Top Layer Networks Receives Patent for High Speed System of Network Traffic Identification, Management and Security.Business/Technology Editors WESTBORO, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 11, 2001 ASIC-based architecture and method that identifies users and applications at OSI (1) (Open System Interconnection) An ISO standard for worldwide communications that defines a framework for implementing protocols in seven layers. Control is passed from one layer to the next, starting at the application layer in one station, proceeding to the Layer 7 is faster and more intelligent than any other method Top Layer Networks, a company specializing in high speed, high performance network security, today announced that it has received a patent for the technology and process that the company has utilized in its products that defend IP networks against denial of service attacks, accelerate and enhance the performance of network intrusion detection systems, load-balance and improve the effectiveness of firewalls, and gather highly detailed information on network traffic and security events for forensic and management analysis. The United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO or USPTO) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that provides patent protection to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property issued U.S. Patent No. 6,226,267 to Top Layer on May 1, 2001. Titled "System and Process for Application-Level Flow Connection of Data Processing data processing or information processing, operations (e.g., handling, merging, sorting, and computing) performed upon data in accordance with strictly defined procedures, such as recording and summarizing the financial transactions of a Networks," the patent covers a system of Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and their method of operation that has been commercialized as the architecture of Top Layer's AppSwitch(TM) and AppSafe(TM) product lines. Top Layer AS 3500 hardware products serve as integration points for the high speed, multi-tiered security configurations required by today's communications networks. "The ability to identify, at speeds that keep pace with today's extremely fast IP network traffic, the application flows that cross the network, along with their users, origins and intended targets, is the key to building a reliable network infrastructure," said Barry Spinney spin·ney n. pl. spin·neys Chiefly British A small grove; a copse. [Obsolete French espinoi, from Old French espinei, thorny place, from Vulgar Latin , Top Layer's founder and vice president of engineering. "This ability has proven to be the linchpin linch·pin or lynch·pin n. 1. A locking pin inserted in the end of a shaft, as in an axle, to prevent a wheel from slipping off. 2. of Top Layer's success in the security arena, and its flexibility and versatility make it applicable to a number of other uses as well." "This patent is extremely important for Top Layer and all who are associated with the company. It recognizes and protects the intellectual property that the Top Layer team has invested substantial resources to invent and develop over the years," added Mike Shanahan Michael Edward Shanahan (born August 24, 1952) is an American football coach of the Denver Broncos in the National Football League. He led the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl victories in 1998 and 1999. He is also a member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity. , managing director of Egan-Managed Capital and chairman of the Top Layer board of directors. Jay Patel, senior analyst at the Yankee Group (the Yankee Group, Boston, MA, www.yankeegroup.com) A major market research, analysis and consulting firm founded in 1970 by Howard Anderson. It provides general consulting and strategic planning in the computer and communications field. , noted "The natural progression for today's IP networks is from providing simple switching and routing functions to more value-added services such as firewall, intrusion detection See IDS and IPS. , network monitoring The term network monitoring describes the use of a system that constantly monitors a computer network for slow or failing systems and that notifies the network administrator in case of outages via email, pager or other alarms. , content-aware networking, load balancing The fine tuning of a computer system, network or disk subsystem in order to more evenly distribute the data and/or processing across available resources. For example, in clustering, load balancing might distribute the incoming transactions evenly to all servers, or it might redirect them , VPN (Virtual Private Network) A private network that is configured within a public network (a carrier's network or the Internet) in order to take advantage of the economies of scale and management facilities of large networks. and so on. The switching mechanisms that consider information above the network layer and at the application layers are becoming increasingly important in order to implement these new services and service differentiation. "The network has to be designed such that it can perform these functions at the wire-speed and do it on a dynamic basis for constantly evolving and changing standards and protocols. This entails complex and deep packet processing from hardwired co-processors or ASICs in order to augment the functions a network processor or general purpose CPU CPU in full central processing unit Principal component of a digital computer, composed of a control unit, an instruction-decoding unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. does to enable the services described above. Novel approaches like Top Layer's are required to switch connections between data packet flows according to the application layer information on the data packets. More advances like these will open the floodgates to provide value-added services at cost-effective prices." The full patent document may be found on the web at: http://164.195.100.11/netahtml/srchnum.htm. About Top Layer Networks, Inc. Founded in 1997, Top Layer Networks designs and produces security hardware and software products that enable its customers to implement a comprehensive approach to Protection, Detection, and Containment throughout their high speed, high performance networks. Companies using the ASIC-based AppSwitch(TM) and AppSafe(TM) from the AS 3500 family of products along with Top Layer's Adaptive Security(TM) software modules dramatically increase the efficacy of their network defenses and have access to detailed network information that is otherwise unattainable. Top Layer products counter a wide range of network threats. They protect the network against denial-of-service floods, detect criminal intruders and other damaging activity on corporate systems, and contain potential damage emanating from compromised systems through internally directed security strategies. Top Layer world headquarters is in Westboro, Massachusetts in the USA. The company has offices in Australia, Belgium, Germany, France, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom. Top Layer Networks has conducted in-depth research surrounding its respective technologies, which can be found at http://www.toplayer.com/research/index.html. Or, for more general information, visit www.TopLayer.com or email info@TopLayer.com |
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