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Hammerhead Systems Demonstrates First Live Interoperability Between PBT and MPLS Networks with its Service Gateway Feature at Carrier Ethernet World Congress Hammerhead Joins EANTC and 23 Leading Vendors in Largest and Most Diverse Carrier Ethernet Multi-Vendor Interoperability Demonstration CARRIER ETHERNET WORLD CONGRESS- GENEVA – September 24, 2007 – Hammerhead Systems, Inc. today announced the first demonstration of 3rd-party interoperability showcasing direct PBT to MPLS interworking, with its HSX 6000 serving as a gateway between a 3rd-party PBT network and a 3rd-party MPLS network, in the largest public multi-vendor Carrier Ethernet test ever held. The HSX 6000 successfully interoperated with its PBT Service GatewayTM software feature in the end-to-end video multicast demonstration, by enabling video traffic from the metro MPLS network, through an MPLS core using the Cisco 7604 using VPLS and Pseudowires, to be distributed seamlessly to the metro PBT network to multiple PBT-enabled network elements. Hammerhead’s HSX 6000 demonstrated end-to-end PBT capability interworking with equipment from Anda Networks, Ciena, Extreme Networks, Huawei Technologies, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, TPACK, and World Wide Packets, assuring global carriers options for seamless interworking without intermediate steps between MPLS and PBT in their future networks. Hammerhead’s HSX 6000 enables service providers to interwork PBT deployments with the vast MPLS and growing VPLS installed base so carriers can leverage their existing MPLS investments as they evaluate and/or begin to deploy PBT networks. Hammerhead’s PBT Service Gateway software feature enables more than 10X greater scalability than alternative VLAN-only based interworking solutions. As a result, Hammerhead’s PBT Service Gateway feature significantly reduces the number of physical Ethernet interfaces required, which substantially lowers the costs of deployments. “Tier 1 carriers around the world (such as BT, Deutsche Telecom, France Telecom and Telefonica) have made huge investments in MPLS networks and they should not have to choose between protecting those MPLS investments and PBT," said Peter Savage, Hammerhead’s President and CEO. “We are proud to have successfully demonstrated and validated Hammerhead’s PBT Service Gateway interoperating with an MPLS network and to offer service providers coexistence in their network, with customer traffic and applications seamlessly interworked between MPLS and PBT.” “Hammerhead has demonstrated the reality of PBT to MPLS interworking in an international forum and is in a unique position in offering their gateway to carriers,” said Michael Howard, principal analyst at Infonetics Research. “The hot debate rages on between the MPLS and PBT camps, yet service providers considering PBT need some way to connect PBT to their MPLS backbones--carriers want to see a marriage rather than a pre-courtship divorce. I believe service providers will welcome the fact that at least one company, Hammerhead Systems, has such a gateway for their choice and protection, regardless of their technology direction.” “More than 70 engineers from participating companies evaluated Carrier Ethernet interoperability in detail for two weeks at EANTC's lab in Berlin, Germany. The test event, covering the latest IEEE, ITU and MEF specifications, was geared towards service providers, aiming to verify the current interoperability status of a wide range of Carrier Ethernet implementations as well as provisioning and fault management solutions,” said Carsten Rossenhoevel, Managing Director, EANTC AG. “Hammerhead demonstrated interoperability between the PBT cloud and the MPLS core via a service gateway function, interworking PBT directly with MPLS Pseudowires in an industry first demonstration.” The vendors participating in the interoperability testing included: Alcatel-Lucent, ANDA Networks, Ceragon Networks, Ciena, Cisco Systems, Extreme Networks, Gridpoint Systems, Hammerhead Systems, Harris Stratex Networks, Huawei Technologies, Ixia Communications, Juniper Networks, MRV Communications, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, RAD Data Communications, Shenick Network Systems, Soapstone Networks, Spirent, Telco Systems, Tellabs, TPACK and World Wide Packets. (See news release today titled: EANTC AND 24 VENDORS STAGE LARGEST EVER CARRIER ETHERNET INTEROPERABILITY TEST) Additional information on the EANTC testing including a white paper with detailed findings is available at www.eantc.com/cewc2007. The HSX 6000’s PBT Service Gateway feature provides an on-ramp capability for service providers to introduce PBT in areas of their networks where previously it may not have been considered as an intended direction. Service providers throughout the industry have made considerable investments in MPLS networks, and recently they have seen accelerating demand from enterprises for multi-point to multi-point Ethernet services using VPLS (which uses MPLS technology). Hammerhead’s PBT Service Gateway feature offers service providers a straightforward mechanism for introducing PBT as metro on-ramp to their MPLS networks. PBT is a new technology based on point-to-point Ethernet tunnels that offers the promise of lower costs and complexity. The HSX 6000 is the only purpose-built Layer 2.5, single box solution available offering dense Ethernet aggregation for both E-Line and E-LAN Services, MPLS Pseudowire termination, VPLS, Leased Line IP Aggregation, Frame Relay and ATM/IMA support, and Any-to-Any Service Interworking. The HSX uses its Bandwidth Pooling architecture to enable the industry’s lowest TCO for edge aggregation, and a best-in-class multiservice hierarchical QoS implementation that enables unmatched levels of service segregation and SLA assurance, critical for robust aggregation of diverse data, video, and packet voice services feeding a common IP/MPLS core. About Hammerhead Systems Hammerhead Systems, Inc. is the market leader in Aggregation, Interworking, and Migration to accelerate the profitable delivery of new Ethernet and existing legacy services at a fraction of the cost and complexity of other solutions. Additional information regarding the HSX 6000, the first purpose-built Layer 2.5 Aggregation Switch, and the Pegador SOA Element Management System can be found at www.hammerheadsystems.com. Hammerhead is located in Mountain View, California, and is privately held. |
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