ONPATH Technologies, NetQuest partner for Packet over SONET/SDH network monitoring

ONPATH Technologies and NetQuest Corp. have announced a strategic partnership which will integrate the NetQuest OptiCop SONET/SDH packet aggregation and monitoring switch into ONPATH’s Universal Connectivity System (UCS) suite. The result will be the industry’s most complete Layer 1 through Layer 4 network monitoring access platform, the two companies assert.

The NetQuest Opticop is a monitoring access platform designed to enable existing Ethernet-based monitoring tools to attach to any network, regardless of transport technology or speed. This ability enables customers to access their IP traffic from within transport technologies such as Packet-over-SONET (PoS). The ONPATH UCS 3900 Packet Blade currently serves as a Network Packet Broker (NPB) by filtering and aggregating 1/10/40-Gbps Ethernet traffic. The UCS 3900 enables network managers to reduce costs by centralizing operations, monitoring services, and network security, says ONPATH. Combining the UCS 3900 with the Opticop extends traffic visibility out to telco interfaces, enabling insights into network and application performance, the two companies say.

“Enterprise customers require traffic access on telco circuits to validate network performance and SLAs, before the traffic hits their routers,” notes Jesse Price, vice president of marketing at NetQuest. “In addition, service provider and government customers need access to packet traffic on telco circuits for automated network survey and selective traffic targeting in support of lawful intercept and cyber security applications. Integrating the Opticop with the ONPATH UCS 3900 provides a seamless solution to access, filter, and aggregate packet traffic throughout the network.”

“We are pleased to partner with NetQuest and their proven Opticop solution to extend the value of ONPATH’s Network Monitoring Access solution,” stated Gene Litt, vice president of marketing at ONPATH. “Customers can now access packet traffic over Ethernet or telco interfaces, aggregate and filter the traffic, and pass it to Ethernet-based tools, reducing both the cost and complexity of their monitoring infrastructure”.

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