Mockingbird Networks Introduces Nuvo IP Telephony Switch; Open Standard, Scaleable, Telco-class Switch with SS7 Provisioning for Voice-over-IP Service
Business Wire - March 30, 1998 08:22
%MOCKINGBIRD-NETWORKS SUNW %CALIFORNIA %COMPUTERS %ELECTRONICS %COMED %TELECOMMUNICATIONS %PRODUCT V%BW P%BW
CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 30, 1998--Mockingbird Networks today introduced the Nuvo 100 telephony switch which is designed to seamlessly interface public switched telephone network (PSTN) voice circuits with Internet Protocol (IP) networks or backbones. The Nuvo switch allows carriers and internet service providers to interface to local exchanges and offer Telco-quality telephone service to their customers, while bypassing the traditional long distance networks. A significant innovation developed by Mockingbird Networks is a new class of Intelligent Network (IN) SS7 provisioning which allows Nuvo switches to imitate standard PSTN voice switches while converting Pulse Coded Modulation (PCM) voice or fax circuits to IP packets. The Nuvo 100 switch, the first product to be unveiled in the open systems Nuvo product family, is a four processor UltraSPARC II-based, NEBS-compliant (Network Equipment Building Standard), fault tolerant system.
Dan Taylor, senior analyst at Aberdeen Group comments, "The Nuvo architecture represents one of the most compelling voice-over-IP products we've seen in the marketplace today. The key to the Nuvo architecture is in its interface to the Intelligent Network. Through this interface, Nuvo switches appear to the PSTN as an end-point switch, while to the IP network they appear as routers capable of moving voice and fax as data. The result is that Nuvo switches blend the IN infrastructure with the efficiency and cost effectiveness of IP networks to give telephone customers and service providers the best of both worlds."
"The current generation of PSTN/IP gateway products pioneered the concept of using open systems computer telephony to create phone-to-phone service with IP networks," notes Walter Snell, Mockingbird Networks president. "However because they can't interface to the PSTN IN network they take the customer backwards twenty years. Without SS7 provisioning the gateway-based products are difficult to use, and circuits are often wasted because a call may be 95% complete, only to find that the target party is not a valid phone number, is off hook, or out of service. Unconnected calls are costly to service providers because they tie up network resources on calls that are not billable, and they are costly to customers in wasted time."
Interfacing to the IN also allows the Nuvo switch to support the standard features of SS7 including: instantaneous call connection (rather than the long delays when using Internet telephony gateway products), the utilization of SS7-based Call Detail Records (so charges can appear on the customer's standard phone statements), and full support of IN features that phone customers have come to expect, including caller ID, call forwarding, and multi-point conferencing.
Highly Scaleable Design
"With the introduction of the Nuvo telephony switch, our UltraSPARC II processor and Solaris operating environment continue their success in the performance-critical telecom arena," said Dhaval Ajmera, director of product marketing for Sun Microelectronics, a division of Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUNW). "The Nuvo switches utilizing the SPARC and Solaris platform provide the scaleable, reliable, cost-effective, industry standard solution required to deploy today's leading edge telecommunications applications."
The highly-scaleable Nuvo switches are designed with built-in fault tolerance with fully redundant hardware elements including MVIP switching, and can be installed in 19-24 inch racks or floor standing. A single Nuvo 100 switch supports 96 full-duplex voice channels, and can be easily expanded to support up to 10,000 channels by adding additional Nuvo switches. The cost per port drops significantly in large scale POPs (Points of Presence) since the SS7 provisioning software and IN hardware is only required in the primary switch. This makes the Nuvo switch an ideal solution for carriers who want to start on a modest scale and then increase the switch capacity as demand for IP telephony increases.
Robust Feature Set
Nuvo switches incorporate state-of-the art digital signal processing (DSP) technology to provide excellent real time voice compression. PCM voice channels are compressed from 64 Kbps down to 4 - 6 Kbps then routed to 100BaseT Ethernet ports. Unlike gateway products which use DSPs for both compression/decompression and echo cancellation, the Nuvo 100 dedicates its DSPs only to compression/decompression while using specialized hardware such as those found in traditional voice switches for echo cancellation. The Nuvo 100 supports up to four T1 interfaces which provide a direct connection to SSP switching trunks.
Wide Range of Network Applications
Nuvo switches can be used in a variety of network applications, including:
-- Local Exchange Carriers Value Added Services: Local Exchange
Carriers and ISPs can offer alternative voice or fax services
within their local long distance networks and outside their
networks with agreements with other LECs and ISPs.
-- Fax Bypass: Fax data can be intercepted by internal PSTN networks
for diversion to lower cost IP networks to reduce PCM switch
traffic. This can be completely transparent to the end user with
diversion of the fax occurring in the Central Office.
-- International Long Distance Gateways: International callback
organizations, internet service providers, and new generation
telco companies can offer long distance international gateways
which are seamless to end users. Expensive long distance services
in Asia and Europe are ideal candidates for this application.
Service and Support
The NEBS-compliant Nuvo 100 switch features field replaceable service modules, N+1 48 volt power supplies, and remote monitoring and control. Any portion of the switch can be serviced in a matter of minutes. Mockingbird offers 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year field service and support in all major metropolitan areas in the US and Canada.
Feature Summary
The Nuvo 100 switch offers:
-- RETMA Rack Mount System
-- Completely redundant architecture
-- NEBS-compliant design in 19-24 inch wide racks
-- Dual UltraSPARC II switch engines (total of four CPUs), with
200, 266 or 300 MHz processors
-- 40 Sbus slots for MVIP and IP cards
-- Four 38 GB hard disk drives with optional disk mirroring
-- Integrated IN processing handled by UltraSPARC processors
-- Integrated IP processing handled by UltraSPARC processors
-- 100BaseT, ATM and WAN interfaces
-- Internet Telephony Features
-- 48 channels of DSP per subsystem
-- One dual span T1/E1 interface per subsystem
-- Dedicated echo cancellation hardware
-- GSM voice compression
-- Dual LSSGR Alarm Units
-- Bellcore NEBS-compliant alarming monitors CPUs, power
supplies, and fans
-- Remote and local alarms provide minimum, maximum, critical
values
-- Remote control for reset and power on/off
-- Power Supplies
-- Three hot-swap power units, 1200 watts total
-- Intelligent Network Architecture
-- Full SS7 protocol stack, ITU or ANSI compliant
-- Dual HDLC serial controllers, and four SS7 linksets
Pricing and Availability
The Nuvo switch is a highly scaleable system. The primary switch, which supports the SS7 protocol stack and SS7 hardware, can support up to 99 secondary switches. Pricing on the primary switch starts at $1,500 per port.
Availability for the Nuvo 100 switch is 60 days after receipt of order. Mockingbird Networks sells through representatives in the United States and also distributes the products in Asia and Europe through Value-Added Resellers
Mockingbird Networks is a technology leader in the burgeoning Voice-over-IP marketplace. Its revolutionary, patent pending Nuvo architecture seamlessly integrates the control features of IN with the cost efficiency of newer packet networks. Mockingbird Networks is a subsidiary of Opus Systems, a long time leader in Unix and RISC systems development for the OEM market. Mockingbird Networks is located at 10050 Bubb Road, Cupertino, CA 95014. Phone 408-342-1060; fax 408-342-1061.
CONTACT: Dave & Bairey Communications
Fiona Hughes, 510-672-9547
fiona@dbcomm.com
or
Mockingbird Networks
Walter Snell, 408-342-1060
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