Atrica Delivers Industry's First Sub-50 Millisecond Protection for Metro Ethernet Networks.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 2002

Atrica Resilient Ethernet Access -- AREA -- Delivers

Carrier-Class Metro Access Solution

Atrica Inc., poised to be the leading provider of Optical Ethernet equipment for the $15 billion Metro networking market, today announced that its Optical Ethernet System is the first to deliver sub-50 millisecond restoration for Metro Ethernet networks.

The announcement is the first deliverable of the Atrica Resilient Ethernet Access (AREA) framework. AREA is the access portion of Atrica's complete Optical Ethernet architecture, which also includes core and services, for delivering true, carrier-class Optical Ethernet solutions to Metro network carriers.

The AREA framework, available on Atrica's A-2100 Optical Ethernet Edge Switch and A-5100 Optical Ethernet Aggregation Switch, has been purpose-built to deliver the key carrier-class requirements not being satisfied by existing Metro access solutions. In addition to SONET-like resiliency, these include low-cost, flexible bandwidth from 1 to 1,000 Mbps and multiple interfaces to support legacy services including TDM.

While many proposals and implementations are capable of delivering sub-10 second recovery, AREA delivers sub-50 millisecond resiliency to accommodate critical Metro data and voice traffic with support for both redundant ring and mesh Metro network topologies. Since carriers are accustomed to achieving this high level of protection with SONET/SDH technology, it is crucial to the successful deployment of Ethernet in the Metro.

Implements Two Restoration Mechanisms Based on Metro Ethernet Forum Model

AREA uses two key rapid restoration mechanisms to infuse Metro Ethernet networks with the same levels of resiliency previously found only in SONET/SDH networks.

First is a tunneling mechanism for aggregated link and node protection, which supports both MPLS and standard VLAN tagging to redirect traffic at wire-speed upon detection of a link failure. If a failure occurs, AREA generates a protection label (MPLS or VLAN) from the ingress device, redirecting traffic to the protection-tunneled link. These protection tunnels represent a magnitude of improvement in providing reliable, end-to-end customer connectivity.

Second, AREA includes a hardware-based mechanism that uses a Hello protocol to deliver up to sub-50 millisecond restoration performance. Both the tunneling and hardware mechanisms used in AREA follow the protection model specified in the initial Metro Ethernet Forum agreements on Metro Ethernet Protection: Aggregation Link and Node Protection (ALNP) and End-to-End Path Protection (EEPP).

"Using MPLS for resiliency in Metro Ethernet networks makes a lot of sense," stated Michael Howard, principal analyst at Infonetics Research. "Incumbent service providers want to move TDM traffic across Metro Ethernets, and resiliency is a major requirement to achieve the expected QoS. Atrica's traction with large service providers shows that the company's innovative efforts in this space are paying off."

AREA is available today on Atrica's Optical Ethernet System, which is comprised of four elements: the A-2100 Optical Ethernet Edge Switch, A-5100 Optical Ethernet Aggregation Switch, A-8000 Series Optical Ethernet Core Switches and the Atrica Service Platform for Ethernet Networks (ASPEN(TM)), an integrated service provisioning and management system.

About Atrica

Atrica's mission is to deliver the most cost-effective, high-performance Optical Ethernet platforms to forward-thinking service providers who are building next-generation Metro networks today. Atrica is a privately held company based in Santa Clara, Calif., with R&D facilities in Israel and business development and sales offices throughout Europe and Asia Pacific. The company received seed funding from 3Com Corporation, first round financing from prominent Silicon Valley venture funds Accel Partners and Benchmark Capital, and second round financing from five leading global service providers. For more information, visit Atrica on the Web at www.atrica.com.