Lucent Technologies Launches Internet Protocol Network Configuration Tool Designed to Avoid and Reduce Service Outages - Product Announcement

Cambridge Telcom Report, Jan 31, 2000

Lucent Technologies Wednesday announced the launch of the Internet Protocol Network Configurator (IPNC), an innovative Bell Labs-designed software tool that simplifies the configuration and management of IP-based networks. The IPNC provides a centralized, automated solution for accurately and efficiently configuring protocols for network routers.

Configuration errors and inconsistencies in routing protocol parameters are a leading cause of network outages. IPNC's automated process can improve configuration accuracy by eliminating time-consuming and error-prone manual configuration. This can also help companies avoid costly network downtime due to faulty routing protocol configuration.

In addition, to help network operators restore service after a network disaster, IPNC takes "snapshots" of network configuration files and stores them in a database. If network service is interrupted, IPNC can recover these previous versions of configuration information so managers can quickly restore the network to its pre-outage state.

"IP Network Configurator is another example of Lucent's leadership in providing innovative software tools," said Lance Boxer, president of Lucent's Communications Software Group. "Based on a patented Bell Labs technology breakthrough, IPNC can help any enterprise, service provider or network operator streamline one of the most challenging, mission critical tasks-configuring and managing router networks."

Awarded the Bell Labs President's Silver Award for Innovation Excellence, the IPNC uses a Bell Labs-created breakthrough mathematical algorithm to analyze and configure router networks. Instead of having a device-centric view, the IPNC sees routers as an intrinsic part of the network and "understands" the network's semantics and topology. It also recognizes the protocols being run on the network, then applies this information to determine the configuration. Competing configuration tools only provide Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) to individual devices, rather than view the network as a whole.

Telecommunications service provider Winstar Communications, Inc., is one of the first customers to purchase the IPNC application. "Our IP network is growing rapidly, and the services it provides are becoming more and more critical to our business customers," said Dave Ackerman, group executive of Winstar's Network and Systems Services group. "Lucent's configurator allows us to manage our network efficiently and with the high technical reliability we demand for our customers."

Lucent's IP Network Configurator will be available by the end of the month. IPNC may be used as a stand-alone application or as part of Lucent's OneVision Management Systems for Network Operators. IPNC runs on Sun Microsystems' UltraSPARCservers, requiring a minimum of 150 MB of RAM and 200 MB of disk capacity.

Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronics components. Bell Labs is the research and development arm for the company. Additional information about Lucent Technologies is available on the company's Web site at http://www.lucent.com.