Bay Networks has established an independent line of business, an Open Routing Division that will license and sell a portable version of Bay Routing Services (BayRS) technology.
The widespread availability of industrial-class routing software and the critical foundation for scalable routing hardware platforms provides a solution that ensures full interoperability in the largest, most complex multi-vendor network environments.
Licensees of BayRS technology also benefit from significant development at Bay to enable compatibility with existing proprietary networking schemes.
Completion of this strategy includes the acquisition of Phase2 Networks, a leading provider of open Layer 3 routing and switching software. Phase2 Networks provides standards-based, portable and highly interoperable protocol implementations to over 50 leading network equipment vendors.
Bay will strengthen Phase2 Network`s portable software implementation with the reliability of BayRS software which has already been proven on the Internet. It will also, through this channel of installed customers and network equipment vendors, deliver the world`s first industrial strength, interoperable routing software.
"The compatibility with a large number of established networking vendors is fostering a revolution of commonality in the spirit of widespread vendor interoperability. It is also in the interest of network users because it enables networks to run optimally in a multi-vendor environment," said Bay country manager Doug Batchelor.
By integrating Phase2 Network`s open protocol applications with the reliability of BayRS software, routing and switching hardware vendors can build their products with a rock solid routing code and also have confidence in scalability and interoperability.
Phase2 Network`s comprehensive family of portable router source code was originally developed to be independent of an operating system and processor, and to provide the highest degree of interoperability between hardware vendors.
BayRS software is Internet-hardened and IP-optimised, a result of significant development focused on IP through Bay`s Adaptive Networking strategy. It provides a full set of capabilities for implementing Quality of Service (QoS).
This integration addresses the new trend of building routing chips to provide vendors and systems integrators with a proven, interoperable routing code. They are optimised for IP implying that the routing software must be scalable, resilient, robust, and high performance.
"What has been missing with vendors providing open routing software has been experience in very large networks and the ability to interoperate with huge numbers of routers," said Batchelor. "Considering the proven stability of BayRS software, Bay is changing the game by providing the industry with a powerful, open routing code that gives customers control and promotes innovation."
To provide full cross-vendor interoperability worldwide, protocol applications must be able to run over different devices and platforms and be transparent to the network users.
With standards-based interoperable routing software, network managers can effortlessly run applications over multiple products from different vendors. They can also build networks that are stable, easy to manage, and which can perform at optimum levels. With industrial strength routing code available, advanced technologies can also be more readily deployed to reliable routing platforms.
Bay began the trend of porting routing software to open operating system environments with the introduction of Microsoft`s Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) last year.
A number of companies jointly developed routing application programming interfaces (APIs) and integrated OSPF into the Windows NT Server product. The collaboration provides a hardware independent operating system with enterprise class routing capabilities for communications services such as branch office routing.
Phase2 Networks will continue to ship its open routing software products and Bay`s Open Routing Division will continue to develop and create open, portable, interoperable routing software systems. Bay will continue to integrate these software modules as it creates an open and modular BayRS environment.
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