Ascend Archive
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Re: (ASCEND) IDSL and 4048
Joseph Bridgewater commented:
>4048's can not be upgraded to 4004. That's what Ascend means by
>"fixed" configuration - no upgrade path for the platform.
In reply to Jason Nealis' suggestion:
>>Couldn't he easy upgrade that unit to a 4004 with some Hash Codes
>>though?
...In reply to Kevin Smith's statement:
>>> No. The MAX4048 is a fixed configuration box that will ONLY accept
>>> 3 x 16Mod modem cards. IDSL on the 4004/TNT is more common....
...In reply to Richard Safran's question:
>>>>I'm considering using spare 4048's for IDSL. Do the 4048's accept
>>>>the IDSL cards?
Here we go again. The crowd of peasants is forming, equipped
with the standard-issue assortment of pitchforks, torches, and
blunt instruments. The crowd will soon march upon Ascend
corporate headquarters, in classic monster movie fashion.
The issue is, once again, "upgrades". Last time, it was K56flex.
This time, it is IDSL.
Let's get real. If the 4048 has no upgrade path, this means
that the phrase "fixed configuration of the 4048" is a oxymoron.
The configuration of the 4048 is BROKEN, not "fixed".
1) Jason's observation seems on-target. The
extremely identical hardware appears to
indicate that the only difference between
a 4048 and a 4004 is a few hash codes. (And,
as I recall, a less "beefy" power supply,
but I could be mistaken). Therefore,
upgrades seem to be a matter of Ascend's
deliberate choices. In the past, the 4004 was
the top of Ascend's line, so there may have been
good reasons for limitations on the 4048.
2) The Max 4xxx series is at "end of life", now
that the 6xxx series is released. There is
no reason to "protect" the 4004 any longer.
It is now clearly a "midrange" product.
3) Many sites with limited budgets or limited
plans bought the 4048. Plans change, budgets
get increased. Regardless, if they wave
money at Ascend, Ascend should not be so foolish
as to refuse the money, since this defeats any
efforts made to build brand loyalty.
4) Even if the 4048 limit is STILL 3 cards, why
cannot the 3 cards be IDSL cards? If this does
not work TODAY, I would consider the 4048 in
question to be in need of repair.
5) If Ascend's marketing types had any panache
or style, they would realize the obvious -
the installed base of 4048 users is a potential
GOLDMINE for "end-of-life" treatment, not a group
to dismiss. The buyer of a 4048 is the Ascend
customer MOST LIKELY to be in the market for
additional capacity, simply because of the limits
of the 4048. Who gets his money when Ascend says
"no"?
6) In the case at hand, the customer (Richard Safran)
wants to BUY MORE PRODUCTS FROM ASCEND. He wants to
USE THESE PRODUCTS WITH OTHER ASCEND PRODUCTS.
Ascend says "no", thus loosing a customer for IDSL
and perhaps loosing a customer for any/all future
Ascend products.
I fear that Ascend, like my past masters at AT&T Bell Labs, can
never be accused of marketing. Sad, isn't it?
The following approaches would both be highly profitable, and
prevent 4048 customers from buying their next chassis from
Lucent/Cisco/whatever. They are approaches that should be
blindly obvious to even the casual observer:
a) (4004 Price) - (4048 Price) = Upgrade Price
If I worked for Ascend, this little
trick would get me promoted to "VP of
Thinking Clearly". It would also be
fair. It would also be very profitable,
and eliminate many concerns that exist
about Ascend's ability to compete at the
lower end of the market.
b) 4048 IDSL (only) upgrade
For a fee, keep your 3 modem cards
in place, and be able to add some
number of IDSL cards, but no more
modem cards. A lower-cost way to
make a 4048 look like a real product
rather than a "teaser". Since 4048s
somehow support K56/V.90 cards, it
is hard for a customer to accept that
the box simply cannot support IDSL cards.
c) Trade In a 4048, Get A Non-Trivial Discount
On a 4004, 6000, or TNT
This is called "customer retention".
This allows Ascend to claim that the 4048
is the bottom of a "scalable family",
rather than yet another dead-end box.
A gutsy approach would credit the full
purchase price of the 4048 against the
more expensive 6000/TNTs.
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