Site & Campus Networks

Site & Campus Networks TO: Facilities Managers RE: The Local Area Challenge Over the years, groups within your organization have been networking computers throughout your facilities to better share information and applications. During that time, you’ve probably overseen the installation of two different networking technologies — Token Ring and Ethernet. Now the world is changing. The number of users is increasing rapidly, creating a strain on your existing local area networks (LANs). Your users are moving sophisticated graphics and applications from worksta- tion to workstation, requiring greater network speed and performance. Isolated LANs are proliferating, and users want them integrated to freely access applications and resources regardless of LAN type. And management of all these fragmented resources is keeping network managers awake at night. Digital is the leader in the development and use of networking technologies. We carry a full complement of both Ethernet and Token Ring products for your midspeed applications. And our suite of award-winning FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) products provides the answer for high-performance connections between or within workgroups, between LANs, and across an entire campus. You get the best of both worlds — FDDI for network speed where you need it to handle image, video, and data, and the flexibility to interoperate with existing Ethernet and Token Ring solutions. We want to help you build and maintain a flexible network infrastructure that gives you the ability to grow and extend LANs, as needed, and to integrate the various LAN technologies into a single, manageable resource. This package gives you easy access to straight answers about our solutions for site and campus networks. As you investigate your options here and elsewhere, you'll see what we mean when we say Digital is the Open Advantage. Networks Marketing Digital Equipment Corporation Growth often brings with it the need for better network integration. You’re expanding operations into new facilities. Whole campuses have to be integrated. High Extended LANs Numbers of nodes Any LAN Technology ————_—_ 7 Applied network load With Digital, the advantage to you is the freedom to choose the most appropriate LAN access technology — or combination of technologies — to satisfy your business needs. Digital will bridge and interconnect various LANs into a single, enterprisewide, multivendor LAN or WAN. & Networks encourage the free flow of information throughout an enterprise by providing individuals ready access to data, applications, and other people. Typically, computers are arranged into LANs when organizations need reliable data transfer and communications within a building or a cluster of buildings, such as a campus or office complex. Bridges connect LANs over distances that exceed the capabilities of a single LAN; such configurations are known as extended LANs. Local Area Network Technologies Any LAN technology (802.3/Ethernet, 802.5/Token Ring, etc.) — given a low number of connections and low applied network load — can satisfy your network- ing needs. Token Ring networks have been optimized for small group and office networking environments. As the number of connections increases, 802.3/Ethernet LANs are best suited to meet the data requirements of a large user population. With the proliferation of more powerful compute engines and network-intensive applications, network load conditions begin to exceed the capabilities of traditional LANs. FDDI provides you with high-band- width, high-performance networking solutions to interoperate seamlessly with existing LANs. As LANs increase in size as well as complexity, high- performance bridges are used to create extended LANs. Bridging technology allows LANS to be extended to greater distances and makes it possible to interconnect similar and dissimilar LANs into a single network. And it improves overall network performance by providing traffic management through selective filtering. Extended LANs satisfy the high number of connections as well as the high applied network loads of today’s growing and active networks. By integrating FDDI backbones and Ethernet or Token Ring sub-LANs with bridge technology, you can take advantage of the best technology available today to meet your current and future business requirements, while preserving network investments you’ve made in the past. You are faced with physical building wiring changes; connections between the users and the data center change frequently due to people and whole depart- ments moving within a building or campus. And technology enhancements demand higher bandwidth from existing cable plant facilities. The future will demand even more, including integrated voice, data, and imaging/video. Intelligent Building | l Flexible, Multimedia Building Wiring Systems| Digital’s OPEN DECconnect System provides the physical connection between devices on a network. It supports the widest range of media types and provides the broadest range of solutions of any major wiring system. It complies with the EIA/TIA 586 Commercial Building Wiring Standard, which is the basis for all worldwide campus and building wiring in the '90s. The OPEN DECconnect structured wiring system supports copper and fiber applications and provides the structured wiring utility that guarantees reliable, low- cost connections. All components and applications are tested to exceed the requirements of existing standards. Wiring connections, regardless of application, are transparent to the user. The OPEN DECconnect System consists of five sub- systems that provide campus backbone connections, building backbone wiring, horizontal wiring to the workgroups, work area wiring to connect the physical equipment, and administration. Digital allows for true distributed computing by connecting everything from mainframes and workstations to personal computers, intelligent terminals, and peripherals into the enterprise. And with OPEN DECconnect, you have the convenience of a high-quality, single-source supplier for all your wiring needs — solutions that work ... and work together. & You have a growing number of users — on terminals, PCs, and workstations — and you need to tie them all into a single, reliable network throughout your site. y Or maybe, you currently have no local area network in place, but you have VAX systems in various departments, and your organization has made a decision that Token Ring will be your LAN of choice. Users moving large amounts of data — including graphic-intensive applications — are devouring your network bandwidth. In many cases, workgroups in those facilities now have powerful workstations, and your current network bandwidth hinders communica- tions between these users. You need to provide greater network speed and performance throughout a facility or campus. To improve efficiency and reliability and to support concurrent efforts, you need | fo connect various operations. [TAN Flexibility | as Ethernet Ethernet is the most popular local area network technology available today, performing at speeds of 10 million bits per second (Mb/s). It provides more than enough speed and bandwidth for organizations to run such applications as electronic mail, word processing, and general data processing. Ethernets are easily modified and expanded to accommodate new users in growing companies, are easy to maintain, and have been in existence for over a decade. Token Ring Token Ring performs at speeds of 4 Mb/s or 16 Mb/s. It gets its name from the fact that the nodes in Token Ring LANs are connected by point-to-point links to form an unbroken circular configuration. Token Ring topology allows nodes to put data and destination address in a “token packet” and send it on its way. The destination node checks the token packet, copies the data, and returns the packet to the original source node. The source node clears the data within the packet and makes it available for the next user. FDDI FDDI — Fiber Distributed Data Interface — is the network of the 90s. FDDI's 100-Mb/s LAN technology has been optimized for fiber optics and moves large amounts of data. It represents a ten-fold increase in speed over Ethernet and an even greater increase in speed over the 4-Mb/s Token Ring standard. Because of its speed, FDDI allows quick transfer of applications that used to demand enormous network resources. Ethernet LANS - A Viable and Effective Resource The reasons for Ethernet’s popularity stem from its simplicity and flexibility. Based on bus technology — where all stations share a single communications channel — Ethernet broadcasts information from each node to the entire channel, where the destination node listens to transmitted traffic and copies only the designated packets. Ethernet is easy and cost-effective to configure and expand in most physical layouts such as rooms, buildings, or clusters of buildings. There is no predetermined address at which Ethernet nodes must be placed, making Ethernet highly flexible and extendable. When many users need to share software and informa- tion from multiple devices and platforms over Ethernet LANs, Digital provides powerful InfoServer network storage servers. Designed for ease of use, the InfoServer family delivers versatile, high-speed solutions for up to 100 users who need to share volumes of information. Ethernet | j C7 These cost-effective products support both read-only and read-write media and allow PC users to take advantage of more than 6,000 CD applications. As a single, centralized location for software distribution, Digital’s InfoServer family makes installing and updating software much easier. Token Ring Solutions Token Ring is rapidly growing in popularity, and Digital now extends and delivers the Open Advantage to Token Ring users as well as Ethernet and FDDI users. Using multiprotocol bridging routers, Digital can fully integrate Token Ring connected desktop systems with your entire computing environment, increasing network efficiency, manageability, and overall perfor- mance and providing integration for multiprotocol LAN and WAN environments. Ethernet from Digital gives you the low-cost, reliable, expandable network infrastructure you need to link a growing number of users and respond to today’s rapidly changing requirements. With Digital, you get the freedom to choose the network technology that best suits your needs. & FDDI - The Next Generation FDDI, used over multiple types of communications media (i.e., fiber and coppen), is rapidly becoming the dominant high-speed LAN-based communications network of the ’90s. Working with Digital, a prominent leader in FDDI, you can take advantage of this new technology. 1000 LAN 100 Bandwidth 49 Required 10 100 1000 MIPS of Network End Station High-Performance FDDI Workgroups A workgroup configuration is characterized by a ; relatively small number of attached devices spread over a limited geographical area. DECconcentrators and DEC FDDIcontrollers provide the workgroup connectivity required for fiber or copper connection. High-Performance FDD! Backbones FDDI is an ideal technology for the hub or backbone that Jinks other LANs — especially in client/server networks. A high-speed FDDI backbone relieves backbone congestion and increases network reliability. Digital offers a family of bridges that connect FDDI to Ethernet segments. These standards-compliant devices provide configuration flexibility, so systems can be configured and changed as needed. These are translating — not encapsulating — bridges. They actually convert the packets to and from FDDI god Ethernet rather than merely putting an “FDDI envelope on the Ethernet packet. Translation means a more efficient, less proprietary bridge. Concentrators and bridges are used to build hierarchical interconnections for departmental systems or intercon- nections to other LANs, either FDDI or Ethernet. FDDI backbones are also ideal for connecting VAXcluster Systems. They can also be extremely effective in local multibuilding environments. DECconcentrator Family The concentrator is the basic building block of the FDDI network. Digital’s DECconcentrator can be used to connect high-performance systems and workstations to the FDDI network and establish FDDI backbone connections to Ethernet networks using bridges. As a standalone device, the DECconcentrator can be used to create small, dedicated, high-performance LANs for specialized communities of users. DEC FDDIcontroller Family Where network-intensive applications are needed, Digital provides the DEC FDDIcontrollers to create tightly coupled workgroups at FDDI speed. These products link workstations and VAX systems directly into the FDDI network. Fiber is rapidly becoming the dominant LAN-based communications media, and with FDDI from Digital you can take advantage of its numerous benefits. Your workgroups can grow and add resources easily and share complex applications. And you get greater freedom of choice and higher performance across your entire network. © You have installed several LANs running different LAN operating systems and various LAN access methods, and you need to provide consistent capabilities to all of your users. But as you grow and consolidate resources, you face a confusion of disparate networking technologies: an Ethernet backbone, one group with an Ethernet LAN, another with Token Ring, and still another moving to FDDI. Each has implemented the specific network solutions needed at the time. Now these solutions seem to be closing groups off from one another. You need to integrate these isolated LAN technologies — these “islands of computing.” Digital provides a truly integrated computing environment regardless of your LAN access technol- ogy making it much easier for users to share files and other resources. With Digital, you have the freedom to choose the networks that best serve the needs of the users. 5 (Network Integration | Ethernet/Token Ring Connectivity Now two separate media access technologies — Ethernet and Token Ring — can be integrated. Digital goes far beyond simple connectivity in this arena and provides full transparent integration of Token Ring and Ethernet systems and applications. Users who could never before use files and applications in the other environment can now share information and interoperate seamlessly across the two environments. With a multiprotocol bridging router from Digital, you can now route DECnet packets between Ethernet and Token Ring networks, Digital’s PATHWORKS products for DOS and OS/2 product allow users to share applica- tions and server and network resources transparently between Ethernet and Token Ring LANs through the router. In addition to the new functionality of routing DECnet packets between Ethernet and Token Ring, Digital provides capabilities via PATHWORKS products to route and integrate TCP/IP and IPX packets, as well. Token Ring LANs can now be transparently integrated into a multitechnology, multivendor network. FDDI/Token Ring/Ethernet Integration The seamless integration of FDDI, Token Ring, and Ethernet technologies now gives users the freedom to choose the most appropriate interconnect method or combination of methods for their particular environ- ment. Digital’s Token Ring product set combines with existing Ethernet and FDDI offerings to form the foundation for multivendor, multitechnology LANs. You are responsible for all the building cabling, and for the overall LAN, running both TCP/IP and DECnet, with its plethora of equipment — bridges, routers, gateways, etc. Your users are adding PCs and workstations to the network from a multitude of vendors. You must make certain that everything is functioning correctly and the network is providing the performance required. You need to control your entire campus environment. With DEcmcc, you have a single, integrated manage- ment solution that gives you the ability to monitor and control every network component that can be managed and to improve overall network efficiency in your mulfivendor, multiprotocol, open network. O [/DECmce =The Management Platform for the” 905) j Given the extensive technological changes of the past several decades and the increasingly complex nature of most business information infrastructures, your organi- zation must take charge of its information resources — manage, operate, and plan for future growth and performance. In order to achieve full control, you need an integrated management system that can bring together information from all elements in the environ- ment — existing management systems as well as individual delivery components. The DECmcc family employs breakthrough technology in the areas of modeling, collecting, storing, and processing management information in order to provide flexible, extensible management. Using object-oriented programming and database techniques, the DECmcc Director provides an integrated structure for the storage and use of multivendor management information. It includes published interfaces that allow complete flexibility in the management of any device, existing management system, application, or other designated entity. The consistent user interface provided by DECmcc permits management of the entire environ- ment from a single screen. Based on standards (but not restricted to those stan- dards), the DECmcc product family provides a manage- ment platform that will allow you to control and analyze the entire environment — systems, applications, networks, voice, data, image, and video — all compo- nents and vendors. Because of its modular design, it can easily incorporate new standards and technologies as they emerge. DECmcc is flexible and can adapt to an organization’s management approach, whether manage- ment is distributed throughout the facility, centralized, or a combination of both. [THE OPEN ADVANTAGE | With Digital, you can install, combine, consolidate, and grow your network throughout your site or campus, using the networking technology or combination of technologies that are right for your users. Take advan- tage of Ethernet’s flexibility. Add Token Ring where you need it. Move to FDDI for the speed. Digital provides the high-performance products to create these networks and to seamlessly and effectively integrate them. And it’s all transparent to the uSETS. Digital is your single source for everything. From wiring to transport to partnering with other suppliers, Digital provides complete multivendor solutions, combining multiple LAN technologies and ensuring that everything works with everything else. At Digital, we have a proven record in networking over the past two decades, and we offer a comprehensive range of networking products and services to address the variety of needs you face as you manage your facilities. [Werldwide Network integration Services | In today’s environment a successful enterprise must have a fully integrated network infrastructure that supports its business strategies. Digital offers full worldwide network integration services to help you plan, design, implement, and manage your network, no matter who manufactured the pieces. That’s because Digital’s strategy is based on an open environment — Open Technology, Open Services, and Open Business Practices. All of these efforts combine to make up Digital’s Open Network Advantage — products and services available to you anytime, any place, for any solution. . . from smaller Desktop Networks . . . to Campus Networks and High-Performance LANs . . . to Multisite Enterprise Integration. Digital ... The Open Advantage Digital believes the information in this publication is acc as of its publication date; such information is subject to change without notice. Digital is not responsible for any inadvertent errors. The following are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corpc tion: the DIGITAL logo, ADVANTAGE-NETWORKS, VMS, DECnet, ALL-IN-1, DECwrite, DECserver, DECagent, DECconnect, DECNIS, eXcursion, MOBILIZER, DEC, PATHWORKS, ULTRIX, DECquery, DEChub, DECbridge, VAX, DECconcentrator, DECmcc,VAXcluster, LAT. OS/2, IBM, PROFS, and SNADS are registered trademarks « International Business Machines Corporation. Macintosh LocalTalk, AppleTalk, and AppleShare are registered trade marks of Apple Computer, Inc. UNIX is a registered trade of UNIX System Laboratories, Inc. Microsoft is a registerec trademark of Microsoft Corporation. NetWare and Novell registered trademarks of Novell, Inc. NFS is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. ProNET is a register trademark of Proteon, Inc. AT&T is a registered trademar American Telephone & Telegraph Company. MCI is a reg tered trademark of MCI Communications Corporation.