Ipsilon Networks Introduces High-Density IP Switch Platform with Hardware-Based Multi-Gigabit Quality of Service.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 7, 1997--

New Redundant Switch Platform Provides Dynamic Control of IP Throughput for Key Service Provider Applications -0-

Ipsilon Networks, the leader in IP switching solutions, announced today the newest member of its product family, the IP Switch 6400. Designed for fiber and Internet service provider networks, the high performance, high density IP Switch 6400 provides up to 10 Gbps of IP bandwidth and supports up to 120 frame-based or 180 cell-based ports. Ipsilon's advanced flow classification, coupled with hardware-based per-flow queuing, allows the IP Switch 6400 to control and allocate bandwidth dynamically, for guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS) and support of service level agreements (SLAs).

Built on an open systems model, the IP Switch 6400 uses industry-standard hardware, including the Intel PentiumPro microprocessor and CompactPCI interfaces, to encourage third-party value add. With a choice of interface types -- SONET, Serial, and LAN -- the modular IP Switch 6400 can operate as a backbone device, provide controlled bandwidth to Web server farms, and deliver variable access bandwidth to customer sites. A redundant switch architecture ensures the IP Switch 6400 is always available, delivering high performance to every subscriber.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Ipsilon Networks will demonstrate the IP Switch 6400 at NetWorld+Interop 97, Atlanta, October 8-10, Booth 1337.

"To date, service providers have been forced to rely on networking products designed originally to support the needs of the enterprise, not Internet business services," said Larry Blair, vice president of marketing at Ipsilon. "The IP Switch 6400 was built specifically to meet critical service provider requirements: high port density, granular bandwidth control, fail-safe redundancy, greater serviceability, support for enhanced services. The IP Switch 6400 is a reliable, flexible, cost-effective platform for growing service provider networks and revenues, while keeping operational expenses in check."

"Bandwidth is fast becoming a commodity in the service provider business. Differentiation occurs at the control and service levels," said Don Miller, chief analyst, Dataquest, Inc. (San Jose). "Service providers are looking for solutions that provide them fine granularity of control over bandwidth so that they can easily implement tiered pricing and service models with upgradable performance guarantees. These systems must be architected to support the redundancy and density that service providers expect."

Redundant Multi-Gigabit Switch Fabric

The IP Switch 6400 is designed to meet the highest standards of network availability, scalability, and performance. Dual 10 Gbps switch fabrics provide multi-gigabit interconnections to as many as 16 hot-swappable line cards. Each IP Switch Processor line card runs Ipsilon's IP switch software on a dedicated Intel PentiumPro processor, allowing it to make IP switching decisions independent of the other cards. All line cards dual-connect to both switch fabrics, for card-by-card redundancy. Redundant power supplies keep switch fabrics up and running at all times.

Each IP Switch Processor line card delivers all the functionality of Ipsilon's first-generation IP switches: flow classification, bandwidth management, and comprehensive IP routing. Additional protocol support includes the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP4), for routing between service provider networks, and the Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP), for fail-safe routing cutover in a matter of seconds.

Using the MMC XStream chipset, the IP Switch 6400 adds unprecedented performance, scalability, and control to the flow-classification process that has become Ipsilon's hallmark. The core fabric supports both frames and cells and is architected to scale to 20 Gbps and beyond. In addition, the XStream chipset enables per-flow queuing, allowing the IP Switch 6400 to define up to 128,000 policy-based queues to prioritize flows identified and classified by IP Switch Processor line cards. Flows can be classified per application, host, or network, with different policies by time of day, and can allocate bandwidth on the basis of fixed data rates, strict priorities, or weighted round-robin scheduling for flexible QoS control.

For added flexibility and easy integration into all types of networks, the IP Switch 6400 supports a variety of interfaces, including Packet over SONET, cell-based ATM, serial, and LAN interfaces.

For connectivity to other devices, both on the LAN and over the WAN, each IP Switch Processor line card is equipped with two industry-standard CompactPCI slots, providing standard support for Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, FDDI, Frame Relay, V.35, X.21, HSSI, and even SCSI interfaces, developed by Ipsilon and third-party vendors. A single system can support up to 120 Fast Ethernet, 15 Gigabit Ethernet, 30 FDDI, 30 HSSI, or 60 V.35 ports -- or a mix of media types.

In addition, the system supports a range of SONET line cards that use the Ipsilon Flow Management Protocol (IFMP) and the General Switch Management Protocol (GSMP) to obtain "fabric-direct" connections to the dual IP Switch 6400 switch fabrics. The system can support up to 180 DS3 SONET ports at 45 Mbps each, 60 OC3 SONET ports at 155 Mbps each, and 15 OC12 SONET ports at 622 Mbps each. The fabric-direct interface allows IP switches to provide low-latency cut-through switching for flows traveling across an IP switch network, enabling support of end-to-end QoS policies throughout the IP switched connection.

End-to-End Fiber Access

The IP Switch 6400 is an ideal platform for service providers looking for a flexible way to migrate their business customers to SONET access. Service providers can deploy full fiber access capacity to the customer site today while using Ipsilon's rate-shaping capability to constrain the actual bandwidth delivered, from 64 kbps to 622 Mbps, depending on the needs of the business customer and the type of SONET connection. Performance monitoring software in the Ipsilon platform keeps track of the how well the data rate matches peak and average usage. As the business needs of the customer grow, the service provider can then increase the data rate, without replacing or upgrading any hardware at either the customer site or the service provider network. Service providers that offer SONET access can support up to 180 DS3 customers, 60 OC3 customers, or 15 OC12 customers per switch.

For the first time, service providers can deploy OC3 connections to the Internet for under $10,000 in total capital equipment costs at both the central office and the customer premises. Ipsilon's low-cost FAS200 or FAS116 devices terminate the fiber connection at the customer site and provide full support for the IP Switch 6400's hardware-accelerated QoS and per-flow queuing capabilities. The FAS200 and the FAS116 require absolutely no routing configuration and are managed as a transparent extension of the IP Switch 6400. And with the IP Switch 6400, customers have a natural migration path to OC12 connectivity.

"Our national fiber-optic data network is designed to meet the high-speed digital transmission needs of the next century, which is fast approaching," said Dr. Jim Hrubes, director of national data systems at Brooks Fiber Communications. "Faced with increasing bandwidth demands, today's businesses have begun substituting their T1 links with higher speed access via high availability SONET networks. The Ipsilon solution represents a cost-effective and seamless way to tailor a customer's SONET-based connection to meet today's traffic levels or to scale to higher bandwidth. The Ipsilon design allows us to scale within the box, without the usual `forklift upgrades' required from other solutions."

Bandwidth Management for Web-Hosting and Co-Location

The IP Switch 6400 satisfies multiple critical requirements for service providers offering Web hosting and co-location services to business customers. First, it provides 10 Gbps of raw bandwidth, enough juice to power even the busiest Web server farms. Ipsilon rate-shaping enables the IP Switch 6400 to allocate that bandwidth dynamically to individual flows of IP traffic, thereby controlling the rate at which traffic is sourced into the network--from 64 kbps up to 622 Mbps. The ability to manage and monitor Web server bandwidth precisely increases the service provider's value proposition in two ways: first, it allows them to generate more revenue, as they migrate customers up the rate-shaping curve when Web server demand increases; second, it helps them control costs by preventing the most popular Web sites from using more than their share of bandwidth. Each Web site receives exactly the amount of bandwidth bargained for in the SLA.

The shared memory architecture and per-flow queuing of the MMC chipset takes Ipsilon's rate-shaping capability to a new level by allowing the IP Switch 6400 to assign a separate QoS queue for every virtual circuit in the switch. For both cell- and frame-based traffic, the IP Switch 6400 can isolate the behavior of each flow and thus establish priorities on a flow-by-flow basis, enabling higher loading, more efficiency, and lower cost for transmission facilities. Per-flow queuing and rate shaping are handled directly by the IP Switch 6400 hardware and Ipsilon software, respectively, and require no changes to applications flowing through the switch.

Using a single IP Switch 6400, service providers can deliver precise, controlled, and guaranteed bandwidth to an entire Web server farm hosting thousands of customers. And, they can offer a broad range of service agreements, reflecting the actual service capacity of the link from the server to the Internet, and priced accordingly. The robust redundant physical packaging of the IP Switch 6400 ensures that bandwidth is always available to fulfill SLAs.

Finally, the high port density and mix-and-match interface support of the IP Switch 6400 makes it a cost-effective platform for growing Web hosting and co-location businesses.

"Performance and reliability are the primary reasons businesses outsource their outbound Web servers to Exodus' Internet Data Centers," said B.V. Jagadeesh, vice president of engineering at Exodus Communications, Inc. "They want to make it as easy and fail-safe as possible for customers to download the information and software off the Web. The new Ipsilon platform satisfies our rigorous criteria for redundancy and fault tolerance, and it enables us to guarantee to our customers that they will always receive the amount of bandwidth specified in their service agreement. Our business customers require this level of assurance."

High-Performance Service Provider Backbones

The high capacity, high density, and flexible interface support of the IP Switch 6400 make it an excellent backbone switch for service provider networks. Each IP Switch 6400 can support up to a half of a million routes, more than enough to run the entire Internet. Service providers can mix and match interface cards to integrate Packet over SONET and ATM cell-based traffic and thus simplify network operations. And with 10 Gbps of bandwidth to distribute across the interfaces, the IP Switch 6400 has more than enough capacity to power up to 120 Fast Ethernet connections, 60 OC3 connections, and 15 OC12 connections -- without oversubscribing the switch fabric.

Using the graphical Ipsilon Voyager management interface, network managers can fully manage, monitor, and configure any line card in the system from a standard Web browser located anywhere on the network. Network managers also can launch Voyager directly from SNMP-based management platforms and gain access to configuration, status, and diagnostic information.

Integrated Support for Managed Firewall Services

Service providers can use special capabilities of the IP Switch 6400 to extend their service offerings, generate new sources of revenue, and build a stronger business foundation. As an additional software option, IP Switch Processor line cards can be upgraded to support a complete implementation of Check Point FireWall-1 software, version 3.0. With this capability, service providers can offer managed firewall services to business customers who want to protect their network resources, but do not have the internal resources or expertise for configuring and managing sophisticated firewall technology.

Pricing and Availability

The IP Switch 6400 system starts at $24,500, including non- redundant switching fabric and power supply. The PentiumPro- based IP Switch Processor line card is $6000, and the four-port 10/100 Mbps Ethernet CompactPCI card is $1900. The four-port OC3 fabric-direct line card is $4500 for multimode fiber and $9000 for single-mode fiber.

In a moderately populated IP Switch 6400, the price per OC3 port is less than $1900, and the price per Fast Ethernet port is less than $1600. Additional prices apply for some software, including Check Point FireWall-1.

The IP Switch 6400 is undergoing user testing now, and will be generally available in December 1997.

About Ipsilon Networks

Founded in October 1994 and based in Sunnyvale, CA, Ipsilon Networks, Inc. is the premier provider of high performance IP switches, designed to accelerate today's IP networks to 21st-century throughput. The company's product family includes a range of scalable solutions for service provider and enterprise networks. Ipsilon's IP Switch 1600 won the prestigious Grand Winner Best of Show award at the spring 1996 NetWorld+Interop, was named one of the Most Important Products of 1996 by Information Week, and captured 1997 Hot Product honors from Data Communications. To date, Ipsilon's IP Switching protocols have been endorsed and implemented by more than 30 of the leading networking equipment vendors.

Customers wanting more information about Ipsilon products can reach the company by phone at 1-888-IPSILON (408-990- 2000) or visit its World Wide Web home page at http://www.ipsilon.com .

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Note to Editors: Ipsilon is a trademark of Ipsilon Networks, Inc. All other trademarks and tradenames belong to their respective owners.

CONTACT: Gallagher PR

Kim Diaz, 510-743-7830

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Ipsilon Networks

Larry Blair, 408-990-2000

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