBX interface for fully integrated voice communications capability.

A typical Hypercom 6000 configuration, with 8 WAN interfaces, 4 dual LAN interfaces for reliability and throughput and 16 serial interfaces for SNA is priced at $58,000. The Hypercom 7000 offers expansion to an additional 4 dual LAN interfaces and an additional 8 serial ports for $76,000.

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