Fiber Network Interface Card Offering Expanded

Nashville, TN - Transition Networks Inc. announced several new releases within its fiber optic line of network interface cards (NIC), which offer customers lower-cost, fiber connectivity to the desktop in fiber rich LAN environments. Included in the additions are three new NIC models: 100Base-FX, 10/100Base-TX + 100Base-FX Dual Media and 1000Base-SX/LX. To offer the same fiber optic connectivity to a laptop or notebook computer, Transition is also announcing the addition of 100Base-FX PCMCIA cards in two models: 32-bit CardBus or 16-bit PC card. All cards offer driver support for most popular operating systems and come with a lifetime warranty.

"As fiber continues its proliferation closer to the PC in LAN environments, it's becoming more crucial to provide fiber connectivity at the desktop or laptop," said Bill Schultz, vice president of marketing for Transition Networks. "These new fiber NICs and PCMCIA cards offer yet another alternative for connecting to fiber optic cabling and continue the Transition tradition of providing our customers the broadest range of media conversion and fiber interface options in the industry."

Detailed Product Information

100Base-FX Network Interface Card
The N-FX-xx-02 Fast Ethernet fiber NIC is a new revision of the N-FX-xx-01 previously offered by Transition. The new -02 version is now available in both standard and low profile form factors and includes multimode, singlemode and single fiber (WDM) optical interfaces. In addition, the NIC includes Wake-On-LAN (WOL) power management for both PCI 2.1 and 2.2 systems, 802.1P/Q VLAN support, TCP/IP checksum off-loading, an IP multicast filter and optional boot ROM support for both PXE and RPL environments.

10/100Base-TX + 100Base-FX Dual Media Network Interface Card
The NDM-FTX-xx-01 Dual Media NIC includes an auto-negotiating, 10/100Base-TX RJ-45 port in addition to a 100Base-FX port, allowing for ultimate flexibility for installation in both new and legacy LAN environments. This NIC is available in both standard and low profile form factors and includes multimode, singlemode and single fiber (WDM) optical interfaces. In addition, the NIC includes Wake-On-LAN (WOL) power management for both PCI 2.1 and 2.2 systems, 802.1P/Q VLAN support, TCP/IP checksum off-loading, an IP multicast filter and optional boot ROM support for both PXE and RPL environments.

1000Base-SX/LX Network Interface Card
The N-GSX-xx-01 Gigabit Ethernet NIC is available in both standard and low profile form factors and includes multimode (SX) or singlemode (LX) optical interfaces that support auto-negotiation. The NIC is PCI 2.2 compliant with plug-and-play capability for both 32-bit/33MHz and 64-bit/66MHz buses. In addition, the NIC includes Wake-On-LAN (WOL) power management, 802.1P/Q VLAN support, TCP/IP checksum off-loading, full-duplex flow control, optional boot ROM support for PXE environments and supports jumbo frames up to 9KB.

100Base-FX PCMCIA cards
The PCMxx-FX-xx-01 Fast Ethernet PCMCIA cards provide a dongle-less fiber connection for fiber to the notebook applications in either high security or high bandwidth environments. The cards are available in both 16-bit PC card and 32-bit CardBus versions and include multimode or singlemode optical interfaces. In addition, the cards provide diagnostic LEDs, support flow control and are PCMCIA Type II compliant.

Advanced Features and Benefits

Wake-on-LAN (WOL)
Wake on LAN is a technology that allows a network professional to remotely power on a computer or to wake it up from sleep mode. By remotely triggering the computer to wake up and perform scheduled maintenance tasks, the technician does not have to physically visit each computer on the network. Transition Networks' NICs support WOL through the PCI 2.2 bus and support PCI 2.1 WOL via an external cable included with each NIC.

802.1P/Q VLAN Support
The IEEE 802.1Q specification establishes a standard method for tagging Ethernet frames, which is used to define Virtual LAN segments that allow a group of devices to communicate as if they were directly connected, even though they may be located on one or more distinct LANs. The IEEE 802.1P specification is an extension of 802.1Q and allows for traffic prioritization by grouping traffic into classes such as e-mail, streaming video, voice, etc. Transition Networks' NICs support both P and Q tagging.

TCP/IP checksum off-loading
The checksum algorithm is used by TCP for detecting errors in the data stream when being sent over IP networks. Transition Networks' NICs can help improve the performance of the CPU by off-loading this checksum calculation at the NIC, freeing up more processing power for high-throughput environments.

IP multicast filter
Internet Protocol (IP) Multicast is a way to transmit data from one source to multiple destinations at the same time and is commonly used for real-time data, audio or video streaming. While multicast provides many benefits for a LAN, it can be burdensome on a PC that may be used for other purposes and does not need to receive this traffic. Transition Networks' NICs can filter this traffic allowing the PC to only receive those packets necessary to complete its tasks.

Boot ROM support
Network boot technology enables PCs to boot over a LAN using files located on a network server rather than files stored on a local hard drive. In addition, remote boot can allow network administrators the ability to automate tasks like loading software onto PCs and backup/recovery of critical files. Transition Networks' NICs provide an optional ROM chip that can be installed into the socket on-board to provide network boot capabilities for both Preboot Execution Environment (PXE), the standard for Windows-based platforms, and Remote Program Load (RPL), a legacy boot protocol developed by IBM which was not widely supported today.

SOURCE: Transition Networks Products