“The market is demanding a Linux solution for telecommunications and MontaVista Software is being responsive to the market needs,” said Jim Ready, president and CEO of MontaVista Software. “We are leveraging our significant expertise in providing telecommunications solutions to deliver a standards-based, open architecture software platform for the industry’s next-generation telecommunications systems, which require virtually zero down time.”
MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition enhances standard Linux with additional high reliability and availability features for deployment in carrier-grade environments, and is designed specifically to address the needs of telecommunications equipment manufacturers. Based on a significant open source development project initiated by MontaVista Software with contributions from other open source projects, it provides kernel and driver hardening, monitoring and fault management services, and other carrier-grade features.
MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition builds on the company’s expertise in embedded Linux and high availability. The new product incorporates all the benefits of the MontaVista flagship product, MontaVista Linux Professional Edition, which includes a fully preemptive kernel and real-time scheduling, small footprint targets and journaling file systems. It also builds on key technologies from the MontaVista High Availability Framework, such as PICMG 2.12 hot swap capabilities (hot replace and hot insert), redundant Ethernet, and resource monitoring and event management subsystem.
“This MontaVista Linux release adds momentum to the emergence of Intel-based carrier-grade solutions,” said Scott Richardson, general manager of Intel’s Network Processing Group. “Telecommunications customers need fast and cost-effective access to high-performance, highly available platforms. The combination of modular Intel building blocks, MontaVista’s Linux expertise and its ongoing alignment with emerging OSDL specifications will give these customers the levels of flexibility and time-to-market they require.”
“Telecommunications equipment manufacturers want to deliver affordable next-generation solutions at a faster time-to-market,? said Jane Munn, vice president, IBM Global Telecommunications. ?Carrier-grade Linux, with its open interfaces and leading-edge technology, will help bring these solutions to telecommunications customers. By working with the IBM Linux Technology Center, MontaVista Software is moving aggressively to enable carrier-grade Linux-based solutions that meet the stringent requirements of the core network infrastructure.?
MontaVista Software has a strong commitment to providing carrier-grade solutions and is actively participating in several industry initiatives to define carrier-grade and high availability standards. These include the OSDL Carrier Grade Linux Working Group (which includes Intel, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Nokia and Alcatel as members) and the Service Availability Forum (which includes Compaq, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Nokia, Radisys and Force as members). As specifications from these organizations emerge, MontaVista is committed to incorporating these into its Carrier Grade Edition product.
“The availability of an open Linux platform that addresses the requirements of the telecommunications industry is a major step in moving Linux and open source software technology into these important applications,” said Tim Witham, OSDL lab director. “MontaVista’s participation in the OSDL’s Carrier Grade Linux Working Group shows its commitment to the development of common building blocks to allow software and hardware vendors maximum control over their products and time-to-market.”
Availability
MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition will be available for Intel architecture platforms in the second quarter of 2002. Subscribers to the MontaVista High Availability Framework product will be able to migrate seamlessly and without additional cost to the MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition product. Subscribers of MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition will be able to upgrade to a next-generation version of the product when industry carrier-grade Linux specifications are further defined. Support for other architecture platforms is also planned. For more product information, please visit http://www.mvista.com/products/mvl_cge/mvlcge_over view.html.
Background
High Availability is a term for technology that enhances the “up-time” of computer systems by distributing functionality across multiple CPUs. Highly available systems reduce single points of failure in a single chassis. In response to hardware and software failures, high availability systems facilitate the rapid transfer of control (fail-over) from a faulty CPU, peripheral, or software component to a functional one, while preserving operations or transactions in progress at the time of failure.
Carrier-grade is a term for next-generation telecommunications products that require 5 nines or 99.999 percent reliability. MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition provides key technologies that enable 5 nines solutions. The product?s hot swap capabilities, combined with redundancy support for networking and storage subsystems, provide a higher level of availability than is realized with standard Linux operating systems. These features, along with a fault management framework and hardware redundancy, will enable a system to reach 5 nines or even 6 nines of availability.
See What Other MontaVista Partners are Saying at the Bottom of the Release.
About MontaVista Software Inc.
MontaVista Software Inc. powers the embedded revolution by providing open-source systems software solutions for embedded developers. Founded in 1999 by real-time operating system (RTOS) pioneer James Ready, MontaVista’s principal products include MontaVista Linux® Professional Edition and MontaVista Linux® Carrier Grade Edition. The Professional Edition is a Linux-based embedded source and binary distribution, cross development platform and a set of tool kits for x86/IA-32, PowerPC, StrongARM, MIPS, SH, ARM, XScale, Xtensa and other microprocessor architectures. The Carrier Grade Edition is a second-generation high availability product that is an ideal Linux platform for telecommunications and carrier-grade applications. MontaVista Software also provides several complementary technology products addressing specific customer needs such as the Java development environment, high availability technology, powerful graphics toolkits and more. MontaVista offers developers a family of products and services for embedded design and development targeted for applications ranging from communications infrastructure to consumer devices.
Headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley, in Sunnyvale, Calif., MontaVista Software is a privately held company funded by leading investors such as Alloy Ventures, US Venture Partners, RRE Ventures, WR Hambrecht + Co., IBM, Intel Capital, Panasonic and Sony Corporation. For more information about MontaVista Software, please visit http://www.mvista.com, email to info@mvista.com or call (408) 328-9200.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. MontaVista is a trademark of MontaVista Software Inc. All other names mentioned are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective companies.
Contacts:
Joe Samagond,
Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications,
MontaVista Software Inc.,
Phone: (408) 328-9234,
E-mail: jsamagond@mvista.com
Patricia Colby,
PR Strategy and Business Development,
Pacifico Inc.,
Phone: (408) 293 8600 x340,
E-mail: pcolby@pacifico.com
Support from Key Providers:
Radisys Corporation
“Industry-wide standardization of interfaces is required to drive interoperability and economy of scale for data services to be widely available,” said Arif Kareem, senior vice president for RadiSys. “It makes sense for telecommunications equipment providers to select open source, cost-effective operating platforms from innovative companies such as MontaVista Software.”
www.radisys.com
GoAhead Software
“The open architectural model allows system components including hardware, operating systems, middleware and applications to interact more efficiently,” said Michael O’Brien, CEO of GoAhead Software. “Additionally, with the integration of off-the-shelf solutions, such as MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition and GoAhead SelfReliant Service Availability middleware, network equipment providers can realize reduced development costs, time-to-market improvements, and ultimately, more reliable and available products for their customers.”
www.goahead.com
LVL7 Systems
“Networking equipment providers will now have a choice of industry standards-based products as a welcome alternative to proprietary operating systems,” said Ernie Baker, president of LVL7 Systems. “With the availability of LVL7’s FASTPATH software integrated with MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition, networking OEM vendors can reduce development costs, improve operational efficiencies and decrease time to market.”
www.lvl7.com
Category:
- Linux
