Extreme Networks to acquire WebStacks

Broadband networking solutions provider Extreme Networks has agreed to purchase WebStacks, a data center technology developer, in a move to bolster the company’s IP services offering through the enhancement of its Layer 4 to Layer 7 switching solutions.

Layer 4 helps determine what type of application needs to be observed; Layer 7 looks inside the application to the content to help determine where the content should go, according to Sam Halabi, vice president of IP carrier marketing and business development at Extreme. Both Layers help make switches more content aware, he added.

As a player in the metropolitan area network space, Extreme sees an increase in fiber deployments in addition to content moving closer to the end user.

“Two of Extreme’s major businesses so far have been metropolitan area deployments, both on the metro edge and metro core and in the Internet data center business,” Halabi said. “What we’re doing is tying the content and the content services to the infrastructure. And WebStacks is part of that strategy of bringing in more value-added services to the data center.”

Under terms of the deal, which is expected to close in about two weeks, Extreme will issue about 3 million shares of common stock and up to $15 million in cash for all outstanding shares of WebStacks.