Hammerhead Retools MPLS Approach

Edge-switch startup Hammerhead Systems Inc. has had a tumultuous year, with layoffs, hirings, and executive changes. The company now has ambitious plans for 2005, with a major shift toward Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) software.

What's in store? Hammerhead now looks to have a new focus in specialized MPLS and virtual private networking (VPN) technology. Specifically, it will seek to drive standards around the technology known as pseudowires -- which allow a wide range of data traffic to be merged over IP networks -- and the recently crafted Dry Martini specification.

Separately, Hammerhead noted in a release today that the HSX 6000 is in lab trials. Rumor has it MCI Inc. (Nasdaq: MCIP - message board) and Savvis Communications Corp. (Nasdaq: SVVS - message board) are both having a look, but officials wouldn't comment on whether that's true.

– Craig Matsumoto, Senior Editor, Light Reading