FiberCom Enhances FDDI Offerings with Net Management System and Additional
Bridge Features

Roanoke, VA -- FiberCom, a leading supplier of FDDI products, enhanced their
product line by announcing VIEWMASTER+(tm), a comprehensive SNMP standards-based
Network Management System for use in managing an extended enterprise network.
The company also is announcing additional features to their FDDI RingMaster 7200
Intelligent Bridge.

ViewMaster+ is designed to manage not only the FiberCom RingMaster FDDI product
line but, also, any vendor's products that comply with the SNMP standards. The
ViewMaster+ software provides an easy to use X-Window-based graphical user
interface as well as an SQL data base capability. With ViewMaster+ the network
management tools are integrated into one core application, a graphic
presentation of the topology of the network being managed. This application is
user-configurable and extendable. From the network topology a user can monitor
network performance, detect network faults including cable breaks, modify MIB
variables on remote machines and generate data for the relational database. An
Application Program Interface enables the data to be polled, logged and sent to
the database to change the raw data into correlated tables, real time graphics
and reports of useful information for network managers.

ViewMaster+ software comes fully configured with all standard MIB variables and
those experimental variables that are in the later stages of development, such
as IEEE 802.1d bridging, IEEE 802.3/802.5 and FDDI. The software also has the
capability for adding and managing specific private MIB extensions.

"ViewMaster+ software is delivered with preconfigured, menu-driven management
services. Once the software is loaded, our customers are ready to manage their
FDDI networks," said Selby Wellman, Corporate Vice President of Marketing and
Sales at FiberCom.

The ViewMaster software runs on a SUN SPARC workstation and is available
immediately for $5,000.

In addition, FiberCom is announcing several new significant features available
for the RingMaster FDDI Intelligent Bridge. Available immediately is an
integrated FDDI controller card for single mode fiber which will provide for
extended distances up to 20 Km between FDDI nodes. It is the first internal
single mode FDDI controller available in the market versus external single mode
converter boxes that are offered by other FDDI vendors. By providing this
internal controller approach, FiberCom offers the user improved reliability
because of fewer boxes and fiber connections, integrated network management,
network design flexibility, and lower cost. This feature is ideally suited for
users with large geographically dispersed networks, i.e., Metropolitan Area
Networks (MANS), or users with single mode cable plants installed.

Also, being announced for the RingMaster Bridge are software enhancements that
provide (1) flexible filtering options and (2) support for the spanning tre
algorithm. Selective filtering of addresses, protocols and user-defined fields
enable network managers to determine which users or groups can gain access to
the networks. The spanning tree software is particularly noteworthy when used
with the FDDI RingMaster multi-port bridge because it provides for multiple
paths at the port/card level. This results in a cost savings to FDDI users
compared to other vendors' approaches which require additional bridges to
provide this same function.

The RingMaster 7200 bridge was the first fully transparent FDDI brige delivered
to the market. The multi-port bridge filters at 500,000 pps and forwards up to
20,000 pps while providing internetworking between FDDI and other networks
compatible with the IEEE 802 standards, including IEEE 802.3,4 and 16 Mb/s token
ring, and the only FDDI-FDDI transparent bridge currently available in the
marketplace.

The RingMaster 7200 has been successfully installed worldwide at customers such
as GE, Rockwell, T.V. Guide, etc. FiberCom is also developing, under contract
from IBM, an FDDI ting concentrator for the Space Station Freedom.

Founded in 1982, FiberCom, a corporation based in Roanoke, Virginia, is a
leading supplier of highperformance fiber optic Local Area Networks. The company
has been one of the fastest growing private businesses, creating a host of
innovative products and systems in addition to the FDDI, including WhisperNet, a
high-performance fiber optic Ethernet LAN and OptiChannel, an IBM Channel
Extender that is marketed exclusively by Network Systems Corporation.

For more information, contaact: FIBERCOM, INC. PO BOX 11966
Roanoke, VA 24022-1966 (703) 342-6700

Copyright 1991, Telecomputing Magazine -- All rights reserved.