Virtual Networks defines new market niche with the Lucent PortMaster 4
Virtual Networks began operations in late 1998 with a single point of presence (POP) in Reno, Nevada, and currently provides dial-up access to 3,300 individual end-users. But this Internet service provider (ISP) expects to grow its subscriber base to one million users within the next twelve to sixteen months.
"Our long-term goal," explains Virtual Networks president Todd Twete, "is to establish multiple virtual private networks (VPNs) that will meet the communications needs of large corporate customers, including secure Internet connectivity, content-managed portals, and development support for electronic commerce and other global business applications."
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Virtual Networks' projections are fueled by the company's most notable client--Christian Life Online, a national organization that conservatively numbers 13 million potential subscribers. Virtual Networks offers a "Special Portal Construction" service that will enable Christian Life Online members to get the specific information they want quickly and easily.
Virtual Networks' "Special Portal Construction" service will also benefit large corporations seeking to improve employee productivity. By taking advantage of Virtual Networks' robust content-management and VPN capabilities, corporate customers can control what, when, and by whom Internet web site content is accessed. Instead of spending time randomly "surfing" for information on the World Wide Web, employees will be able to quickly access the Internet resources they need to do their jobs efficiently.
All of this is part of Virtual Network's over-all mission: "We're committed to delivering the finest 100 percent digital network in the United States," says Twete. "Our purpose is to perpetuate the flow of electronic commerce, introduce customers to 'real-business' sites, and provide a way for large organizations to communicate and do business globally."
The all-digital, high-density challenge
To accomplish its goals, Virtual Networks needs an all-digital network infrastructure that can support traffic density of enormous proportions while at the same time delivering reliability levels comparable to those of the public switched telephone network (PSTN). In addition, to focus on the delivery of enhanced services that would attract large corporate customers, Virtual Networks needs a network management system that is easy to manage and control. The company's network engineers have designed a combination of customized management tools with an adaptation of the Lucent-invented RADIUS 2.x client to meet its unique network management requirements. Linux terminals at each Virtual Networks site will increase efficiency by enabling the separation of access from security management.
"When you're building a network to serve a million users, you have to be very picky about both the InterNetworking Systems equipment and the management software you use," observes Dick Kelsey, director of Virtual Networks. "We needed a strong partner mutually involved with us in this aggressive business market. That's why we chose Lucent Technologies-a consistent organization with world-class magnitude and style."
The Lucent PortMaster solution
Virtual Network's evaluation of various equipment vendor offerings resulted in the decision to deploy Lucent Technologies PortMaster® products. "PortMaster products have always been industry-leading in the area of providing Internet access," says Virtual Networks director of network administration, Kristina Pfaff-Harris. "The greatest advantage of PortMaster products is their powerful functionality and flexibility. What impressed us most about the new PortMaster 4 integrated access concentrator are its carrier-class capacity, integrated access, continuous operation, and fault tolerance."
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Bill Garand, network services manager, |
During initial tests of the PortMaster 4, Virtual Networks engineers found that the PortMaster 4 surpassed all other solutions on the market in five key areas--density, performance, reliability, multi-service capacity, and manageability. Though its footprint is small (only 19w" x 18d" x 15.75h"), the PortMaster 4 can deliver up to 864 dial-up modem or Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) sessions, up to 36 T1 leased lines, and up to nine OC-3c/STM-1 ATM connections. At the same time, the PortMaster 4 can minimize Virtual Networks' operational costs because it requires fewer spares, less re-training, and delivers consistent and consolidated service and network management.
At its existing headquarters point of presence (POP) in Reno, NV, Virtual Networks has already installed a PortMaster 4 to deliver Internet access to its rapidly growing population of dial-up subscribers. It also operates a PortMaster 3 at the same location, which is used exclusively to handle customer sign-up traffic. In the next six months, the company plans to deploy twelve additional PortMaster 4 units and five additional PortMaster 3 units at Virtual Networks POPs in Reno, Los Angeles, and New York City.
"We chose Lucent Technologies because of the superior performance of its PortMaster products," Twete explains. "And we've been extremely pleased with the customer support provided by Lucent. Their rapid response times and the technical information they provided while we were exploring our hardware options were truly outstanding."
The Results
The PortMaster 4 allows Virtual Networks technicians to stack as many as five PortMaster 4 chassis into a standard 7-foot rack to achieve more than 4,000 dial-up connections. Because, like all PortMaster products, the PortMaster 4 runs the ComOS® management platform, it also provides a scalable network management system that supports all standard network interfaces.
In addition, the modular architecture of the PortMaster 4 greatly simplifies maintenance and in-service upgrades. "Every module operates independently and is self-sustaining," observes Bill Garand, network services manager for Virtual Networks. "There are no single points of failure. The backplane, the power supply, the T1 connections--everything is redundant. If you swap out a card during an upgrade, the PortMaster 4 keeps running and just shifts to another card all by itself. That's what sold me on the PortMaster 4--a lost circuit doesn't require a system reboot because the system recovers on its own. Now that's what I call true real-time reliability."