Sockeye Networks claims its new routing service improves 70 percent of BGP routes and reduces bandwidth and network management costs up to 40 percent.

by Wayne Kawamoto [December 12, 2001]

Sockeye Networks, a provider of intelligent routing services, launched its GlobalRoute service, which is available now.

According to the company, independent network testing services have demonstrated that its GlobalRoute service improves 70 percent of BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) routing selections, and lowers bandwidth and network management costs by up to 40 percent for service providers that use more than one connection to the Internet. The tests may also highlight the inefficiency of standard IP protocols and show that BGP selects sub-optimal routes the majority of the time.

The GlobalRoute service is designed to integrate data on global Internet traffic conditions with traffic measurements taken from customers' local IP networks. Sockeye says GlobalRoute the only intelligent routing service on the market that has exclusive access to Akamai Technologies, Inc.'s network of more than 13,000 servers on over 1,000 networks for accessing data on global Internet traffic conditions.

"The Sockeye Networks GlobalRoute service is a first of its kind for IP routing," said John Katsaros, principal and co-founder, NetsEdge Research Group." Through its partnership with Akamai Technologies, Sockeye Networks is the only solution that enables businesses to optimize routing by combining a global measurement infrastructure with edge measurement technologies. This combination provides the most accurate snapshot of Internet congestion, and thus the greatest opportunity for a priori avoidance of problems."

Sockeye says that its GlobalRoute service uses the most accurate picture of real-time Internet conditions to reroute traffic flows to better performing and more cost effective routes, before networks are disrupted. With this global and customer-specific IP traffic measurement data, providers may be able to optimize their IP traffic flows based on performance and cost metrics that they set.

The company also claims that GlobalRoute identifies and resolves network problems almost instantaneously—a process that otherwise can take hours, sometimes days—which can boost network reliability and stability. The solution may also reduce bandwidth costs by enabling providers to use less expensive Internet connections without sacrificing performance. And Sockeye says its service model provides around-the-clock customer support and lets businesses get more out of their existing network infrastructure.

The GlobalRoute service is designed to deliver the following to service providers:

Measurement—A comprehensive Internet measurement and mapping platform whose level of accuracy results from a combination of customer-specific measurements combined with real-time data on the global status and structure of the Internet. This platform is designed to rapidly detect congestion and proactively evaluate alternate routes for customer traffic.

Optimization—Advanced decision algorithms analyze global and custom measurement data to select routes that maximize performance while minimizing cost.

Reporting—Real-time and historical reports alert customers to network performance issues and provide in—depth analysis of network activity. GlobalRoute's graphical interface is designed to give network managers "at-a-glance" views of each link's performance in relation to pre-set thresholds.

Customization—Customer-defined parameters such as points to probe, link cost thresholds, and measurement frequency align business objectives with performance requirements and offer customers a level of control.

"More than ever, companies are on the alert for major network disruptions. And yet, the congestion that occurs daily on the Internet can be just as devastating by crippling extranets, VPNs, and customer transactions," said Valeri Marks, chairman and CEO of Sockeye Networks. "GlobalRoute enables businesses to avoid thousands of breakdowns in Internet traffic every day that would have otherwise passed under the radar. This ensures that businesses and service providers can reap the rewards of their investments in network infrastructure."

Sockeye Networks also announced that Focal Communications Corporation, a national communications provider, is one of several companies that has successfully concluded its trial of GlobalRoute and has deployed the service in its IP network. "Focal is setting the industry standard for reliable, advanced Internet services for large enterprises and network service providers," said Michael Mael, executive vice president of marketing at Focal. "With Sockeye Networks GlobalRoute service, we are able to deliver a top performing network while containing costs. During the trial phase, GlobalRoute exceeded our expectations of improving network performance."

Pricing and availability
The GlobalRoute service includes access to the GlobalRoute measurement platform, route optimization, monitoring and reporting tools, customer support, service monitoring, and service upgrades.

For a typical customer configuration, prices range from $4,500 to $12,000 per month, per location.

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