Sea-Land Pioneers SNA-over-
Frame Relay With Netlink
Overview
Sea-Land Service, Inc., a division of CSX Corporation, Richmond, Va.,
uses Netlink's OmniLinx Frame Relay networking products to transport
SNA traffic over a WilTel Frame Relay service. OmniLinx provides
Sea-Land cost-effective Frame Relay access for existing SNA/SDLC devices,
improving throughput by more than 30 percent and sustaining high quality
of service. The company also uses OmniLinx to provide smooth, transparent
dial back-up in the event of trouble. Collectively, the Netlink devices
provide Sea-Land a total solution for SNA-over-Frame Relay transport.
THE NEED FOR CHANGE
Sea-Land Service, Inc., is a world leader in international, intertmodal
freight transportation and related trade services.
Sea-Land operates more than 90 container ships and 190,000 containers in
U.S. and foreign trade, and services more than 120 ports in 70 countries
and territories around the world.
Information is crucial to Sea-Land's success. Whether tracking container
movements, generating bills of lading, or checking invoices, data must be
easily accessible and up-to-date. Consequently, the communications network
that distributes this information is absolutely mission-critical.
Sea-Land's network, which supports sales offices and ports along the
easten seaboard, had evolved incrementally over the years, with new
requirements satisfied by adding-on to the existing infrastructure.
As a result, says John West, Sea-Land's Director of Technology Services,
the company faced an opportunity to improve efficiency and reduce costs
by consolidating data centers and aggressively pursuing a comprehensive
networking strategy.
IMPLEMENTING FRAME RELAY
After investigating a number of alternatives, Sea-Land determined
that Frame Relay best satisfied its requirements for performance,
robustness, flexibility, and cost savings. But the company needed a
complete solution that effectively integrated existing SNA equipment
and applications.
Locations served by this network utilize a mix of SNA/SDLC equipment
supporting the creation of invoices, hazardous material listing, bills
of lading, and other essential documentation. Each site typically
includes one or more IBM 3174 controllers, and many have System 36s.
Choosing WilTel as its service provider, Sea-Land needed two additional
factors to make the overall solution viable:
- Native Frame Relay connections for FEPs to reduce hardware requirements
and ease expansion in the Jacksonville, FL data center.
- Single-ended Frame Relay connectivity for SNA/SDLC devices in remote
sites.
Sea-Land satisfied the first requirement by upgrading the Network
Control Program (NCP) in their FEPs to Version 7. 1. Sea-Land was the
first IBM account to implement this release.
To meet the second requirement, Sea-Land and WilTel implemented Netlink's
OmniLinx, which connects SNA/SDLC devices to Frame Relay networks and
enables direct communications with RFC 1490 compatible devices like
Sea-Land's FEPs.
DISTINCT ADVANTAGES
OmniLinx offered Sea-Land several distinct advantages over other Frame Relay
transport alternatives:
- The single-ended OmniLinx solution requires no companion products at
the data center. According to John Amett, Sea-Land project engineer, this
provides significant cost reductions and conserves valuable floor space.
- Robust SNA/SDLC connectivity and a highperformance platform improve
throughput by more than 30%, and ensure response times and reliability
are sustained at optimum levels.
- Multiplexing of multiple SNA/SDLC devices onto a single permanent
virtual circuit (PVC) provides significant savings over products that
require a separate PVC for each attached device.
- Superior network management capabilities enable data center personnel
to monitor and manage devices from a distance. "Whatever I need to do with
the OmniLinx, I can do remotely," says Arnett.
- Convenient installation and setup. Says Arnett, "the beauty of the
product is it's so easy to configure.
Collectively, these features assured Sea-Land a painless migration
from traditional SDLC leased-line facilities to one of the world's
first SNA-over-Frame Relay networks.
According to West, implementing OmniLinx has made possible a complete
solution that fully leverages Sea-Land's existing installed base.
Thus far, the company has installed OmniLinx in 27 locations, and plans
to put units in any sites having multiple 3174s, or a mix of 3174s and
System 36s.
DIAL BACK-UP
Due to the mission-critical nature of their data traffic, Sea-Land requires
an effective back-up solution in the event of trouble on the public Frame
Relay network. Sea-Land uses OnmiLinx for this purpose as well.
If the public network goes down, the OmniLinx is automatically dialed and
the connection transferred via private Frwne Relay facilities (see
illustration). "[The OmniLinx] back-up works so smoothly, users don't
even know anything has happened," says Arnett.
THE FUTURE
"We're looking at the embryo of a new-age network for Sea-Land," says West.
Thanks in part to the increased efficiency gained from vastly improved
throughput, Sea-Land's network now can evolve gracefully to support the
planned integration of office automation and messaging technologies.
Meanwhile, the OmniLinx solution satisfies today's need for "rock-solid"
data transport, while offering the flexibility to accommodate growth.
Adds West, "With this solution, we found the right
glove to fit the hand."
Back to the OmniLinx Page.
commkmj@kmj.com