Atrica intros optical Ethernet system
Composed of the A-2100 Optical Ethernet Edge Switch, A-5100 Optical Ethernet Aggregation Switch, A-8100 Optical Ethernet Core Switch and the Ethernet Service and Network Management System (ESNM), Atrica's Optical Ethernet System delivers 10Gbps Ethernet technology and 10-times better price/performance than existing SONET-based equipment.
Most significantly, Atrica's Optical Ethernet system delivers the key and, until now, missing capabilities that enable carriers to move from SONET to Optical Ethernet. These critical features include cast-iron service-level guarantees, sub-second failure protection, integration with circuit-switched networks and service management that meets and exceeds what carriers have been accustomed to in SONET networks.
Atrica's Metro networking architecture not only accommodates the rapidly increasing amount of data traffic in the Metro, but gives service providers a clear path to profitability.
"Achieving profitability is the key force that is driving both incumbent and emerging service providers towards new technologies today," said Scott Clavenna, president of PointEast Research. "Optical Ethernet is vastly more affordable to deploy than SONET-based equipment and delivers long-term cost savings in the areas of training, operations and maintenance."
Compared to SONET solutions, Atrica's Optical Ethernet drives more traffic and more revenues from the same amount of lit fiber, and enables a more effective service creation environment in which providers can very quickly provision a rich set of value-added services for their customers.
"Although the significant reductions in both equipment and operations costs are compelling enough, the benefits of Atrica's Optical Ethernet solution extend beyond this," said Fred McClimans, president of McClimans Technology Partners.
"Atrica's solution delivers on the vision of Optical Ethernet -- allowing carriers to offer customers large amounts of bandwidth that are compatible with their existing internal Ethernet infrastructure, with prices that are lower than ever before. Small and large businesses, and even residential subscribers, will ultimately profit from new Optical Ethernet-based services."
Since its inception in February 2000, Atrica has been working with both incumbent and emerging service providers to ensure that its Optical Ethernet System meets the needs of carriers serving the Metro market. Atrica's Optical Ethernet System has been in trials with such providers over the past few months and has won the support of both incumbents and new carriers.
"The beta test we have been running since March demonstrates the viability of Atrica's Optical Ethernet System as a foundation for Metro networking," said an enthusiastic Dr. Andreas Gladisch, head of Photonic Networks Department at T-Nova, a subsidiary of T-Systems, Europe's No. 2 systems house (and part of Deutsche Telekom).
"By combining critical, carrier-class features such as scalability, resiliency, SLA management and ease of provisioning, with the cost-effectiveness of Ethernet, Atrica has made Optical Ethernet a genuine alternative for the next-generation Metro network," he added.
Unlike modified SONET schemes that attempt to retrofit technology designed primarily for voice traffic, or current Ethernet solutions that are based on enterprise-class equipment, Atrica's unique Optical Ethernet architecture was developed specifically for the service provider environment.
The products that comprise Atrica's Optical Ethernet System are as follows:
- A-2100 Optical Ethernet Edge Switch -- provisions connectivity at the Metro optical edge, offering a combination of Ethernet interfaces and a comprehensive set of Ethernet Circuit Emulation Services (CES) at DS1, DS3, OC3 and OC12 rates. The switch offers redundant uplinks and sub-second recovery after failure.
- A-5100 Optical Ethernet Aggregation Switch -- cost-effective, Gigabit Ethernet aggregation switch that aggregates flows from A-2100s.
- A-8100 Optical Ethernet Core Switch -- high-performance, carrier-class Optical Ethernet platform designed specifically for 10Gbps networks and supporting up to 30 10Gbps interfaces in a non-blocking configuration.
- Ethernet Service and Network Management System (ESNM) -- TMN-based network and services management suite that provisions new connectivity in seconds, while guaranteeing Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and easy integration into carriers' existing OSS networks via a CORBA interface. In combination with A-series switches, the ESNM enables carriers to pro-actively monitor SLAs, alerting their customers to the levels of quality and service the network is delivering.
- the first designed from the ground up for carriers building 10Gbps networks;
- the first to offer pro-active SLA management and monitoring, scaling to thousands of customers;
- the first to deliver systemwide, sub-second recovery after failures;
- the first to include a comprehensive set of TDM interfaces with Ethernet Circuit Emulation Services (CES), providing guaranteed, prioritized transmission through the network; and
- the first to integrate a fully-featured service management system into an Optical Ethernet solution.
Atrica's Optical Ethernet Solution will be demonstrated for the first time at the Networld + Interop show in Las Vegas, May 8-10, in Atrica's booth No. 2869. Pricing for the A-2100 starts at $3,500.
Pricing for the A-5100 begins at $1,200 per Gigabit Ethernet port and the A-8100 pricing begins at $15,000. All prices are U.S. list. The A-2100, A-5100 and ESNM will be available on May 1, 2001, and the A-8100 will be available in the third quarter of 2001.
About Atrica
Atrica's mission is to deliver the most cost-effective, high-performance Optical Ethernet platforms to the forward-thinking service providers who are building next-generation Metro networks. Atrica is a privately held company based in Santa Clara, Calif., with R&D facilities in Israel and business development and sales offices in Paris.
The company received initial seed funding from 3Com Corp., a first round of financing led by prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firms Accel Partners and Benchmark Capital, and a second round led by four leading global service providers. For more information, visit Atrica on the Web at www.atrica.com.
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