WaveSmith Networks, a company focused on redefining multiservice switching for carriers, announced its WaveForm Architecture. This approach will address the obstacles carriers are presently experiencing with current multiservice switching. This segment of the carrier network is currently comprised of legacy ATM switches. These backbone products are still the only solutions that carriers can use to distribute multiple services through a single platform architecture. Supporting continued growth of ATM, frame relay, TDM/CES, and IP services, these products are being deployed despite their limitations even as new optical and IP solutions emerge around them.
Basic frame relay and leased line equipment is viewed as most critical because it serves as the "thru-point" for the access network, the service network, carrier peering, and the optical core. With the introduction of the WaveForm Architecture, WaveSmith delivers next-generation services to a growing subscriber base, bringing the potential of optical core networking to the carrier's bottom line.
WaveSmith recognizes the dynamics of competition for network access. New technologies and ongoing regulatory changes bring constantly changing opportunities, requirements and constraints to the access market. With the WaveForm Architecture, carriers can change without disrupting or rebuilding their distribution networks, mutually allowing them to expand with existing technology.
WaveSmith built the product from the ground-up to specifically meet carrier network requirements. To that end, the WaveForm Architecture introduces several key patent-pending differentiators that separate them from current incumbent products:
* 1. Open Call Model
* 2. Scale
* 3. Non-Stop Reliability
* 4. Form Factor
The WaveSmith Open Call Model brings the concept of service mediation to data networks, which allows the native signaling techniques of various technologies to control connections across the multiservice distribution network. This is a data solution that is able to collapse the signaling control plane in this way. Currently, edge-to-core solutions require three or four controller products to separately handle gateway, grooming and switching functions between different technologies.
A key feature of the Open Call Model is the ability to enable provisioning and management solutions that tie into carrier's existing network management systems. Whereas data switching platforms use a proprietary management interface that requires a gateway to the carrier's network operating system, the Open Call Model allows the carrier's operating system to interact directly with the WaveForm Architecture, which eliminates the need for gateways.
Because carrier requirements scale across all different sized central offices, from the small neighborhood pedestal to large central offices, the service platform must scale in performance to match. The WaveForm Architecture scales vertically for efficient subscriber densities and circuit capacity, and horizontally to allow new applications and technologies to be added to the platform fabric.
Vertically, the WaveForm Architecture is built around a Distributed Optical Backplane that scales up to 320 Gb/s and hundreds of ports in a single node. Horizontally, the WaveForm High Speed Serial Core fabric is agnostic. It allows incremental additions to services and protocols including ATM, TDM, frame relay, IP and optical lambda services. The High Speed Serial Core also allows the WaveForm Architecture to easily add third-party technologies that service providers need to integrate in their networks.
The WaveForm Architecture goes beyond typical data product techniques of protecting just power supplies, fans, and switching fabrics by bringing telephony-grade reliability to data communications. The operating system built into the WaveForm Architecture runs all software processes in separate protected memory regions. It's a microkernel architecture in which any process can be upgraded or repaired independently of the others while the system continues running. If software functionality needs to be added or upgraded/downgraded, the operating system allows changes to be implemented without affecting user traffic. It delivers the hitless upgrade capability that only telephony systems could typically provide.
The WaveForm Architecture delivers 7.6 Gb/s of capacity per vertical inch of rack space, which is a 600 percent capacity-to-footprint improvement over incumbent products. It allows carriers to deploy network building-blocs with high capacity. Rather than installing a large empty chassis and filling it later, carriers can deploy right-sized platforms that cut installation costs and reduce rack space, power consumption and cooling requirements. The WaveForm Architecture also uses highly integrated components, miniaturized connector technology, and patent-pending hardware designs to make network elements easier to work with.
About WaveSmith Networks
WaveSmith Networks, based in Acton, MA, is focused on redefining
multiservice switching that enables carriers to build out their existing infrastructures by distributing new optical core capacity with telephony-grade reliability. For more information, visit www.wavesmithnetworks.com.