Path: utzoo!mnetor!tmsoft!torsqnt!lethe!yunexus!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!pacbell.com!tandem!netcom!jbreeden From: jbreeden@netcom.COM (John Breeden) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans Subject: Re: Does such a "box" exist? Keywords: network star fddi concentrator Message-ID: <24647@netcom.COM> Date: 19 Feb 91 15:55:02 GMT References: <3517@uc.msc.umn.edu> Organization: Netcom - Somewhere in the S.F. Bay Area Lines: 28 In article <3517@uc.msc.umn.edu> you write: > > For any number of reasons (which I'll share, if you care and ask), > we do not want to lay fiber in this manner, but would rather buy > some sort of "concentrator" box to "star" our ring. The box itself > would have "n" fiber ports, would operate equivalently to a normal > patch panel.. When a fiber pair is connected to a port, that pair > becomes part of the ring.. When disconnected, the ring is still > kept intact internaly. > >If such a box exists, I'd appreciating learning about it.. > 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. Contact AT&T Computer Systems for more detail. -- John Robert Breeden, jbreeden@netcom.com, apple!netcom!jbreeden, ATTMAIL:!jbreeden ------------------------------------------------------------------- "The nice thing about standards is that you have so many to choose from. If you don't like any of them, you just wait for next year's model."