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Product Overview

Product Overview

This section provides an overview of the products that support protocol translation. You will find the following information in this chapter:


Note In the context of this publication, a router set up to run protocol translation software is referred to as a protocol translator.

Protocol Translator Functionality

Protocol translators are high-performance application-level gateways that can provide connectivity among systems running differing protocols and over a variety of media.

As part of their software capability, protocol translators provide distributed network management facilities to assist in performance monitoring and run-time error logging, and support the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). These facilities enable you to examine and adjust the protocol translators for optimum performance.

Protocol translators translate virtual terminal protocols to allow devices running dissimilar protocols to communicate. The protocol translation software supports Telnet (called TCP for Transmission Control Protocol in the configuration syntax of protocol translation software), Local Area Transport (LAT), and X.25. One-step protocol translation software performs bidirectional translation between any of the following protocols:

Figure 1-1 illustrates LAT-to-Telnet protocol translation.




Figure 1-1: LAT-to-Telnet Protocol Translation
Note TN3270 and XRemote are also supported by the protocol translation software.
However, to translate between these and other supported protocols, you must use the two-step method. For information about two-step translations in general, refer to the Remote Access Server Connection Guide. Refer to the chapters "Configuring TN3270" and "Configuring XRemote" later in this publication for task-oriented configuration information about TN3270 and XRemote. Refer to the chapters "TN3270 Configuration Commands" and "XRemote Configuration Commands" later in this publication for detailed command descriptions for TN3270 and XRemote.

Supported Transmission Protocols and Services

Protocol translators provide a flexible set of capabilities for making connections using different media and between different hosts and resources running different protocols. The following descriptions summarize the protocols and connection services supported by protocol translators:

Supported Interfaces and Connections

In addition to supporting Ethernet (the 802.3 specification of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers [IEEE]), protocol translators support synchronous serial circuits at many speeds and can be connected to two serial lines. Protocol translator serial interfaces are capable of transmitting and receiving data at up to four megabits per second, and support connectivity to WAN services such as Switched Multimegabit Data Service (SMDS), Frame Relay, and X.25.

A broad line of media adapters are also available for your convenience, including RS-232, V.35, X.21, and RS-449.

Physical Configuration Options

This section describes the router models that can be set up to run protocol translation software.


Note In the context of this publication, a router or communication server running protocol translation software is referred to as a protocol translator.

Platforms Supporting Protocol Translation

Internetwork Operating System (IOS) Release 10 supports the following router platforms:


Note Protocol translation is also supported on the 500-CS and the ASM-CS communication server platforms, but the communication server product line is not supported in IOS Release 10.0.

Microprocessors

The Cisco products listed in the previous section use either the MC68020, MC68030, or MC68040 microprocessor for high-speed operation. All microprocessors contain onboard RAM, Flash memory, system ROM holding all operating system, bootstrap, and diagnostic software, and hardware and software support for a control console.

Protocol translators also provide nonvolatile memory that retains configuration information despite power losses or system reboots. With nonvolatile memory, the terminal and network servers do not need to rely on other network servers for configuration and boot service information.

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