Redback beefs up DSL management platform

Redback Networks today is unveiling new versions of its SMS 1800 and 1000 platforms that the company claims increases performance by a factor of at least two. Key to the boost is a forwarding engine that accelerates throughput on both platforms.

Specifically, the XFE forwarding engine, which is packaged as a software module, re-architects the forwarding plane operations, and integrates both the Broadcom BCM 1250 network processor and two native Gigabit Ethernet I/O interface ports.

“In the industry when vendors bring out a new version, they typically get a 20% to 40% performance increase,” said Jim Capobianco, senior director of product management for Redback. “We’re essentially introducing a product that has all the capabilities of a brand new product, but we’re injecting them into an existing product. We’re talking a 2x to 3x performance enhancement.”

The XFE forwarding engine is available as an add-in card for existing systems or as an integrated component of the SMS 1800 SL system. Typically, carriers have deployed the SMS platform behind DSLAMs as part of a system that not only aggregates and manages bandwidth, but also can provide some of the added functionality behind enhanced services.

In fact, the addition of the XFE module is part of a slight shift for the entire platform. As DSLAMs get larger, some are starting to take on the aggregation role. Alcatel, the world’s largest DSLAM vendor, appears to be putting larger and larger backplanes on its newest versions of its DSLAMs as part of that effort.

“Certainly the vendors of DSLAMs are proposing different models and they’re trying to move up the value proposition,” said Capobianco. “We don’t really see that model taking off where the DSLAM assumes a higher level of intelligence.”

Just in case, though, Redback has been adding functionality to its SMS platform. In August, the company added a software package that integrates policy management into the platforms.