April 06, 1999 08:45
MRV Communications Inc. Introduces Industry's First
High-Performance Linux Switch Router
CHATSWORTH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 6, 1999--
The OSR8000 is the First High Performance Enterprise Routing Switch to Integrate the
Linux Operating System
MRV Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:MRVC), a leading provider of high-speed optical
network components and systems, today announced the first high performance
enterprise switch router to integrate the Linux Operating System under its NBase-Xyplex
brand name.
"The OSR8000 has addressed the market demand for a flexible, high performance
enterprise solution that increases network bandwidth on demand and preserves mission
critical application requirements for enterprise and service provider networks," said
Noam Lotan, president and CEO of MRV Communications.
This revolutionary router was featured in this week's issues of PC Week, Network World,
Internet Week and EE Times. High performance has been integrated with the "Open"
architecture of Linux to create a seamless, high performance enterprise switch routing
package for enterprise and service provider networks.
This is the first high performance Linux Router using the strength, flexibility and scalability
of an "Open" architecture, giving the customer basic block functions and programmable
interfaces.
The OSR8000 is a Linux switch router in an 18-slot chassis with a 40-Gigabit-per-second
routing fabric, frame and cell scheduling, and high speed ASICs, supporting up to 26
million packets per second of throughput. A special feature is the programmable "Packet
Flow Processors" for smart networking applications. These new features can be
deployed without additional hardware upgrades, saving customers time and resources.
A Common Routing Platform Approach
Today, "Open Source" routing is rapidly gaining favor among developers. A recent
survey by Evans Marketing Services showed that 53% of surveyed developers are in
favor of open source software. A recent series of key developments is helping Linux to
emerge as a new viable standard in Enterprise Operating Systems.
New enhancements to Linux are beginning to catch the attention of the corporate IT
groups. Improved interfaces, symmetric multi- processing performance and an extended
file system are, but a few of the improvements that place Linux on a par with NT and
NetWare.
These improvements have attracted industry leaders such as IBM, Oracle,
Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, Intel and Dell computers in support of the Linux Open
architecture.
Breakthrough Capabilities in Application Development
Most competing high-end switch router vendors require their customers to use a
proprietary software engine for all routing features. The proprietary software running their
routers restricts users who wish to add new applications to their products. With Linux as
its software systems base, the OSR8000 allows customers who require this capability
access to the basic block functions and programmable interfaces needed for application
development.
"The industry is growing and changing fast, but our average (service) contract is seven to
10 years," said Tejas Vashi, data communications product manager at Broadband
Network Inc., in State College, Pa., and NBase user. "There will be (a) lot of changes
over that time, so we'll need to change, scale and migrate that system over (the) life of the
contract. Something like (the OSR8040-L) lets us add and delete things as we require on
the core. It lets us tailor the applications to the network itself." (PC Week, April 5, 1999)
Customers who are unable to build their own applications will also benefit from the open
system routing design. As new networking technologies and capabilities become
available, they must first be ported to a router's base code before the new features can
be utilized. The Linux Open architecture encourages the thousands of software
developers to continue releasing new features.
To further complement enhanced routing, the OSR8000 includes integrated application
services with the multi-service functions of the Linux OS. These include programmable
Packet Flow Processors for 'smart' networking applications, the CODA distributed file
system, improved directory services, enhanced symmetric multiprocessing performance,
load balancing and fault tolerance.
Configuration
The OSR8000 is an 18-slot modular chassis with a 40-Gigabit per second routing fabric,
frame and cell scheduling, and high speed ASICs. Optional modules provide a flexible
selection of port density and speed with 128 x 10/100 Ethernet ports, 64 OC12 ports or
32 x 1Gbps ports. Future modules will include 128 ATM or POS OC3 ports and WDM
and long-reach optics.
To ensure high-end scalability, the Linux Operating System supports multiple processors
and also supports IPsec. The OSR8000 includes support for Quality of Service,
numerous security features, policy-based management, SNMP, RMON, VLANS, IP CIDR
and router clustering.
It also includes a full suite of routing protocols and applications, including: IP, RIP1/2,
OSPF DHCP, ICMP, EGP, GDP, IRDP, IPX, MBR, IGMP, DVMRP, PIM, SAP, NetBios,
AppleTalk, DECnet, NAT and IP Masquerading.
Availability
The base chassis and initial modules of the OSR8000 routing switch will be available in
the 3rd quarter of 1999. The Linux Switch Router was developed and will be
manufactured by MRV's NBase division in Yokneam, Israel.
About MRV Communications Inc.
MRV Communications is a world-class leader in high-speed optical network components
and systems. Its products integrate switching, routing, remote access and fiber-optic
transmission to enhance the performance of LANs (local area networks) and WANs
(wide area networks) and telecommunications networks. MRV's fiber-optic transmission
components send voice, data and video to carriers and residential networks.
Through its NBase-Xyplex brand, the company provides network enhancement solutions
that accelerate the deployment and improve the performance of complex data networks.
CONTACT: MRV Communications Inc., Chatsworth
Diana Hayden, 818/886-6782 |
