ConteXtream pitches network 'grid' to cloud providers

With investments from Verizon and Comcast, startup ConteXtream originally focused on pitching its “software-defined” networking vision to telecom operators looking for a less expensive, more dynamic approach to delivering network bandwidth (CP: Startup promises service delivery ‘grid’ – with Verizon, Comcast backing). It hasn’t given up that approach, but this week it announced a version of its cloud-centric networking technology to a group of companies that might find it even more timely and appealing: cloud service providers.

The vendor this week announced the availability of ConteXtream Grid for Cloud and Managed Hosting providers – essentially a virtualized data center switch. Based on the concept of software-defined networking (SDN) – which virtualizes network resources in much the same way that the cloud has virtualized computing, storage and applications – ConteXtream Grid is centered around a distributed, virtual Layer 4-7 switch that overlays existing network elements.

The platform, which is both hypervisor and network equipment independent, simplifies network planning, administration and management by allowing providers to more dynamically harness network resources on demand, said Joel Brand, ConteXtream vice president of marketing, in an interview.
The company’s platform provides cloud and managed hosting companies with the type of advanced network virtualization that cloud pioneers like Amazon and Google have built for themselves, Brand said.

“When you request virtual machines from [a provider] like Amazon or Rackspace today, they give you a lot of higher level network functions as well, not just traffic from the Internet to that VM but load-balancing, DDOS protection and more,” said Brand.

By delivering similar capabilities in an elastic, virtualized environment, ConteXtream helps cloud providers of all shapes and sizes gain those important network capabilities without requiring them to overbuild a costly data center network, Brand said.

Brand pointed out three elements that he said separates ConteXtream from other SDN solutions: a distributed, rather than centralized controller-based, control plane; a unique “distributed hash” approach that limits network congestion due to address broadcasting; and an architecture that provides a natural demarcation point between networking and computing at the “top-of-the-rack” in the data center, thus reducing the number of connections that need to be managed.