Lucent Technologies Introduces Its First Domain Monitoring Service for Service Providers and Enterprise Customers; New Diagnostic Service Scans for Hacker Attacks and DNS Technical Problems

Business Wire, Dec 5, 2001

Business Editors

MURRAY HILL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 5, 2001

Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) today introduced its first domain monitoring service that helps guarantee the correct operation of a customer's domain name system (DNS), a service that translates a host name to a numeric IP address.

The Lucent Technologies DNS ProPerformance(TM) scans a customer's DNS infrastructure for security vulnerabilities from hackers. It also performs more than 70 customizable tests, probes and checks to assure that the DNS configuration is operating without any technical problems.

"DNS-related errors are the second most frequent reason for failed Internet connections," said Madan Kumar, vice president of the Network Software Group in Lucent Technologies. "The DNS ProPerformance gives customers an automatic and proactive DNS management approach to provide carrier-class reliability and availability for their domain names."

All IP-based applications must refer to a DNS server in order to translate domain names to their IP addresses in a numeric form. In this environment, the new Lucent solution helps ensure the reliable DNS performance essential for these interactive and real-time revenue applications. It notifies administrators of all inaccurate or invalid DNS information that would render a site or application unreachable. The information is presented in comprehensive, easy-to-read reports that suggest corrective actions and solutions. The diagnostic software solution sends e-mail notifications every time a test is performed by the administrator and also allows the administrator to specify the frequency by which the automated tests are performed. This saves valuable troubleshooting time that would normally take up to a day or more to resolve.

"Because of the complex nature of DNS, companies often neglect to manage and configure DNS properly. This puts critical infrastructure, such as web presence and e-mail traffic, at risk," said Cricket Liu, DNS specialist and author of the O'Reilly & Associates Nutshell Handbook, "DNS and BIND." "This new service provides a fast and simple way to get a comprehensive health report on DNS from an external source. It offers clear reports and detailed recommendations that are helpful in identifying and correcting configuration problems and security weaknesses."

The DNS ProPerformance software solution is available now. For more information on the DNS ProPerformance, visit http://www.lucent.com/vital/dnspro.> About Lucent Technologies

Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., USA, designs and delivers networks for the world's largest communications service providers. Backed by Bell Labs research and development, Lucent relies on its strengths in mobility, optical, data and voice networking technologies as well as software and services to develop next-generation networks. The company's systems, services and software are designed to help customers quickly deploy and better manage their networks and create new, revenue-generating services that help businesses and consumers.

For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit its Web site at http://www.lucent.com.