NORTEL NETWORKS/ Nortel announces availability of advanced QoS capabilities
October 23, 1998
M2 PRESSWIRE via NewsEdge Corporation : * Enabling service providers to deliver new business-class Internet services
Versalar IP Access Switch 15000 sets a new standard for carrier-grade Internet access router redundancy, density, interoperability and availability -
Nortel Networks* [NYSE: NT/TSE: NTL] today announced a series of advanced Quality of Service (QoS) capabilities for its Versalar* IP Access Switch 15000, enabling network service providers to build scalable, business-class Internet services. The Versalar 15000 is the industry's first solution to support high speed IP QoS classification and IP QoS translation, allowing for end-to-end QoS in today's heterogeneous networks and the Internet.
The introduction of the Versalar 15000 as the industry's first Internet Aggregation Router, provides ISPs with a next generation Internet access platform. The switch is the first solution to market that combines the reliability and service of conventional Layer 2 switches with the routing and control of Layer 3 devices. Providing six times the density at one-third the price of today's multi-box offerings, the Versalar 15000 supports over 1,000 IP interfaces with access speeds ranging from N x 56/64Kbps Fractional T1, 1.544Mbps T1, and 45Mbps T3. Up to two systems can be supported in a standard seven-foot telco cabinet delivering over 2,000 Internet access interfaces. Each Versalar 15000 supports up to eight channelized OC-3 or twenty-four DS3 access interfaces and two OC-12c (622Mbps) high-speed trunk interfaces. The high- density support not only allows customers to cut costs, such as co-location expense, but also enables easy network expansion and simplified management.
"This product is a prime example of Nortel Networks Unified Networks* strategy," said John Roth, vice chairman and CEO of Nortel Networks. "Providing an unparalleled breadth of functionality and QoS translation capabilities, we are offering an industrial-strength solution critical to evolving the Internet into a business class network."
The Versalar 15000 provides carrier-grade reliability at the edge of the network. The switch supports multiple levels of redundancy, automatic failover, and hot swap capabilities. It is unique in not only providing power and cooling redundancy, but also complete logic level redundancy on all routing subsystems. The switch also integrates with carrier SONET networks over frame- and cell- based interfaces.
"The Versalar 15000 speaks to service providers' business needs both in terms of cost reduction and revenue generation. It reduces not only upfront per port equipment costs, but more importantly management, operations, maintenance, and real estate costs," said Hilary Mine, executive vice president, Probe Research. "At the same time, and perhaps more critically, Nortel Networks is addressing the overwhelming demand amongst service providers to deploy future-proofed differentiated services."
New class of product delivers scalable DiffServ framework
In addition, the Versalar 15000 switch provides service differentiation through enhanced Quality of Service capabilities and usage-based billing. The ability to classify data into service categories is a base-level requirement of any differentiated services architecture. For example service providers can define service classes such as Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Best Effort, and apply different bandwidth guarantees to each class. Advanced congestion control functionality ensures that Gold, Silver and Bronze customers are guaranteed bandwidth over the Best Effort class traffic. This architecture enables service providers to charge customers by service level and network usage to provide unique Internet/data offerings on a single platform.
The Versalar 15000's unique QoS translation capabilities allows providers to communicate QoS to its peer networks. With this solution, service providers can guarantee interoperability with a wide variety of routers and ATM switches that implement different QoS schemes. This capability allows for easy heterogeneous internetworking while providing a scalable, end-to-end QoS framework.
"In the market today, there exists no single, standard or accepted method for communicating QoS or class of service information in IP packets," said Bill Hawe, chief technology officer at Nortel Networks. "The unique capabilities of the Versalar 15000 equip providers with the ability to tailor QoS to their customers' technical needs and business models without imposing a performance penalty, or sacrificing interoperability with equipment they have today."
The BayRS*-Provider software set runs on the Versalar 15000 and brings over 1 million hours of Internet-hardened IP routing software with advanced features such as BGPv4, OSPFv2.0, IS-IS, and future support for MPLS. The BayRS-Provider routing software is coupled with a new IP Forwarding Processor module enabling IP QoS classification and translation functions across thousands of interfaces. The Versalar 15000 leverages multiple IP Forwarding Processor modules to provide scalable wire speed route forwarding coupled with IP QoS capabilities. Each IP Forwarding Processor utilizes the new RSP micro-programmable ASIC that combines routing, switching, and IP QoS capabilities on a single, programmable chip. This micro-programmable ASIC capability provides flexibility and dramatic cost savings coupled with the state of the art in IP optimized wire speed routing switch technology.
The first release of the Versalar 15000 supports a fully functional IP QoS framework, and the design is software upgradeable to the emerging IETF DiffServ framework. The powerful software and hardware combination of the Versalar 15000 can support IP QoS classification with usage-based accounting for over 1000 IP interfaces ranging from 64Kbps FT1 to 45Mbps T3 for Internet access.
Unprecedented customer benefits
Enabling the delivery of value-added IP services, such as virtual private networks (VPN) and voice-over-IP, the modular design of the Versalar 15000 allows for configuration flexibility that supports the highest density of leased ports in a single, powerful system.
"The 15000 is the only product on the market that provides a scalable building block for delivering end-to-end QoS solutions for the Internet," said Jamie Warter, director of carrier class routing at Nortel Networks. " This is what service providers are demanding, and this product will enable them to offer support for differentiated services while interoperating with data communications gear from multiple vendors."
For service providers that are faced with real-estate limitations and a growing demand for services, the Versalar 15000 cuts costs and increases revenue in several ways.
"Today, service providers aggregate leased lines with a combination of multiple routers, multiple management stations and separate frame switches, " said Warter. "And, in co-location space, where real estate is at a premium, multi-box solutions inflate operational costs. They make the technical and business practice of unified traffic management difficult, if not impossible. The Versalar 15000 supports all of these functions in a reduced footprint compared to existing solutions, thus reducing space leasing and power costs."
Pricing per configuration and availability
Complete solutions for the Versalar 15000 with BayRS-Provider software including IP QoS support range in price from US$490 to US$729 per port. System configurations are available for 256 IP interfaces up to 1024 IP interfaces. The total list price for a Versalar 15000 entry system of 256 interfaces is US$186,500. The Versalar 15000 will be available in Q4 calendar 1998, with volume shipment in January 1999.
Nortel Networks works with customers worldwide to design, build, and deliver telephony and IP-optimized networks. Customers include public and private enterprises and institutions; Internet service providers; local, long-distance, cellular and PCS communications companies, cable television carriers, and utilities.
Nortel Networks' common shares are listed on the New York, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and London stock exchanges. Nortel Networks had 1997 revenues of US$15.5 billion and Bay Networks*, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nortel Networks, had revenues of US$2.4 billion during its most recent fiscal year. The combined company's workforce totals approximately 80,000 employees worldwide.
*Nortel Networks, the Nortel Globemark, How the world shares ideas and Unified Networks are trademarks of Northern Telecom *Bay Networks, Versalar and BayRS are trademarks of Bay Networks Inc.
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