Gandalf Digital Communications Inc has been demonstrating an integral Token Ring board for its Access Hub wiring concentrator. It is Gandalf’s first foray into the Token Ring market, as the company has previously marketed Ethernet products only – apart from a Token Ring router, which only now comes into its own. The first offerings are […]
Gandalf Digital Communications Inc has been demonstrating an integral Token Ring board for its Access Hub wiring concentrator. It is Gandalf’s first foray into the Token Ring market, as the company has previously marketed Ethernet products only – apart from a Token Ring router, which only now comes into its own. The first offerings are a 12-port unshielded twisted pair module and an shielded twisted pair dual ring-in/ring-out module, along with the necessary management software. This will be supplied as an upgrade release to existing Ethernet-based customers. The board is software-configurable to run at 4Mbps or 16Mbps. Automatic speed detection is built in, so that, according to Steve Brigden, the company’s local network product marketing manager, If a guy with a station running at 4Mbps tried to plug into a 16Mbps ring, it would in the past have brought the network down – but with this system he’s just not allowed to link in. The first products will be available in February, but pricing has not yet been set. Plans for the future include a shielded twisted pair lobe, a combined unshielded and shielded twisted pair lobe, and a fibre ring-in/ring-out module, all of which are expected to be launched in the third quarter of next year.
