21 November 2002 -- Metropolitan area networking pioneer Riverstone Networks, Santa Clara, Ca, US, has introduced its Loop Protection System (LPS), a new technology that increases network reliability and reduces operational costs.
The Loop Protection System enhances the relationship between carrier and corporate networks by safeguarding carrier networks from customer premise generated failures.
"Private, mission critical networks are becoming more advanced, and service provider networks are at greater risk of feeling the impact of any topology issues at the customers' premises," said Marian Stasney, managing partner at Telecom Inquiry Solutions. "By creating a virtual demarcation point for the carrier, Riverstone's loop protection technology is a first step in mitigating traffic flow issues associated with networking loops that occur beyond the carrier's own network."
The system detects network traffic loops that are created at the customer's site and isolates the connections from the rest of the network. While carrier networks and corporate networks are individually protected from such network loops by the family of spanning tree protocols, including rapid spanning tree and Riverstone's own rapid ring spanning tree, there is no solution that protects the carrier's network from loops created at the customer premise.
As an example, network loops created at the corporate WAN or access router send traffic from the carrier network back into it. The carrier network then sends the traffic back to the corporate router and so on in a never-ending path.
Riverstone's LPS inspects packets entering the carrier network to determine if they have already been sent to the corporate network. If the system finds that the same packets are being sent, rather than exposing the carrier network to a slowdown, the loop protection system isolates the interface to the corporate network. The system then periodically reconnects to the corporate network to detect if the loop has been removed.
"Carrier and corporate networks operate in a delicate balance that can be disrupted by problems in either network," said Stephen Garrison, senior director, strategic marketing at Riverstone. "The loop protection system is a service assurance tool that mitigates the impact of corporate network problems on carrier networks, protecting service delivery to all network customers."