IBM CHIPS TO FUEL NEXT-GEN EQUIPMENT FROM CHINA'S LARGEST TELECOM MANUFACTURER.

IBM and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. have announced a collaborative agreement to accelerate the introduction of Huawei's high performance network communications systems.

Under this agreement, IBM will be a key technology supplier for Huawei's next-generation IP (Internet Protocol) routers and SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) optical transmission systems. Huawei plans to integrate IBM's PowerNP network processor, Packet Routing Switch technology, PowerPC processors and customized ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) chips into its product lines. In addition, the two companies have launched a collaborative research and development effort to make their respective products and technologies work more closely together, allowing customers to incorporate both into their products. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Huawei Technologies is a fast-growing supplier of routers and optical transmission systems to the telecommunications industry. Huawei has launched a broad portfolio of high performance products, ranging from low-end equipment to high-end backbone routers and 10G SDH systems. To date, Huawei has sold over 30,000 sets of SDH/DWDM equipment on a global basis and has become one of the leading optical transmission product providers.

"Working with Huawei offers an opportunity to extend the reach of IBM's comprehensive networking technologies into China and the exploding telecommunications marketplace worldwide," said James Northington, vice president of network processing for IBM. "Huawei has joined a growing list of customers who have chosen IBM to satisfy their technology and performance requirements with an unparalleled menu of both standard and customized solutions."

A typical piece of communications equipment, like a network router, utilizes a variety of chips to efficiently manage and move data. These high-performance parts commonly include network processors, switching chips, ASICs and control point processors. In most cases, equipment vendors must rely on multiple suppliers for these chips, but Huawei was able to tap IBM's broad suite of networking technology for the building blocks of its next-generation systems.

For example, Huawei has selected the highly customizable and scalable IBM PowerNP network processor--featuring IBM's innovative new bandwidth allocation technology (BAT)--as the powerful building block for its next-generation systems. Using just 100 lines of software code, IBM's new BAT--running on the PowerNP NP4GS3--can help ensure that more time-sensitive network traffic reaches its destination faster. Together, the PowerNP and BAT can not only prioritize information, but also pack more of it on existing communications lines, potentially doubling their current capacity.

Huawei also intends to take advantage of the proven reliability, redundancy and load balancing features of IBM's Packet Routing Switch technology. IBM's Packet Routing Switch is a powerful high-throughput switch that provides fast packet switching and supports frame- and cell-based traffic across a wide range of applications including ATM, Enterprise, IP and WAN.

Additionally, IBM intends to work with Huawei to develop and manufacture the high-performance ASICs Huawei requires for its networking gear. Likewise, IBM's advanced PowerPC processors are optimized to meet the performance demands of Huawei's advanced next-generation communications equipment.