IP video startup Verivue integrates storage, switching

A new equipment vendor startup in the IP video space emerged from stealth mode this week with a new approach to video content distribution that integrates switching and storage in a single box.

Verivue, helmed by former Juniper Networks executive Jim Dolce and backed by investors Comcast Interactive Capital and Arris (among others), is targeting cable operators, telco IPTV providers and content delivery networks (CDNs) alike with a system designed to quickly and dynamically move video content from centralized video libraries to the network edge and back based on user demand – all in the name of maximizing network efficiency and minimizing transport costs.

“Video delivery is not a storage problem anymore, it’s a networking problem,” said Tom Rosenstein, vice president of product marketing, who described the company’s technology and strategy in a Telephony podcast this week.

Verivue’s first product, available in the second quarter, integrates switching and storage in a single box. On one side, the MDX 9200 is split among switching and storage functions. Each 14-rack-unit box has 10 slots for “delivery modules” -- carrier Ethernet switch modules, each of which can support up to 20 gigabits per second, for a total of 200 Gb/s both in and out (or, some would say, 400 Gb/s). And on the other side is room for up to 24 terabytes’ worth of 2-TB storage modules (the company promises larger capacities coming later this year as new chips become available). Where customers deploy the 9200 will depend on the traffic levels and topography of their own networks, Rosenstein said, and the vendor will introduce other products for various “tiers” of the network, at a later date, that will communicate with each other throughout the network.

“We’ll know how much storage and bandwidth capability is at each tier [in the network],” Rosenstein said. “We’ll know the cost of the interconnects between the switches.”

Because the MDX is designed at the hardware level with dedicated media delivery fabrics and a separation of control planes and delivery functions, it opens up the bandwidth bottlenecks that typically occur in CDNs based on PC servers, in which rotating disk spindles pull content off giant racks of PC servers using that limit bandwidth, Rosenstein said. “The delivery problem is tuned for hardware designed device to get the bandwidth through. CDN providers have looked at our box and realized they can replace 10 racks of PC servers with one MDX.”

Verivue is also looking to bring content to multiple devices, not just TVs or PCs. Its system is based on HTTP and Flash, taking note of the fact that Flash storage capacities on many devices is increasingly significantly. “The latest numbers show Flash offers storage at less than $1 a gigabyte, which starts converging toward the price of a hard drive but with dramatically more performance and lower power draw,” Rosenstein said.

Arris, Verivue’s first named distribution partner, will target the cable market, but the startup will name other partners for other customer segments in time.

Dolce isn’t the only one on Verivue’s management team with experience selling to telcos. Including the CEO, seven of the company’s 13 top managers once worked for Juniper. Its cofounder and vice president of business development, Robin Gruber, also founded Sonus Networks. And its chief technology officer, Mike Hluchyj, is a former Sonus CTO.