Crescent Networks Introduces Dense Virtual Routed Networking Architecture for Collaborative IP Services.

Business/Technology Editors

LOWELL, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 18, 2000

Networking Venture Offers New Vision for Dramatically Accelerating

IP Service Delivery and Profits

Crescent Networks, Inc. today unveiled a new architecture for collaborative IP services based on its innovative Dense Virtual Routed Networking technology. Crescent Networks' Dense Virtual Routed Networking technology provides service providers with breakthrough network design and economies, enabling them to offer their customers profitable, dynamic collaborative IP services for the Internet-driven economy.

To realize the promise of the new collaborative business models being implemented by today's corporations, enterprises are demanding Internet-like reach and universal access to their networks, as well as the trusted performance and reliability that they have come to expect from more traditional network technologies. Crescent Networks' Dense Virtual Routed Networking (DVRN) technology enables service providers to merge the trustworthy features of a private network with the dynamic capabilities of the Internet. Now service providers can quickly and easily create, provision and manage collaborative IP services for the entire extended enterprise (headquarters, branch offices, partners, suppliers, preferred customers) and next-generation service providers (ASPs, content delivery providers, web/application hosting providers).

"Dense Virtual Routing has the potential to change IP networks and services in much the same way that DWDM changed optical networking," says Christine Heckart, President, Telechoice. "The technology architecture being proposed deserves the service provider's attention and evaluation."

Crescent Networks' DVRN solution liberates IP networks from the constraints of today's monolithic, physical routers, expensive wide area network (WAN) switches, and patchwork operation systems. DVRN integrates new dynamic, highly scalable virtual routing, sophisticated optical-scale application quality of service, and powerful collaborative service management. These innovations meld today's collaborative business applications with the underlying network services, enabling enterprises and service providers alike to shift their focus from mere commoditized data connections to creating profitable business applications.

"I can see great value in the proposed Crescent Networks' architecture," says Rick Bubenik, CTO and Executive Vice President of Network Engineering at Savvis. "Crescent Networks vision is very complementary to SAVVIS' Intelligent IP networking, which brings the benefits of high-end private networks to small and medium-sized businesses, while also enabling the Fortune 1000 to be more nimble in the execution of their e-commerce strategies."

Utilizing the Crescent Networks' architecture, a network service provider can deploy dense virtual routed networks for different communities of interest. These communities may be different user groups, organizations, geographical regions, quality of service levels, or application classes, and they may originate from one or multiple enterprises. Additionally, a national service provider could establish a wholesale IP backbone for next-generation service providers who do not want to maintain their own network yet require superior network performance and delivery guarantees for their end customers. The result in both situations is a quantum leap advantage in the race to tap the $35 billion collaborative IP service opportunity, with accelerated time-to-service, time-to-revenue and time-to-profit.

"CoreExpress is the first company to offer site-to-site performance guarantees across multiple ISPs, so businesses can use the Internet for mission-critical applications," says Tony Zeis, Executive Vice President, CTO at CoreExpress. "Crescent Networks' technology promises to enable similar benefits so businesses can connect to their partners with the performance and reliability they demand."

DVRN also complements the evolving access, core and data center build outs. DVRN delivers network-agnostic IP services over frame relay, ATM, IP, MPLS, Gigabit Ethernet/VLAN, SONET/SDH, DWDM and IP-VPN networks. It also integrates seamlessly with OSSs, directories, application services, and backoffice systems, employing APIs and standard interfaces like XML, CORBA, LDAP/X.500 directories, Java, and SNMP. In these ways, DVRN extends the value of service provider's current investments and is an ideal platform for their network and services evolution.

"Although Debis IT has not examined the equipment from Crescent Networks, I can see that what they propose for a networking architecture would be very beneficial, " says Calvin Moy, Director of Network Computing Service Development at Debis IT. "Their Dense Virtual Routed Networking vision speaks well to what Debis IT believes is the future for delivering Managed Network Services and Application Hosting Services. It will allow us to provision our services more cost effectively by leveraging the public network with existing networks."

About Crescent Networks

Crescent Networks, Inc. - a privately held company - provides service providers with breakthrough Dense Virtual Routed Networking (DVRN) for Collaborative IP Services. Crescent Networks DVRN solution dramatically accelerates IP service delivery, liberating service providers from today's IP network design limitations and economical constraints. In the same way that Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) transformed optical networking, Crescent Networks' DVRN will transform IP networks and service delivery with breakthrough scale, economies, and new revenue opportunities.

Crescent Networks is funded by industry-leading investors led by three top-tier venture firms - Bessemer Venture Partners, St.Paul Venture Capital and Venrock Associates. Its top-notch talent has a proven track record for successful networking solutions at leading companies including Cascade, Lucent Technologies, 3Com, Digital, Cabletron, Nortel Networks and Newbridge. For more information visit http://www.crescentnetworks.com.