MANAGEMENT Platform offers network flexibility

A multiservice software offering from Bay Networks that supports frame relay switching and Internet protocol routing on a single platform could simplify the management of WANs and Internet points of presence (POPs).

BayStream, the software suite to be announced this week by the Billerica, Mass.-based company, uses a proprietary technology called IPVirtualCircuit (IPVC) to integrate the various frame relay components and provide unlimited IP scalability and simplified management. By integrating frame relay switching and IP routing, the software simplifies the network and allows it to be managed with less equipment.

At the same time, the system provides frame relay-to-asynchronous transfer mode trunking network interworking, allowing service providers to consolidate private network and Internet access traffic and send it over a high-speed ATM backbone. The system can support ISDN switched access to frame relay and the Internet.

The system also enables carriers to establish virtual private networks (VPNs) for customers through standard frame relay protocols without disrupting POPs. The software adds to the security of these VPNs by providing a two-tiered filtering system to prevent unauthorized access to the VPN.

IPVC uses IP as a trunking protocol, enabling carriers to support an unlimited number of permanent virtual circuits (PVCs). The use of the open shortest path first (OSPF) protocol can provide routing around network failure points to ensure the availability of customer VPNs.

BayStream is descended from the HyperStream software that Bay Networks developed for MCI, and it should enjoy a "high-level of confidence from carriers and ISPs," said Kim Lorencic, an analyst with The Yankee Group.