Ascend Communications, Inc. Ascend MAX TNT Remote Access Concentrator Performance and Scalability vs. Bay Networks

Ascend commissioned The Tolly Group to evaluate two remote access concentrators: the Ascend MAX TNTTM (version 1.3) and the Bay Networks MSX 5000 with the Remote Annex 5399 (version R14). The Tolly Group conducted performance benchmarks of the products using actual FTP (File Transfer Protocol) session traffic. Both products were tested using up to 288 sessions across 33.6 Kbit/s modems. Additionally, the Ascend MAX TNT was benchmarked using 56 Kbit/s modems. A previous test of the same prod- ucts (see The Tolly Group document 7288), benchmarked up to 46 clients and used a previous version of Ascend software (ver 1.2A). Bay results remained consistent in both tests. Testing was performed in October of 1997.

In tests of clients connected via 33.6 modem links, the Ascend MAX TNT delivered higher throughput than the Bay Networks remote access concentrator at every data point from 32 up to 288 simultaneous clients. The tests consisted of FTP downloads of text files and compressed files. With 288 clients, the Ascend system delivered 14,890 Kbit/s of data compared to 8,243 Kbit/s for the Bay Networks System. The Ascend MAX TNT was also tested using 56 Kbit/s modem connections. (Note: 56 Kbit/s modem support was not available for the Bay Networks 5399 in time for testing.)