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From: vjs@rhyolite.wpd.sgi.com (Vernon Schryver)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans
Subject: Re: Does such a "box" exist?
Keywords: network star fddi concentrator
Message-ID: <86104@sgi.sgi.com>
Date: 19 Feb 91 19:16:40 GMT
References: <3517@uc.msc.umn.edu> <24647@netcom.COM>
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Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc., Mountain View, CA
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In article <24647@netcom.COM>, jbreeden@netcom.COM (John Breeden) writes:
> 
>You just discribed AT&T's FDDI Concentrator. It does exactly what you discribe
> above. It's a 19" rack mountable card cage, able to hold 4 cards with 4 FDDI 
> ports per card. 


As far as I can tell, there are far more currently available brands of FDDI
concentrators than FDDI stations.  It's crazy, since no one can do anything
useful with a concentrator by itself.

The boxes all look similar.  Some have more or less room for expansion.
Some are slightly more or less expensive.  None are cheap today--they're
talking about thousands of dollars/port.  I don't think concentrators make
sense for most uses; most people disagree with me.

The vast majority of the current FDDI Concentrator makers will be doing
something else soon.  Their market does not have room for much added value,
and so will soon, if not already, be a "commodity market" with terrible
margins.  Those with deep pockets will be able to stay as long as they
choose.

The number of FDDI board makers is even stranger than the number of
concentrator vendors.  Everyone and their uncle has decided to start making
(generally) very similar products, using nearly identical components, with
very high non-recurring engineering costs, and with astronomical
manufacturing and test costs.  Lemmings are wierd.



Vernon Schryver,   vjs@sgi.com