Ethniks Systems has signed a distribution agreement with Xedia Corporation, the leading provider of Internet access routers that deliver advanced IP Quality of Service (QoS), VPN security and price/performance. The agreement includes, amongst others, two of its leading products, Access Point 10 (AP10) and Access Point 100 (AP100), bandwidth management solutions that have set the standard in the industry for some time.
According to Ethniks marketing director Kevin Greig, Xedia is leading the way with a new class of Internet/IP access router. "Delivering the performance, security and service level control that network providers need to deliver the next generation of business-class Internet services, Xedia`s Access Point bandwidth management solutions are the industry`s first to deliver Class-Based Queuing (CBQ) IP QoS with granular, explicit rate control and service level measurement for IP network users and applications."
"Xedia`s high performance Internet access products are based on a purpose-built IP services architecture with the advanced QoS, reliability, and security needed to build the new generation of value-added business Internet services," he adds.
The AP100 is the only bandwidth management platform to deliver the performance required by demanding IP network service environments, while the AP10 leads the industry with a price/performance point that is ideal for applications requiring from 256Kbps to 10 Mbps of performance.
With its powerful bandwidth classification and monitoring features, the AP100 may be placed in front of demanding Web server farms to deliver premium, business quality services that include regulated or committed rate service agreements. The AP10 is a price/performance leader that can be cost effectively deployed as part of a traditional router network to reduce wide area costs while also improving QoS to high priority business applications.
Carrier-class AP100 delivers industry leading 100 Mbps full duplex performance while the entry level AP10 offers price/performance leadership with 10Mbps performance. These LAN-to-LAN solutions integrate transparently into existing networks and CBQ delivers explicit rate control with real-time service level measurement. Furthermore, CBQ AutoClass provides traffic monitoring with management scale. Just released is the AP-1000 delivering 1000Mbps performance.
Other features include detailed traffic statistics that support usage-based billing and service-level monitoring, and split horizon management that offers Web-based configuration with monitoring simplicity.
Greig says these LAN-to-LAN solutions fit transparently into existing router and switch networks. "The network administrator simply places the product between the LAN and the WAN router, adding a new level of bandwidth management control while protecting the investment in installed network equipment."
High performance, high availability network environments can also take advantage of the integrated redundancy options that allow configuration synchronisation between units with automatic switch-over from primary to back-up in the event of a failure."
The Access Point bandwidth management solution provides a very flexible and scalable solution for delivering explicit rate control to demanding IP service networks. This advanced bandwidth management capability is based on CBQ, an open, non-proprietary solution defined by leading members of the Internet community.
CBQ provides a flexible hierarchy for classifying traffic, setting bandwidth policies, and explicitly shaping traffic to meet the defined policies. Traffic is classified using standard packet header information such as IP address, protocol, application, Type of Service (ToS), and Domain Name/URL. Once classified, Access Point shapes, or trains, the traffic to meet the bandwidth commitment defined for each individual class.
Prior to CBQ, network users were subject to free-for-all access, where any low priority application could take bandwidth away from high priority or delay sensitive applications. In addition, network administrators were forced to buy bandwidth without any visibility into how existing bandwidth was being utilised. With Access Point the network administrator can now establish and enforce specific bandwidth policies while achieving the visibility required to actively manage both cost and QoS.
"Xedia has significantly enhanced CBQ with its AutoClass feature, which simplifies management while also providing an advanced traffic monitoring capability. Management is simplified as AutoClass automatically creates the configuration for a large group of users with common bandwidth profiles. For example, a server farm administrator can use AutoClass to automatically identify active accounts and assign bandwidth policies across a large number of accounts," adds Greig.
AutoClass can also be used to measure traffic where demand isn`t well known, the operator can create an AutoClass group of users that initially has no restrictions on the amount of bandwidth each user can access. The system then monitors and collects statistics to show how much bandwidth is used. The operator can then adjust the bandwidth allowances based on actual business priorities.
Borrowing is a feature unique to CBQ that allows users to burst above their committed rate by borrowing from any idle bandwidth on the link. In traditional wide area networks, operators often buy excess bandwidth to accommodate the peak period demands of many users. With borrowing, the operator can meet high priority service needs with minimum guarantees, while offering the opportunity to burst above that minimum as needed. Link costs can be dramatically reduced as low priority applications are restricted to bandwidth as it becomes available while high priority applications are given the bandwidth they need.
Borrowing also provides an important bandwidth capacity planning tool. A network operator can monitor borrowing activity (e.g., number of borrowing attempts) to determine the timing and the amount of additional bandwidth required.
The Access Point architecture features a 200 MHz RISC processor with a fast-memory subsystem designed for high performance with very low latencies. The embedded software is based on an industry standard real-time operating system with a fast classification and forwarding architecture that achieves high speed packet forwarding while applying very granular service level control.
The flexible PCI-bus I/O architecture allows for a range of LAN-to-LAN configurations to support a mix of price and performance needs. The AP10 is a 10Mbps platform supporting two 10/100 Mbps LAN interfaces while the AP100 supports up to 4 10/100 Mbps LAN interfaces with an aggregate capacity of 100Mbps full duplex. The AP-1000 comes with 10/100 and 1000MbpsLAN interface support.
Access Point collects detailed traffic statistics, allowing network administrators to track and charge-back for usage, to monitor service levels, and to plan for additional bandwidth needs. Statistics such as packet counts, octet counts, and borrowing attempts are collected in an SNMP MIB that can be viewed via the Access Point Traffic Equalizer, SNMP-enabled trend analysis packages such as the Multi-Router Traffic Grapher (MRTG), or any SNMP-based billing application.
Xedia`s Access View management solution allows an administrator to easily control Access Point from a graphical Web Management Navigator, an intuitive Command Line Interface (CLI), or from any industry standard SNMP manager. The Access View CLI establishes a new standard for ease of configuration management, while the Web interface provides a powerful graphical tool for continuous monitoring of bandwidth allocation and usage.
Access View is fully compatible with popular reporting software, thus allowing network administrators to generate a variety of useful statistical reports. A flexible split-horizon management also allows separate web-accessible management domains to be established to meet the respective needs of network provider and user.
For more information phone Ethniks Systems at (011) 463 7514 or Email kevin@ethniks.co.za.
Share
Ethniks Systems
Ethniks Systems is a group of independent local companies involved in the design, supply, installation and support of the highest quality computer and networking solutions. The Group is active throughout Southern Africa but has particular focus on the Northern Province and Gauteng. The business unit servicing the Gauteng Province is however developing at an accelerated pace. The Group is an accredited at the highest level by the leading manufacturers of hardware and software such as Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft & Novell. These partnerships with the principal suppliers ensure that we can offer our customers professional advice on the trend setting advancements in Information Technology. The Company`s focus on employee development has resulted in a group of highly skilled, qualified and motivated people who form a valuable resource to our client base. The Ethniks Systems Group of companies currently has a staff complement of 62 people. The Group prides itself in rendering excellent service levels and is capable of guaranteed backup and support 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.