Cisco Systems announced today new software solutions that enable airlines to migrate from proprietary application suites to the growing TCP/IP internetwork. These products are the first deliverables resulting from Cisco`s airline internetworking strategy, also being made public today. This strategy creates a roadmap that Cisco will use to integrate legacy airline protocols onto a standards-based software platform that provides scalability and flexibility for meeting future requirements. To implement the roadmap, Cisco is pursuing the following four initiatives simultaneously: * connecting remote airline legacy serial devices to a standards-based internetwork * creating airline-specific data center connectivity software * addressing customer wide-area network (WAN) requirements, including end-to-end quality of service, security, and network management * active participation and a higher profile in network consortia, trade associations and standards bodies. Cisco will partner with SITA, the world`s leading provider of integrated telecommunications and information solutions to the air transport industry, to achieve many of these initiatives. "Although various networking manufacturers offer pieces of this solution, only Cisco has a coordinated set of products that bring the remote site, the central site and the backbone WAN into one comprehensive solution," said Selby Wellman, senior vice president of the InterWorks Business Unit at Cisco Systems. Rene Azoulai, vice president of marketing at SITA, commented: "SITA is pleased to be working with Cisco to provide airlines with complete IP-based networking solutions. It is a key component of SITA`s network migration strategy and our capability to provide a fully managed network solution. Customers can move to IP internetworking at their own pace and be sure of a fully integrated, high-performance and secure solution." Airline Network Requirements and Cisco`s Solutions Airline protocols were developed in the 1960s and are hardware specific to provide the fastest response times. These protocols are notably difficult to integrate into the standards-based internetwork. Previous efforts have resulted in only partial solutions that share the network at a physical level but have no software capabilities to address such issues as security, protocol prioritization or other network growth concerns. Cisco`s new products address a number of airline networking problems. By replacing protocol-specific controllers with Cisco routers at remote sites, the airlines gain a flexible platform that enhances connectivity and opens the way to TCP/IP internetworking. The Cisco router adds connectivity for LAN devices and legacy Systems Network Architecture (SNA) devices in addition to the legacy airline devices at the remote site. In addition, with Cisco`s new products, customers can upgrade their backbone networks without disturbing anything at either endpoint: the host and remote terminals all stay in place. This capability reduces the cost and increases the speed at which networks can be upgraded. Also, Cisco`s meshed backbone design provides multiple paths to the host for increased reliability. Cisco`s Airline Product Set The first four deliverables in Cisco`s airline product set (ALPS) add support for two remote access protocols, P1024B and P1024C, and two host access protocols, AX.25 and EMTOX. These products enable users of airline networks to migrate to TCP/IP-based backbones and positions them to capitalize on the fifth product, the Mapping of Airline Traffic to IP (MATIP), a joint project with SITA that provides even higher-speed host access. The total airline product set will be delivered in the following three phases. In phase one, P1024B terminal concentrators are attached directly to the serial ports of appropriately configured Cisco routers. The P1024B protocol is encapsulated in TCP/IP so it can capitalize on the full functionality of Cisco IOS(TM) software, including management, security and quality of service across the WAN. At the central site router, the TCP/IP is removed, and the data is reformatted for either AX.25 or SITA`s EMTOX for communication with the airline mainframe computer. In the second phase, ALPS brings this same functionality to users of the Unisys airline protocol, P1024C. The third phase will add the MATIP open standard, described later in the release. Alliance with SITA Cisco worked with SITA, a recognized leader in the field of managed air transport networks, to develop the remote and data center parts of the ALPS products. According to Wellman, "The ability to connect to SITA`s global network services has become the de facto standard of airline internetworking compatibility. We recognized the need to work closely with SITA in developing the airline product set." Industry Leadership and the Future (MATIP) In the third phase of ALPS delivery, Cisco is taking a leading development role in a SITA-sponsored initiative called MATIP, which will develop a long-term solution for mapping the airline protocols directly to TCP/IP interfaces. Cisco will be a co-author of the proposal and will implement it in Cisco IOS software on Cisco networking products. MATIP removes the restriction that host applications must be reached via AX.25 or EMTOX. When MATIP is implemented, the reservation host can be accessed directly via TCP/IP from any TCP/IP device on the network. The proposal has been submitted to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as a draft informational RFC. Cisco and SITA are already working with several major airline data center suppliers to ensure the ultimate success of this proposed standard. Availability ALPS products for P1024B will be delivered in the second calendar quarter of 1998. ALPS for P1024C is planned for 90 days after the delivery of phase one for P1024B. AX.25 and EMTOX support are available in both phases. ALPS will be packaged as part of the optional IBM feature set for Cisco IOS software. Customers will be able to purchase the ALPS features directly from Cisco and from its authorized resellers, including SITA.
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