Power to the POPs

Ariel Corporation's systems cards are available with T1 and E1 interfaces, and are field upgradeable to 120 ports in 24-port increments. These cards are part of a plan (called PowerPOP) to increase the intelligence of the edge of the Internet.

by Wayne Kawamoto [February 2, 2001]

Ariel Corporation announced a 48-port version of its RS4200, the company's high-density 56K/ISDN PCI two-card solution for Windows NT- and Linux-based network access systems. According to the company, its 48-port card set, available with T1/PRI or E1/PRI interfaces, may be field upgraded in 24-port increments to handle up to 96 or 120 ports by adding up to three 24-port modules.

The RS4200 is a PCI-based multi-service access card set that is designed to give ISPs an out-of-the-box solution for adding high-density remote access to Linux and Windows NT systems.

According to Ariel, the RS4200 can accommodate up to 120 remote access sessions originating from any combination of V.90-compatible 56-kbps, 33.6-kbps, or 56/64-kbps basic rate ISDN customer premises equipment. In late Q1, Ariel plans to add V.110 support, which will give European ISPs and technical OEMs the ability to terminate GSM calls.

PowerPOP
The RS4200 is the cornerstone of Ariel's PowerPOP architecture, the company's approach to building ISP infrastructure that replaces dedicated servers and dumb remote access concentrators with open architecture Linux and NT systems.

According to Ariel, PowerPOP architecture systems are ideal for ISPs that want to improve network performance and efficiency by deploying intelligent POPs that incorporate functions such as authentication, DNS, and web caching. PowerPOP-architecture systems may also be ideal for new ISPs that want to reduce up-front NOC equipment costs by consolidating functions and services like DNS, authentication, Web hosting, FTP, e-mail, caching, and backup onto a single Linux or NT system.

The RS4200 comes with a Java-based remote management tool that may make it easy for system administrators to monitor an unlimited number of RS4200 ports located anywhere on the LAN or Internet.

The tool offers an active call table that displays username, IP address, call duration, RAS server IP address, RS4200 ID, T1/PRI ID, channel ID, protocol in use, and transmit/receive rates on a per call basis. The tool also provides information about system uptime and statistical data such as historical connects rates (modem and HDLC). Other features include the ability to configure the T1/E1/PRI line interface and take resources out of service.

"The RS4200 set the price standard for 56K/ISDN remote access by delivering up to 120 ports for half of what legacy suppliers like Lucent and Cisco charge," said Dennis Schneider, president and CEO of Ariel Corporation. "Now, we are making the RS4200 more attractive to smaller ISPs and technical OEMs who require lower port densities by offering a 48-port version of the RS4200. At the same time, we are giving fast-growing ISPs in North America and Europe an easy way to scale their systems by offering T1 and E1 interfaces and providing 24-port expansion modules that can be installed in the field."

"The RS4200 offers an amazingly low price—the lowest cost per port of any Linux- or NT-based remote access solution on the market today," said Brad Baldwin, an analyst at IDC. "We expect open-architecture Linux- and NT-based remote access solutions like the RS4200 to be extremely attractive to fast-growing ISPs who need a flexible, low-cost way to build infrastructure and add new POPs."

Availability and pricing
The 48-port version of the RS4200 is available for Red Hat Linux 6.1/6.2 and Windows NT Server version 4.0.

The single-piece manufacturer's suggested retail price for a 48-port RS4200 is $5221. The RS4200 24-port field upgrade module is priced at $2136.

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