10GbE “Content-Aware” Deep Packet Inspection Platform Accelerates Deployment of Multi-Service Next Generation Networks

3GSM WORLD CONGRESS (BARCELONA) AND SAN DIEGO – February 12, 2007 – Continuous Computing, global provider of integrated systems and services that enable telecom equipment manufacturers to rapidly deploy Next Generation Networks (NGN), today announced a new AdvancedTCA (ATCA) system capable of supporting deep packet inspection at 10Gbps line rates to deliver application-aware traffic management and aggregation. The bladed solution provides enhanced security capabilities to detect and prevent unauthorized access, protect against denial of service attacks, and facilitate virus scanning in new IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) networks – all important benefits for carriers deploying NGN applications.

Continuous Computing’s ATCA traffic management and security system provides telecom equipment manufacturers with a proven platform that enables them to expedite the rollout of new “content-aware” network elements considered essential to deliver high quality and secure IP networks. Fully integrated, off-the-shelf ATCA systems from Continuous Computing deliver a number of business advantages including lower development costs, reduced technical and commercial risks, and deployment time savings of up to 18 months – a substantial decrease.

“This new ATCA traffic management and security system maps directly to Continuous Computing’s vision of staying ahead of the demand for enabling technology and creating integrated platforms that deliver on the rapidly escalating requirements of the telecom market,” said Mike Dagenais, chief executive officer of Continuous Computing. “Traffic management and security are becoming increasingly important in next generation networking environments.”

Converged IP networks can provide significant operational savings for carriers and are more scalable than legacy networks for delivering advanced revenue-generating services. Because a converged IP network must become “content-aware” in order to deliver higher quality of service and security to its customers, such networks must be capable of differentiating traffic based on the type of application and its specific needs. To support this, IP network equipment requires new technologies capable of providing what is known as deep packet inspection.

Continuous Computing’s new traffic management and security platform provides a carrier-grade solution for deep packet inspection in edge and core network equipment. The system includes up to 10 advanced deep packet inspection blades as well as two redundant 10GbE switches, all housed in a robust carrier-grade ATCA chassis.

Each packet processing blade, known as FlexPacket ATCA-PP50, incorporates two XLR732 multi-core MIPS devices from Raza Microelectronics, Inc. (RMI) that deliver packet processing and security at line rates up to 20Gbps. FlexPacket supports a dual redundant 10GbE backplane fabric with a range of 10GbE and 1GbE ports to the front and rear depending on a customer’s specific cabling requirements. Each XLR732 multi-core MIPS64 processor supports up to 8GB of memory (16GB per blade) and can connect to mezzanine sites for supporting TCAM and dedicated content processors via the on-chip hyper-transport interface. An extensive range of Trillium network and 6WIND routing protocols and other supporting software tools specifically optimized for the multi-core, multi-threaded FlexPacket environment are also available for the system.

“Continuous Computing’s FlexPacket ATCA-PP50 represents the highest performance, commercially available deep packet inspection blade based on ATCA using the powerful XLR processors from RMI,” said Eric Carmès, chief executive officer of 6WIND, an embedded networking software company. “6WIND is honored to be working with both companies, and we have already ported our latest 6WINDGate software environment to Continuous Computing’s new system – a key advantage for accelerating deployment.”

In addition to the advanced packet processing capabilities of FlexPacket, the traffic management and security system also consists of leading-edge 10GbE switching from Continuous Computing’s latest switch product. FlexCore ATCA-FM40 features innovative Layer 2 10GbE switching functionality from Fulcrum Microsystems that offers low latency, high bandwidth switching and routing applications to enable 10GbE services for triple-play voice, video, and data networks.

Continuous Computing’s new system provides end-to-end traffic management within the chassis and delivers latencies of only 200 nanoseconds through the switch, a significant improvement over current alternatives which can suffer latencies of at least 20 times as much. Low latency is critical for advanced applications such as distributed computing and synchronization of high availability systems. Using the same family of switch silicon on each packet and switch blade creates an integrated traffic-aware system that reduces congestion and assures end-to-end quality of service within the platform.

Other switches on the market today also suffer from high levels of over-subscription. FlexCore ATCA-FM40 lifts that restriction by offering 24 ports, a 20% improvement over alternatives that offer only 20 ports, providing an impressive 80 Gbps of uplink bandwidth that enables maximum packet throughput for even the most demanding requirements.

“The FlexCore ATCA-FM40 switch from Continuous Computing represents the pinnacle of state-of-the-art technology to deliver advanced 10GbE switching in ATCA platforms,” said Uri Cummings, founder and chief technology officer of Fulcrum Microsystems. “FlexCore is unmatched in the market today and we are very pleased to be part of the end-to-end system solution envisioned by Continuous Computing.”

About Continuous Computing
Continuous Computing is the global source of integrated platform solutions that enable network equipment providers to overcome the mobile broadband capacity challenge quickly and cost effectively. Leveraging more than 20 years of telecom innovation, the company empowers customers to increase Return on Investment (ROI) by focusing internal resources on differentiation for 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), Femtocell and Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) applications. Expertise and responsiveness set the company apart: only Continuous Computing combines best-in-class AdvancedTCA (ATCA) platforms with world-famous Trillium protocol software to create highly-optimized, field-proven wireless and packet processing products. www.ccpu.com

Continuous Computing is an active member of 3GPP, CP-TA, eNsemble Multi-Core Alliance, ETSI, Femto Forum, Intel Embedded Alliance, PICMG and the SCOPE Alliance.

Continuous Computing, the Continuous Computing logo and Trillium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Continuous Computing Corporation. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

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