Kontron and Astute Networks integrate first AdvancedTCA server-storage platform for NEPs to design edge-level content delivery solutions

Kontron, a leading global provider of standard-based and custom embedded and communications solutions, and Astute Networks, Inc, the leading provider of bladed storage solutions optimized for the most demanding applications on the edge of the network, today announced the availability of the market’s first fully integrated AdvancedTCA bladed server-storage solution for Network Equipment Providers (NEPs) to design edge-level content delivery solutions. Pre-tested and validated, this commercial-off-the-shelf 2U, 2-slot AdvancedTCA platform provides NEPs new high performance, lower-cost system design opportunities to keep pace with the increasing carrier and consumer demands for social networking, IPTV, and Video on Demand (VoD) content delivery applications.

Scaling edge network architectures to meet these new customer demand levels – reliably and easily – has been a major barrier for NEPs to rapidly design new content delivery applications. The only option has been to design and deploy complex fiber channel-based systems that are difficult to scale and manage. To add to the challenge, the market trend is for even more content to move from local storage to network storage, such as for social networking applications used by Facebook, Salesforce.com, Google/You Tube, among others, as well as for IPTV services, where demand for network storage will be triple current storage capacities. Today’s announcement provides NEPs a combination of high performance Intel^®-based server processing with the market’s sole 1.5TB iSCI over 10GbE AdvancedTCA blade. This powerful configuration enables NEPs to scale from a 2-slot, 2U AdvancedTCA platform that supports 300 standard definition movies deployed in edge networks to a redundant 14-slot AdvancedTCA platform that supports 1,800 movies within 9TB of storage deployed in the central office (CO).

“Together with Astute Networks, we can ensure our clients get to market much faster with this high density, scalable AdvancedTCA platform,” said Robert Courteau, General Manager, Kontron Canada. “Both companies are members of a growing and competitive AdvancedTCA ecosystem, and are already working closely with NEPs to give them exactly what they need to quickly and cost effectively design new content delivery applications.”

Kontron and Astute Networks will showcase the new results along with a streaming video “Read/Write” benchmark demonstration during NXTcomm in Las Vegas, June 17-19, 2008. Visit booths SL4123 and SL4121, respectively.

“In our collaboration, the two companies focused on two primary goals. The first was to provide a solution designed to eliminate the complexities associated with today’s FC storage/server solutions. Eliminating the complexities equates to reducing costs and deployment hassles for the NEPs,“ said Mike Heumann, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Astute Networks. “Second, the focus was to bring to market an easy to scale solution that was powerful enough to enable hi-fidelity, hi resolution delivery of services and content. I believe that together, Kontron and Astute Networks have achieved these goals and are bringing to market a leading edge, competitive differentiated solution for our customers.”