TMCnet Feature Free eNews Subscription
August 18, 2011

Intune Shows Where Networks Are Heading

By Ed Silverstein, TMCnet Contributor

Intune Networks is using new technology to change what networks are able to do.

Started in 1999 by John Dunne (News - Alert) and Tom Farrell, as they researched laser technology, Intune Networks developed technology in optical networking and solutions. They are coming to market as telecom switch products. The solution is known as Optical Packet Switch and Transport (OPST).



Intune is focused on the telecoms equipment market – where quality of experience and high bandwidth led to new opportunities.

Intune has used OPST for a carrier-grade networking system, the Verisma iVX8000, available for deployment in 2010.

Early versions are being used by several large European operators, the company said.

“We’ve gotten a lot of good receptivity from some Tier 1 carriers,” Ellis Reid, Intune’s director of product marketing, told TMC’s Rich Tehrani (News - Alert), during an interview in San Jose, Calif., about the company’s new products. “We’re the future of where networks are going to go.”

“By going to an all-optical fabric, converging layers zero, one and two into a single product, this is really the way the networks need to go and we think that Intune Networks is uniquely positioned to do that,” Reid adds.

The network now has to provide what Reid described as an “everywhere to everywhere connectivity.” And it needs to be “flexible.”

Intune’s solution saves space, power and simplifies the network, he said. 

“Now what you’re looking at is a single, converged, optical control plane. From one end to the other, I can actually control my bandwidth. I can bring it up. I can move it down. And I am not actually having to worry about two sets of equipment across there, managing it.”

The company uses fast-tunable lasers to switch the data; that simplifies matters, Reid said.

It also has embedded an XML server in each one of the nodes sitting inside of the ring.

It can control the network using web-based commands. The network “operates like the web,” Reid said. “The web is so far ahead of where carrier networks are today. We actually allow you to virtualize your network.”

Intune employs over 120 staff and has design centers in Dublin and Belfast, Ireland, and has sales offices in the United Kingdom and United States.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.


Ed Silverstein is a TMCnet contributor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Juliana Kenny
» More TMCnet Feature Articles
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]
SHARE THIS ARTICLE

LATEST TMCNET ARTICLES

» More TMCnet Feature Articles