Isocore Leads the Industry's First Triple Play, IPTV, High Speed Data and Advanced Services over GMPLS-Enabled IP Optical Networks.

RESTON, Va. -- Isocore, the technology validation leader in next-generation IP and optical networking, today announced the successful completion of its Fall Leading Edge Code testing event at which leading vendors from the MPLS, GMPLS, and optical industry participated.

Vendors participating in the IP/MPLS Leading Edge Code testing included Agilent (NYSE:A), Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA, NYSE: ALA), Avici Systems (NASDAQ: AVCI), Chiaro Networks, Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), IXIA (NASDAQ: XXIA), Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR), Redback Networks (NASDAQ: RBAK), and Spirent Communications (NYSE: SPM). Vendors participating in the IP-Optical/GMPLS Leading Edge Code testing included Agilent (NYSE:A), Avici Systems (NASDAQ: AVCI), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), Fujitsu , Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR), Spirent Communications (NYSE: SPM), and Sycamore Networks (NASDAQ: SCMR), and on-site participation and support by KDDI R&D Laboratories, Inc. and NTT.

For the first time in the industry, vendors successfully demonstrated the delivery of true IPTV solutions across Multicast Layer 3 VPNs (MVPN) and Virtual Private LAN Services (VPLS), thus maintaining a Quality of Experience (QoE). Multi-vendor interoperability of IPv6 VPNs across a fully resilient IPv4 MPLS core was demonstrated to highlight IPv6/IPv4 inter-working for next-generation networks. Triple play services demonstrated delivery of IPTV, VoIP and Data over a converged network. Edge devices were tested for IGMP Join/Delay measurements, scaling up to 100 IPTV channels across the MVPN using PIM-SM and VPLS with IGMP snooping on the access with set top box emulation. In the IPv4 core, state-full failover resiliency mechanisms were verified for RSVP-TE and LDP fast reroute. E-LSPs (Label switch paths carrying several class types and PHB associated with EXP bits) were setup across LSP hierarchy and GMPLS enabled optical core. Over 200 simultaneous VoIP calls were simulated over these LSPs and MOS measurements made to verify call quality.

Interoperability validation at the optical layer demonstrated compliance to standardized GMPLS addressing and constraint based path computation (i.e., CSPF). For the first time, an attempt was made to evaluate the GMPLS UNI proposals for Layer 1 VPN realization currently being developed in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and successful GMPLS UNI with Ethernet over SONET was tested. The event verified MPLS to GMPLS migration strategies by demonstrating advanced MPLS-based Layer 2 VPLS services and Layer 3 VPN (supporting IPv6 customers) carrying IPTV and multicast triple play services across IP-Optical transport network enabled by using Standards-based GMPLS control plane protocols. In addition link management protocol (LMP), OIF-UNI and GMPLS interworking scenarios were also tested.

The results of these testing and other on-going efforts at Isocore Internetworking Lab will be presented at the 6th Public interoperability demonstration to be held on October 20 following MPLS 2005 (www.mpls2005.com) at Isocore.

About Isocore

The goal of Isocore Internetworking Lab is to advance internetworking through technology validation and product verification and to promote development and rapid deployment of innovative networking technologies. For more information about the Isocore Internetworking Lab visit the web site at http://www.isocore.com.