Lucent, Nortel Add Voice To Existing Devices
techweb.com
May 03, 1999, Issue: 763
Section: News & Analysis
Lucent, Nortel Add Voice To Existing Devices
Chuck Moozakis
Lucent Technologies Inc. next week is taking the wraps off a strategy that weaves policy and directory support through all of its VoIP products. Nortel Networks, meanwhile, is adding VoIP support to a new Passport multiservice
access switch and to its BayStack ARN router as it targets branch office deployments of packetized voice.
Lucent's RealWorld VoIP Networks platform gives policy capabilities to eight products, ranging from the Cajun Gigabit Ethernet switches and MultiMedia Communications eXchange server to its PacketStar Internet telephony gateway and Definity PBXs, according to Kathy Meier, general manager of IP communications at Lucent.
Playing By The Rules
The linchpin, she said, is the company's RealNet Rules policy management app, which lets managers define specific guidelines on how network resources will be used, by whom and at what times. The application, announced last week, will be available this summer and will run on either Windows NT or Sun Solaris servers. The package also will support selected legacy devices from Cisco.
Through RealNet, policy triggers will be ported through all of Lucent's VoIP products, giving managers the ability to oversee how packetized voice and data get funneled through their networks, Meier said.
Forthcoming LDAP directory support built into RealNet will eliminate the time-consuming chores required to manage VoIP-enabled devices, she added.
Ken Anderson, Novell's vice president of information systems and technology, said Novell is evaluating the Lucent portfolio in preparation for VoIP deployment linking Novell's offices. "We have identified some of our sites for beta, but what blocked us was administration," he said. "If we can directory-enable this, then this is very appealing."
Tom Nolle, president of consultancy CIMI Corp., said Lucent's approach was noteworthy because it added features to existing devices rather than require enterprises to install new equipment. "They are not asking users to throw away their existing analog or digital voice," he said, adding that most companies don't need specialized voice services.
RealWorld-enabled products will initially be available this summer upon release of RealNet; other enhancements, such as additional directory support and integration with DiffServ protocols, will be available within 18 months.
Nortel's VoIP enhancements are geared toward enterprise offices dubbed as "power branches," said Bob Reason, Nortel's group manager of router product marketing. These offices are increasingly required to access data now stored on their home office's network, making high-speed WAN bandwidth a necessity.
The Passport 5430 fills the gap between Nortel's 6400 and 4400 devices. It integrates Bay Networks' routing technology and can support 12 T1 and 48 analog voice channels.
The new BayStack ARN VoIP module provides voice capabilities to existing BayStack ARN routers. The add-on supports up to four analog ports and two optional serial ports for legacy applications.
Both the switch and router module will ship in October. The switch is priced at $7,850; the module is priced at $2,590.
|
