Cisco Upgrades Its Mainframe Connectivity Solutions

November 9, 2000

NEWS BRIEFS LIVEwire

Dallas, Texas — Maintaining its commitment to offer customers affordable, yet fully functional solutions for direct mainframe channel connectivity, Cisco Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CSCO) today announced new features for its TN3270 Server and the availability of its latest ESCON Channel Port Adapter, the ECPA4. Both products are a part of the Cisco mainframe channel connectivity solutions family, which gives customers access to IBM and IBM-compatible mainframes using the reliability and scalability of Cisco 7200 and Cisco 7500 series IP routers.

New TN3270 Features and Benefits

The new TN3270 Server features improve security, simplify configuration, and add support for more 3270 protocol functions. TN3270 Server is a software program that can be used to connect a desktop computer to a mainframe and emulate a mainframe terminal (3270) session. This application runs on every Cisco Channel Port Adapter (CPA) for the Cisco 7200 series and every Channel Interface Processor (CIP) for the Cisco 7500 series platforms. The new TN3270 features and their correlating benefits are:

— Logical unit (LU) naming in a load-balanced and redundant configuration: This feature allows the TN3270 Server to pass an LU name to the Virtual Telecommunications Access Method (VTAM), a component of Communications Server for OS/390, and to ask VTAM to dynamically create an LU with that name. Previously, a TN3270 Server user that required a specific LU name had to be directed to a TN3270 Server that had a predefined relationship with that name. With the new support, a TN3270 client can connect to one of multiple TN3270 Servers, and each server can support the request for a named LU. This allows LU naming in a load-balanced or redundant configuration.

— Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption: This feature improves security during 3270 sessions by adding SSL encryption between TN3270 Servers and clients. SSL is the de facto standard for protecting data transmitted over TCP/IP networks.

— Inverse nailing of LU names using Domain Name System (DNS) lookup: Using this feature, TN3270 Server customers can use DNS symbolic names instead of an IP address when creating and assigning LU names. This feature is particularly useful in environments where IP addresses change frequently, such as the use of Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to assign IP addresses to users.

— Additional support for 3270 functions: The TN3270 Server can now support more 3270 functions including SNA sense codes, function management headers, keyboard restore indicator, and suppression of multiple x “FF” bytes in 3270 datastreams.

ECPA4 Features and Benefits

The ECPA4 offers 150 percent increase in processing capability and more than 300 percent increase in memory over previous ECPA models. These enhancements result in performance boosts for the mainframe applications ECPA4 supports, which includes Cisco SNA (CSNA) and TN3270 Server sessions. Specifically, for the CSNA environment, ECPA4 is able to support up to 8,000 LLC2 sessions, 5,000 sessions more than the previous version. For the TN3270 Server environment, ECPA4 can support up to 30,000 LU sessions, an increase of 25,000 sessions from the previous version.

“With so much attention paid to client/server computing issues today, it’s easy to forget how vital mainframes still are to the business world,” said Ken Kauffman, a product manager in the InterWorks Business Division at Cisco. “But Cisco recognizes that customer demand for solutions that harness the latest networking technologies for use in mainframe environments is very strong. Our announcements today demonstrate the dedication we have for supporting this market.”

Pricing and Availability

The new TN3270 Server features are expected to be available later this month on CPA and CIP cards running the latest version of Cisco IOS, 12.1 (5) T or later. Customers on SMARTnet(TM) contracts who are running older versions of Cisco IOS will be able to download the software from www.cisco.com. SSL support on the TN3270 Server requires an additional licensing fee per server.

The ECPA4 is available now and can be purchased for $18,000.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. News and information are available at www.cisco.com.

============================================================

Subscribe to HPCwire's Weekly Update!

Be the most informed person in the room! Stay ahead of the tech trends with industry updates delivered to you every week!

MLPerf Inference 4.0 Results Showcase GenAI; Nvidia Still Dominates

March 28, 2024

There were no startling surprises in the latest MLPerf Inference benchmark (4.0) results released yesterday. Two new workloads — Llama 2 and Stable Diffusion XL — were added to the benchmark suite as MLPerf continues Read more…

Q&A with Nvidia’s Chief of DGX Systems on the DGX-GB200 Rack-scale System

March 27, 2024

Pictures of Nvidia's new flagship mega-server, the DGX GB200, on the GTC show floor got favorable reactions on social media for the sheer amount of computing power it brings to artificial intelligence.  Nvidia's DGX Read more…

Call for Participation in Workshop on Potential NSF CISE Quantum Initiative

March 26, 2024

Editor’s Note: Next month there will be a workshop to discuss what a quantum initiative led by NSF’s Computer, Information Science and Engineering (CISE) directorate could entail. The details are posted below in a Ca Read more…

Waseda U. Researchers Reports New Quantum Algorithm for Speeding Optimization

March 25, 2024

Optimization problems cover a wide range of applications and are often cited as good candidates for quantum computing. However, the execution time for constrained combinatorial optimization applications on quantum device Read more…

NVLink: Faster Interconnects and Switches to Help Relieve Data Bottlenecks

March 25, 2024

Nvidia’s new Blackwell architecture may have stolen the show this week at the GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, California. But an emerging bottleneck at the network layer threatens to make bigger and brawnier pro Read more…

Who is David Blackwell?

March 22, 2024

During GTC24, co-founder and president of NVIDIA Jensen Huang unveiled the Blackwell GPU. This GPU itself is heavily optimized for AI work, boasting 192GB of HBM3E memory as well as the the ability to train 1 trillion pa Read more…

MLPerf Inference 4.0 Results Showcase GenAI; Nvidia Still Dominates

March 28, 2024

There were no startling surprises in the latest MLPerf Inference benchmark (4.0) results released yesterday. Two new workloads — Llama 2 and Stable Diffusion Read more…

Q&A with Nvidia’s Chief of DGX Systems on the DGX-GB200 Rack-scale System

March 27, 2024

Pictures of Nvidia's new flagship mega-server, the DGX GB200, on the GTC show floor got favorable reactions on social media for the sheer amount of computing po Read more…

NVLink: Faster Interconnects and Switches to Help Relieve Data Bottlenecks

March 25, 2024

Nvidia’s new Blackwell architecture may have stolen the show this week at the GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, California. But an emerging bottleneck at Read more…

Who is David Blackwell?

March 22, 2024

During GTC24, co-founder and president of NVIDIA Jensen Huang unveiled the Blackwell GPU. This GPU itself is heavily optimized for AI work, boasting 192GB of HB Read more…

Nvidia Looks to Accelerate GenAI Adoption with NIM

March 19, 2024

Today at the GPU Technology Conference, Nvidia launched a new offering aimed at helping customers quickly deploy their generative AI applications in a secure, s Read more…

The Generative AI Future Is Now, Nvidia’s Huang Says

March 19, 2024

We are in the early days of a transformative shift in how business gets done thanks to the advent of generative AI, according to Nvidia CEO and cofounder Jensen Read more…

Nvidia’s New Blackwell GPU Can Train AI Models with Trillions of Parameters

March 18, 2024

Nvidia's latest and fastest GPU, codenamed Blackwell, is here and will underpin the company's AI plans this year. The chip offers performance improvements from Read more…

Nvidia Showcases Quantum Cloud, Expanding Quantum Portfolio at GTC24

March 18, 2024

Nvidia’s barrage of quantum news at GTC24 this week includes new products, signature collaborations, and a new Nvidia Quantum Cloud for quantum developers. Wh Read more…

Alibaba Shuts Down its Quantum Computing Effort

November 30, 2023

In case you missed it, China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba has shut down its quantum computing research effort. It’s not entirely clear what drove the change. Read more…

Nvidia H100: Are 550,000 GPUs Enough for This Year?

August 17, 2023

The GPU Squeeze continues to place a premium on Nvidia H100 GPUs. In a recent Financial Times article, Nvidia reports that it expects to ship 550,000 of its lat Read more…

Shutterstock 1285747942

AMD’s Horsepower-packed MI300X GPU Beats Nvidia’s Upcoming H200

December 7, 2023

AMD and Nvidia are locked in an AI performance battle – much like the gaming GPU performance clash the companies have waged for decades. AMD has claimed it Read more…

DoD Takes a Long View of Quantum Computing

December 19, 2023

Given the large sums tied to expensive weapon systems – think $100-million-plus per F-35 fighter – it’s easy to forget the U.S. Department of Defense is a Read more…

Synopsys Eats Ansys: Does HPC Get Indigestion?

February 8, 2024

Recently, it was announced that Synopsys is buying HPC tool developer Ansys. Started in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1970 as Swanson Analysis Systems, Inc. (SASI) by John Swanson (and eventually renamed), Ansys serves the CAE (Computer Aided Engineering)/multiphysics engineering simulation market. Read more…

Choosing the Right GPU for LLM Inference and Training

December 11, 2023

Accelerating the training and inference processes of deep learning models is crucial for unleashing their true potential and NVIDIA GPUs have emerged as a game- Read more…

Intel’s Server and PC Chip Development Will Blur After 2025

January 15, 2024

Intel's dealing with much more than chip rivals breathing down its neck; it is simultaneously integrating a bevy of new technologies such as chiplets, artificia Read more…

Baidu Exits Quantum, Closely Following Alibaba’s Earlier Move

January 5, 2024

Reuters reported this week that Baidu, China’s giant e-commerce and services provider, is exiting the quantum computing development arena. Reuters reported � Read more…

Leading Solution Providers

Contributors

Comparing NVIDIA A100 and NVIDIA L40S: Which GPU is Ideal for AI and Graphics-Intensive Workloads?

October 30, 2023

With long lead times for the NVIDIA H100 and A100 GPUs, many organizations are looking at the new NVIDIA L40S GPU, which it’s a new GPU optimized for AI and g Read more…

Shutterstock 1179408610

Google Addresses the Mysteries of Its Hypercomputer 

December 28, 2023

When Google launched its Hypercomputer earlier this month (December 2023), the first reaction was, "Say what?" It turns out that the Hypercomputer is Google's t Read more…

AMD MI3000A

How AMD May Get Across the CUDA Moat

October 5, 2023

When discussing GenAI, the term "GPU" almost always enters the conversation and the topic often moves toward performance and access. Interestingly, the word "GPU" is assumed to mean "Nvidia" products. (As an aside, the popular Nvidia hardware used in GenAI are not technically... Read more…

Shutterstock 1606064203

Meta’s Zuckerberg Puts Its AI Future in the Hands of 600,000 GPUs

January 25, 2024

In under two minutes, Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, laid out the company's AI plans, which included a plan to build an artificial intelligence system with the eq Read more…

Google Introduces ‘Hypercomputer’ to Its AI Infrastructure

December 11, 2023

Google ran out of monikers to describe its new AI system released on December 7. Supercomputer perhaps wasn't an apt description, so it settled on Hypercomputer Read more…

China Is All In on a RISC-V Future

January 8, 2024

The state of RISC-V in China was discussed in a recent report released by the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The report, entitled "E Read more…

Intel Won’t Have a Xeon Max Chip with New Emerald Rapids CPU

December 14, 2023

As expected, Intel officially announced its 5th generation Xeon server chips codenamed Emerald Rapids at an event in New York City, where the focus was really o Read more…

IBM Quantum Summit: Two New QPUs, Upgraded Qiskit, 10-year Roadmap and More

December 4, 2023

IBM kicks off its annual Quantum Summit today and will announce a broad range of advances including its much-anticipated 1121-qubit Condor QPU, a smaller 133-qu Read more…

  • arrow
  • Click Here for More Headlines
  • arrow
HPCwire