Motorola software minimizes downtime

A new fault-tolerant platform from Motorola could enable equipment vendors to guarantee that their systems provide 99.999% availability.

Split Mode allows software to be upgraded while systems are operating and provides improved failover capabilities for Motorola's FX Series of fault-tolerant platforms.

"The FX Series was designed from the start specifically for the telecommunications market, where high availability is a critical requirement," said Noel Lesniak, product line manger for fault-tolerant systems at Motorola.

"This software allows platforms to be restarted in less than 85 seconds, meaning carriers can make two major software upgrades a year and still be within the 'five nines' goal"-five minutes and 15 seconds of planned downtime a year.

Central offices require these high reliability levels to support services such as 911 and emergency calls to police and fire departments and to maintain superior service levels in the competitive marketplace.

Split mode refers to the software's ability to maintain availability by splitting functionality between different systems while making changes and performing upgrades. An intersystem communications subsystem allows older and upgraded systems to function together until all systems can be upgraded, and applications can be adapted to the split-mode environment through application programming interfaces provided with the software.

Motorola will resell the software to equipment vendors for use in their systems. Northern Telecom will use the software to lessen the performance impact of system upgrades to its SuperNode Data Manager operations, administration, maintenance and provisioning servers.

"Nortel customers expect a continuously available platform for critical applications like billing and new service activation," said Mike Campbell, director of DMS OAM&P evolution at Nortel. "When we schedule system upgrades, reliability measurements don't stop, subscribers continue making calls and billing records continue to be generated. Split Mode allows SuperNode Data Manager software to be upgraded while the system remains in service, ensuring billing data is not lost."