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Network Protocols Update - December 2004

As a leading independent vendor of telecom software and equipment to OEM and service provider customers, Data Connection continues to go from strength to strength. Read here about

 

Network Protocol Product News

IP Routing

We have added to our IP routing feature set as our customer list and market share momentum continues to grow. In the second half of 2004 we added Full Restart for DC-BGP, DC-ISIS and DC-RIP, together with a wealth of smaller enhancements. Data Connection's routing products are further enhanced by offering an integrated control plane with DC-MPLS.

The first release of our Multicast product family, providing PIM Source Specific Mode (SSM) support, has shipped and will be followed next year by subsequent releases offering full PIM-SM and IGMP support.

VoIP

DC-Megaco, DC-MGCP, and DC-SIP have been extremely successful in the VoIP market. H.248 V2 support is now available in DC-Megaco, and version 2.3 of DC-SIP was recently released including a B2BUA application framework and support for the SIP statistics MIB.

We are also releasing a new variant of DC-SIP offering a framework for small-footprint applications such as SIP handsets.

Integrated Control Plane

Not to be outdone by the VoIP and IP routing developments, the DC-MPLS feature set has also expanded. Extensions to Facility Fast Reroute and PWE3 enhancements have been released. Also, our Router on a CD tool, a CD-ROM that demonstrates basic features of Data Connection's routing protocols, now includes support for DC-MPLS and RFC 2547.

DC-ATM and DC-GMPLS continue to dominate the market with full support of all the relevant standards. Data Connection's optical networking protocols include GMPLS, OIF UNI & NNI, and DDRP. DC-ATM support includes signalling, PNNI, ILMI, and SVC/PVC management.

Finally, we are in the process of adding IPv6 support across our entire Integrated Control Plane. DC-LDP was the first product to be extended (and shipped back in June). In December, we are adding IPv6 support in DC-OSPFv3, DC-ISIS, DC-BGP and DC-Megaco. IPv6 support for DC-RSVP, DC-RIP and DC-SIP will then follow quickly in the new year.

For more information on our network protocol software, please see www.metaswitch.com/network-technologies/.

 


Commercial News

We recently announced our results for year end August 31, 2004 and are proud to claim our 23rd consecutive year of revenue and profit growth. Revenues and profits were $52M and $15M respectively, compared to $40M and $12M for the previous year. The consistent growth we have experienced over the last 20+ years can be attributed to the unique model we have closely followed since our inception.

In summary our model is to

  • recruit, train, and retain talented staff
  • offer unrivaled customer support and service
  • deliver the highest quality product possible.

 


White Papers

Our whitepapers continue to be an extremely popular source of technology information for the industry. Our most popular papers remain SIP Market Overview and IP Multicast Explained. We are repeatedly told that Data Connection's whitepapers are extremely well written and informative. The purpose of each paper is to inform the reader on the technology and relevant forces that shape the industry while remaining completely vendor neutral. There are 13 whitepapers available for download at www.metaswitch.com/rescenter/whitepapers.aspx.

 


Other Data Connection Technologies

MetaSwitch, our next generation softswitch division, continues to grow, with revenues up over 250% compared to the previous year, leading to recognition by Infonetics Research as the market leader in the Class 5 packet switch segment. Significant milestones achieved during the year included the 50th switch deployment (to Georgia's Progressive Rural Telephone), acceptance by the federal Rural Utilities Service, and the introduction of a revolutionary new media gateway design with increased density to meet the demands of larger tier 2 telcos. The division now has over 70 deployments with incumbent and competitive telephone operators, primarily in North America. For more information, see www.metaswitch.com.

The company's Internet Applications Group, which provides unified messaging, web conferencing and directory solutions, saw strength in service provider, OEM and government markets. Highlights included the introduction of version 3.0 of its popular MeetingServer product, recognized by Frost & Sullivan with a prestigious Customer Value Enhancement award, and the introduction of MailNGen, a fully packaged unified messaging solution for service providers. MailNGen is being distributed both directly and via a number of key channel relationships established during the year with major vendors. For more information, see www.metaswitch.com/MetaSphere/.

The Enterprise Connectivity Group, which offers SNA and SNA/IP products and technologies for enterprises and OEMs, also recorded increased revenues, derived from a combination of long-term strategic OEM relationships including Cisco, HP, IBM, and Microsoft, and product sales to blue-chip enterprises such as Citibank and Banco Santander. For more information, see www.metaswitch.com/snapix/.