Stratus launches open-systems NEBS server line for global telecom industry

Stratus Technologies, Inc, today announced the ftServer T30 system, the first model in a planned family of fault-tolerant, open-system servers designed expressly for the rigors of high-availability computing in the telecommunications industry.

The new NEBSTM Level 3-compliant ftServer T Series server is an Intel processor-based system that supports the Linux operating system, and the T30 server is the first new telecom product developed by Stratus since its post-acquisition spinout from Ascend Communications in 1999.*

LG Electronics, a major telecommunications equipment provider based in Korea, has purchased the first Stratus ftServer T30 systems for a major softswitch implementation to be launched by Korea Telecom. General commercial availability of the ftServer T30 system is expected in May 2004. The company is also developing a second T Series model designed for larger applications and deployments that require larger memory, expansion IO, and expansion disk systems.

The T Series systems will be bundled with a Stratus fault-tolerant Linux operating system, which is the Linux 2.4.18 kernel with Stratus additions. These additions include software hardening features and support for fault-tolerant ftServer hardware.

"We expect to see significant growth for softswitch deployments this year and beyond, with service providers looking to reduce costs and deploy new services," said Rob Rich, executive vice-president for Communications Infrastructure Strategies, The Yankee Group. "Service providers are increasingly interested in cost-effective, open-systems platforms that can bring the reliability of circuit switched network platforms to IP networks."

Stratus also announced a next-generation version of its Stratus Intelligent Network Application Platform (SINAPT) product family, which provides a full application-development platform for software-based intelligent network (IN), IP, converged, mobile and wireless services. This widely deployed development and runtime environment for SS7 and SIGTRAN/IP networks now also provides the full complement of tools and open application programming interfaces for accelerating time to market and reducing development costs of mobility, intelligent network services, and network convergence applications over IP networks.

The Stratus T Series server affords service providers the benefit of having a single point of contact for support of the operating system, server, and SS7 layered products.

"The new ftServer T Series server with the Linux operating system is a powerful, flexible and cost-effective platform for next-generation networks, with the added advantages of providing high reliability, application availability and operational simplicity," said Ali Kafel, director of the Telecommunications Business Unit for Stratus.

Over the past decade, many of the world's largest telecommunication service providers have purchased Stratus servers for intelligent network and network management applications, including 1-800 call management, mobile number portability and short message service centre. Many of these systems, which are still in production today, are Stratus Continuum servers with the HP-UX operating system. With the advent of the cost-effective ftServer T Series system, current Stratus telecom customers can protect their investments into the future and have the ability to deploy new competitive services, as well.

Stratus ftServer T Series systems * Ascend Communications acquired Stratus Computer, Inc in October 1998, expressly for its telecommunications technology. The Enterprise server business of Stratus Computer spun out of Ascend as a privately held company and was renamed Stratus Technologies. Lucent acquired Ascend and subsequently sold Stratus' former telecom business to Platinum Equity Partners in 2002. Stratus reacquired that business - renamed Cemprus LLC - from Platinum Equity in February 2003.)