Inkra Speeds Up Web Server Deployment

By Bernard Cole
iApplianceWeb
(04/23/02, 01:46:11 AM EDT)

FREMONT, Calif., --- Following months of beta testing in enterprise and carrier data centers, Inkra Networks Inc. has taken the wraps off of its "virtual service architecture."

The two new virtual service switches it has just released for delivery - the Inkra 1500 and 4000 - are designed to allow providers of server-based web services and Internet data centers to respond more quickly to the widely variable demands of current desktop users. The VS architecture is designed to allow Internet Data Centers to scale up their services as literally millions of new clients using small footprint wireless and handheld information appliances begin to come online.

According to Sanjay Dhawan, president and CEO of Inkra Networks, the VSS and VSA give data centers much more flexibility and control over a variety of custom hardware-accelerated IP service suites, including firewalls, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), load balancing, Secure Socket Layer (SSL) acceleration, and Web acceleration and ensure that each application receives the right level and type of dedicated service processing resources. "We believe our new architecture will allow the reduction of operational expenses by 10X or more through automated, simplified service provisioning and management," he said, "as well as allow zero-downtime service provisioning and service upgrades."

The Inkra 4000 is a NEBS-compliant, carrier-class chassis (18 RU) designed to handle the stringent requirements of large enterprise and service provider data centers. The 14-slot 4000 chassis supports redundant switch management modules, with up to 160 Gbps of switching performance, and 12 universal slots for I/O and processing. I/O modules include four- or eight-port Gigabit Ethernet modules, or a 32-port Fast Ethernet module.

Designed for smaller enterprise and service providers, the Inkra 1500 system supports four Gigabit Ethernet ports and features a 20 Gbps fabric. The Inkra 1500 is fully software compatible with Inkra 4000 systems and capable of running all of Inkra's IP services

Operators can populate the chassis with any combination of processing and I/O modules to ensure the Inkra 4000 delivers the right amount of processing power for a given service mix, while maintaining 100 percent uptime. Because I/O is separate from processing, the system can spread traffic evenly across all processing resources, operating in parallel, to eliminate hot spots and ensure full processing capacity is used, regardless of traffic patterns through I/O ports.

Both of the virtual service switches make use of Inkra's proprietary hardware-enforced resource management technology, known as HardWall. With it Inkra's virtual service architecture organizes services into "virtual racks" that serve as containers for multiple services.

Each organization or application using the system is assigned to one or more virtual racks. It tracks the bandwidth, processing MIPS, buffers, and memory for all virtual racks in the system as well as enforces service-level agreements and security.

Incorporating a custom network processor ASIC of proprietary design, its virtual rack processor, the VSA ensures that disruptive events are isolated to a single virtual rack as well as accelerates IP service processing to wire speed.

Inkra has also developed a suite of management tools called Center Point that allow system operators to create customizable views of multiple Inkra 4000 or 1500 systems from a central site allowing automation of service provisioning. Center Point includes an open XML/SOAP gateway to ease integration and connection with existing management systems.

Both systems support a full suite of IP services, including stateful inspection firewall, hardware-assisted IPSec VPNs, Layer 4-7 LAN server load balancing, hardware-assisted SSL acceleration, hardware-assisted Web acceleration, server health monitoring, and bandwidth management.

Available now, the Inkra 4000 VSS starts at $98,000. Entry-level cost for the Inkra 1500 VSS is $25,000, with general delivery slated for 3Q 2002. For more information, go to http://www.inkra.com.