Big Nets Await Smarter Routers [Juniper/Avici info]
zdnet.com
By Randy Barrett, Inter@ctive Week
May 13, 1998 6:28 AM PDT
Tomorrow's faster Net will require switches and routers capable of astounding speeds and smarts, and big network operators are patiently banking on two lesser-known
start-ups to deliver the magic boxes.
Avici Systems Inc. in Chelmsford, Mass., and Juniper Networks Inc. in Mountain View,
Calif., both are developing multiterabit routers capable of delivering trillions of bits per
second over a frame relay network.
Juniper (www.jnx.com) is slightly ahead of Avici (www.avici.com) and plans to field a
product later this year. Avici officials say they will beta test their first offering in the
fourth quarter and introduce the product in the first quarter of 1999. Both companies --
particularly Juniper -- are funded by some of the biggest names in networking: 3Com
Corp., AT&T Corp., Lucent Technologies Inc., Northern Telecom Inc. and WorldCom
Inc.
So far, the expectant parents appear willing to wait out the two-year gestation time for
the turbo-powered boxes.
"We would like to get the stuff as soon as possible, but no sooner," says Michael
O'Dell, vice president and chief scientist of UUnet Technologies Inc., the networking
subsidiary of WorldCom, which invested $7 million in Juniper.
"There appears to be no substantial slippage in schedule [at Juniper]," says Klaus
Buechner, senior vice president of corporate strategic alliances at Nortel, which also
supplied $7 million to the company.
Why such Buddha-like patience? Because there aren't many other alternatives. The
router/switching leaders, Bay Networks Inc., Cisco Systems Inc. and Fore Systems
Inc., are working frantically on terabit technology in their own labs, but there is no
guarantee which one will strike pay dirt first.
Juniper's Web site says precious little about what the 95-employee company is up to.
That's no mistake. Chief Executive Officer Scott Kriens will speak of Juniper's
technology only in broad terms -- mostly centering on the problem of managing trillions
of bits on a network.
"Speeding up the Internet without control will only make things worse," Kriens says.
The answer lies not only in advanced software, but also in new silicon in the guts of the
router/switches. Both Juniper and Avici have semiconductor and networking experts
working side by side in an unusual alliance.
Avici has 100 consultants working on the problem and recently announced a $55.3
million second round of financing, with Nortel among the funders. Nortel
(www.nortel.com) also holds a 20 percent equity stake in the company.
What's the difference between Juniper and Avici's technology? What little information
that's available shows not much -- and both companies are staying mum on the details.
Why such Buddha-like patience? Because there aren't many other alternatives
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