Alcatel and Avici boost IP router uptime
 
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Last time, we pointed out that IP network services should be getting a significant boost in reliability, thanks to high-availability advancements in carrier network infrastructure equipment.
In addition to a suite of enhancements from Cisco, which we examined last month, Alcatel and Avici Systems have recently made high-availability announcements. Their gear has been tested and verified by BTexact Technologies, the R&D arm of British Telecom that performs independent network equipment-testing services to validate vendors' claims.
Both the Alcatel Carrier Environment Internet System and Avici Systems' Non-Stop Routing support stateful route processor failovers. This enable packets routed using the Border Gateway Protocol, Open Shortest Path First and Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System routing protocols to continue being forwarded not only during malfunctions but also during planned software upgrades with no network disruptions.
" When there is a control plane switchover or reset, there is no interruption to any TCP or UDP sessions " in the Alcatel 7670 Routing Switch Platform, says Jim Guillet, assistant vice president of marketing in Alcatel's broadband networks division. Alcatel's gear is used in several international networks, including those of several PTTs and Cable & Wireless.
Ditto on the failover capabilities for the Avici SSR and TSR core routers. Avici is bent on eliminating a service provider's requirement to support a second, backup router in each network point of presence to achieve high uptime. The company is probably the first to offer its carrier customers a service-level agreement of its own, guaranteeing 99.999% uptime of a single Avici SSR or TSR core router. Avici says its equipment is currently installed in the networks of AT&T and Qwest.
At the end of the day, a network is only as reliable as its weakest link. So what of your enterprise gear? Cisco is the primary vendor in this space, and the company says that it will port its high-availability router characteristics to enterprise routers and switches in parallel to making them available on additional service provider platforms.
RELATED LINKS
Avici Non-Stop Routing white paper
Juniper Networks solutions brief
The Edge, 05/31/02
Steven Taylor, consultant and broadband packet evangelist, and Joanie Wexler, an independent networking technology editor and writer, team up to bring you this analysis and commentary. Taylor specializes in education and market analysis, and Wexler adds incisive reporting and research. For more detailed information on most of the topics discussed in this newsletter, connect to www.webtorials.com, the first Web site dedicated exclusively to market studies and technology tutorials in the Broadband Packet areas of Frame Relay, ATM, and IP.
Feedback and additional topic ideas are welcome. Please contact taylor@webtorials.com or joanie@jwexler.com.
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