Traffic Management Solutions

IBM adds DPI to BladeCenter

Dan O'Shea — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:44:40 -0400

As criticism of potential tracking technologies like deep packet inspection technology causes problems for NebuAd, other companies continue to see great potential in various uses for DPI. IBM, in adding DPI to its BladeCenter server family, is focusing on bring a higher grade of security to a data center solution that telcos may find enticing. IBM is working with CloudShield technologies to integrate the DPI capabilities. The BladeCenter server solution is quickly evolving into an AdvancedTCA-like solution for telco networks that simplifies carriers' work with third-party application developers.

For more:
- see this report at Light Reading
- read this story at Telephony

Comcast, Vonage reach traffic management understanding

Dan O'Shea — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:42:25 -0400

Cable TV provider Comcast and VoIP service provider Vonage, who compete on the VoIP front, have reached an agreement under which Comcast has pledged that its traffic management practices will not interfere with Vonage VoIP traffic traveling over Comcast's network facilities. According to a story at Light Reading's Cable Digital News, that does not mean Vonage traffic will get preferential treatment. The extent of what it does mean is not exactly clear because the companies are not talking about the specific points or practices covered by the agreement.

The timing of the agreement is interesting because Comcast has indeed been testing and working on new traffic management solutions since being cited for traffic-shaping practices that delayed peer-to-peer traffic. Could such agreements become more frequent as service providers riding over other carriers' networks seek a degree of reassurance that their traffic will not be slowed in the name of network management?

For more:
- read this report at Light Reading's Cable Digital News

Related articles:
Comcast and BitTorrent have worked on traffic management solutions Comcast report
Vuse complained about Comcast traffic throttling Comcast report

DPI set for broader deployment, deal activity

Dan O'Shea — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:53:45 -0400

NXTcomm is over, and the great NXTcomm review has begun. Heading into the show, deep packet inspection technology and other broadband traffic management solutions promised to be at the source of much show floor discussion, and that is exactly what happened. We highlighted news from Allot Communications and Arbor Networks last week, but other DPI news from the show included Procera's announcement of a new higher-bandwidth DPI platform and Sandvine's efforts to develop a DPI ecosystem to enable the implementation of the technology in a number of different architectures and equipment types.

Across the show floor, several companies wondered aloud about how DPI might be used in their gear to filter content and enhance overall network and service management, and I talked to NXTcomm exhibitors (who shall remain nameless for now) who said that they would be seriously investigating DPI acquisitions or partnerships in the cming weeks and months.

For more:
- read this Procera story at Telephony
- see this Sandvine report at Telephony

Related articles:
DPI firms Allot and Arbor Networks made show news last week DPI report
Cisco Systems has integrated DPI capabilities into its gear Cisco Systems report

NXTcomm: Arbor, Allot tout show news

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:01:20 -0400

Broadband traffic management solutions showed promise to be a highlight of this week's NXTcomm trade show in Las Vegas, and at least two of the companies in this space--Arbor Networks and Allot Communications--have jumped out of the gate with news announcements.

Arbor Networks, which earlier acquired DPI specialist Ellacoya, introduced its PeakFlow SP 4.5 platform, which includes an upgrade of its Threat Management System to handle higher-bandwidth security attacks. That capacity upgrade from 3 Gbps to 10 Gbps reflects how attacks have evolved quickly in size, complexity and sophistication, said Paul Morville, vice president of product management at Arbor Networks.

Meanwhile, in a move focused at improving VoIP quality of service, DPI player Allot Communications said at the show that it has aligned with Qosmos to enable Allot's DPI technology to work with information extraction appliances from Qosmos to gather network traffic information.

The traffic management and DPI sector is indeed teeming with activity at the show. Sandvine and Procera Networks each have announcements planned as well.

For more:
- see this story about Arbor at ISP Planet
- read this post about Allot at TMC.net

Related articles:
Arbor acquired Ellacoya earlier this year Arbor Networks report
Allot acquired Esphion Allot Communications report