IBM Corp has shored up is ATM networking strategy with a new batch of products, the 8265 ATM campus switch, which replaces its previous 8260 ATM campus switch and an update of its Multi Switched Services, MSS, hardware and software to Version 2.0. IBM has added Integrated Private Network to Network Interface support, ATM Forum 4.0 traffic management and Multi Protocol Over ATM support to the 8260 switch, and boosted its speed. MSS 2.0 incorporates Local Area Network Emulation and cut through layer 3 switching through Next Hop Routing Protocol. This, IBM claims, adds to its long-stated goal of bringing switched ATM to the Local Area Network backbone, and the aggregation of multi protocol traffic onto the ATM backbone. This all adds into its emphasis on Switched Virtual Networks strategy-switching rather than routing in networks – and the bundling together of disparate LANs and treatment of them as a single continuous network. The 8265 Nyways switch uses two IBM Prizma chips, which IBM calls ATM-switches-on-chip, which gives a total switching throughput of 12.8Gbps, which will be increased in the future to 51.6Gbps.
