Allot beefs up traffic management

Allot Communications is using Globalcomm to introduce a carrier-grade version of its deep packet inspection technology designed to allow service providers to guarantee quality of service, maximize use of network resources and create prioritized service tiers.

The AC 2500 series of traffic management technology builds on the NetEnforcer 1000 products already used by Tier 2 and Tier 3 service providers to inspect, monitor and control network traffic on a per-application and per-user basis, to ensure applications get the bandwidth they require. The 500 Gigabit box can manage more than 150,000 subscribers at a time, signaling Allot's intentions to move up market to Tier 1 service providers.

With the growing popularity of services such as voice over IP (VoIP) and streaming video, service providers are moving beyond “traffic management to emphasize service optimization,” said Rami Hadar, CEO of the Israeli-based company. “The second phase is that they want to start embedding quality of service and quality of experience for the user.”

The AC 2500 enables a service provider to optimize network resources for latency-sensitive services such as VoIP and jitter-sensitive services such as videoconferencing while still enabling e-mail, gaming and other applications.

“They can now begin to do creative services and creative billing, based on these capabilities,” Hadar said. “They can charge a premium for VoIP with QOS or create revenue-sharing opportunities.”

Allot goes head-to-head with Cisco Systems, which acquired P-Cube in 2004, but Allot is finding the independent approach valuable to customers that have mixed and matched network equipment, he added. Allot is able to constantly update its technology, similar to what anti-virus companies do, to take into account new applications and services, he said.

The new system also integrates an active redundancy solution and can generate reports on network usage in 30-second increments. It also allows service providers to prioritize traffic based on which customers are paying for premium services, Hadar said.