Combining Epilogue's RMON and ThunderLAN gives networking manufacturers three distinct advantages. First, it simplifies system design by providing a potent combination of networking silicon and network management software. Second, it offers network vendors and users the ability to upgrade easily from a network managed 10BASE-T to either high-speed Ethernet environment. And finally, it gives vendors and networking systems users the freedom of choice in using the same silicon and software combination to create desktop systems, servers, backbones, hubs or any Ethernet hardware for either 10BASE-T or high-speed Ethernet networks.
"Our ThunderLAN silicon products have been designed with simplicity as a primary criteria. Providing RMON and SNMP support via Epilogue's software is further evidence of this fact and proof of our commitment to this market. 'Future-proofing' high-speed Ethernet is what ThunderLAN is all about, allowing our customers to manufacture 10BASE-T solutions today while providing an easy upgrade path and the freedom of choice to upgrade to either 100BASE-T, and 100-VG with the same chipset when they are ready," said Joe Valente, Texas Instruments LAN program manager. "Providing network management support for ThunderLAN simply makes it an even more compelling product."
To help prospective customers test the power of the software/silicon solution offered in ThunderLAN, Texas Instruments will be offering a ThunderLAN reference kit in the first half of 1996. This reference kit will include a ThunderLAN-based evaluation model and shrink-wrapped executable versions of Epilogue's Attach=82 TCP/IP/UDP, Envoy SNMP, and Ambassador Plus RMON products. ThunderLAN is now available from Texas Instruments, and full implementations of Attach=82, Envoy, and Ambassador are currently available from Epilogue Technology.
Future possibilities include the opportunity for Texas Instruments' ThunderLAN to provide a silicon-based solution optimized for network management using Epilogue's Ambassador Plus RMON. By integrating the RMON-optimized ThunderLAN silicon with Epilogue's RMON source code, manufacturers would be able to create more efficient network managed solutions that support all Ethernet networks.
"If it's not carefully implemented, RMON can be more of a hindrance than a help, bogging down already congested networks by continuously collecting unnecessary data," said David Preston, vice president and general manager of Epilogue Technology. "TI's innovative network chip architecture design offers software companies the ability to combine technologies to streamline RMON."
Texas Instruments and Epilogue Technology will also explore options for deploying the same technology in Texas Instruments' other ThunderNET products. The ThunderNET family includes ThunderLAN as well as TI's ThunderRING Token Ring architecture and ThunderCELL ATM architecture.
"Epilogue Technology is clearly the leader in network management technology, which is part of the reason we chose to work with them," said Valente. "Innovations, such as Ambassador's hierarchical structure for ATM, and the fact that Ambassador is ideally suited to interoperate with TI's ThunderRING 4/16 Mbps Token Ring chipset, made it clear that TI and Epilogue could create network management solutions that our customers need. It only makes sense to explore the opportunity for similar solutions for our ThunderCELL and ThunderRING architectures."
"It's the ideal complement of technologies," said Preston. "Vendors will be able to use a single source code kit from Epilogue to develop RMON solutions to work with products in Texas Instruments' ThunderNET family. This is virtually a plug-and-play development approach that will make it easier than ever for manufacturers to create the next generation of RMON-capable networking solutions."
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Epilogue Technology Corporation specializes in developing and marketing standards-based network management and protocol software products and support services to computer OEMs and computer systems manufacturers. Epilogue has licensed its products to more than 200 companies to date, including 3 Com, Chipcom Corporation, IBM, Network General Corporation, Northern Telecom, and Optical Data Systems, among others. Epilogue customers have shipped more than 1 million network devices containing Epilogue Technology products worldwide. Epilogue Technology Corporation is located at 11116 Desert Classic Lane, N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87111-7512; telephone: (505) 271-9933; FAX: (505) 271-9798.
Trademarks: Ambassador, Envoy, and Attach=82 are trademarks of Epilogue Technology Corporation. ThunderLAN, ThunderRING, ThunderCELL, and ThunderNET are trademarks of Texas Instruments Incorporated.
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