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To: David Lawrence who wrote (8955)	11/11/1997 9:01:00 AM
From: Jeffery E. Forrest	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22053

Terabit-per-second routing Startup takes routing down a new path By Paula Musich, PC Week Online 11.10.97 10:00 am ET A small startup is hoping to turn the internetworking world on its head with new technology that uses parallel processing to make routers more scalable. At its corporate coming-out party this week, Neo Networks Inc. will introduce its first product: a router that implements massively parallel internetworking to provide data-forwarding rates in the terabit-per-second range. Existing high-end routers, using traditional uniprocessing methods based on the OSI seven-layer internetworking model, can send data at maximum rates of about 500,000 packets per second. The Stream Processor 2400 is based on seven Neo Networks ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits), which can operate in parallel to simultaneously process packet streams--instead of single packets--along with the policies and protocols for routing those streams, said Mark Cree, vice president of marketing for the 25-employee company, based in Minnetonka, Minn. The ASICs identify different types of traffic on the fly and use the most relevant rule or protocol--for example, IPV4, RSVP (Resource Reservation Protocol) or IEEE 802.1--to process and prioritize the data. "We can say, if you see this video stream, use 802.1p to send a multicast priority," Cree said. Such processing techniques could give companies high-speed access to bandwidth-intensive multimedia technology over the Internet without bogging down more mission-critical applications. "We've said we want to be open and give our customers access to media-rich content, but at the same time, there are certain things we have to give priority to," said Brett Norgaard, director of business development at Comdisco Inc., a network outsourcing services company in Rosemont, Ill. With the Neo Networks technology, "we could do that on an application-by-application basis, so customers have open access to a world of information, and we ensure that the applications they bank the business on can operate in the most efficient manner," said Norgaard, who plans to beta test the Stream Processor 2400. The key to the Stream Processor is its ability to separate packet streams from the rules that govern them. "Instead of processing the protocol header in a layered way, they're saying, 'Let's treat the whole thing as one great big header,'" said Tom Nolle, president of CIMI Corp., in Voorhees, N.J. "They're using parallel processing to construct a second stream of data--the policy data." The Stream Processor 2400 will be targeted at high-performance enterprise networks. Initially, it will support OC-48 (2.4G-bps) full-duplex line cards, which can be aggregated to reach terabit speeds. Neo Networks also intends to provide Gigabit Ethernet line cards, giving companies high-speed routing for Gigabit switches, Cree said. Final pricing has not yet been set; Neo is targeting a price of $2,500 per port. Neo Networks, founded in May 1996, is backed by $8.1 million in private financing.