High Hopes for High Availability

Looking ahead to sunnier days when the major telecommunications networks start investing heavily in third-generation wireless and IP-based infrastructure, Sun Microsystems Inc. today launched a beta program for high-availability server software.

Part of Suns strategy for next-generation networks, the new Netra High Availability Suite 2.0 software was developed to give network equipment makers ways to reduce the time and expense of developing advanced infrastructure components, including 3G wireless network elements and softswitches.

Although the new software is targeted primarily to service providers, future iterations of the technology are likely to cater to enterprise networks, said Stephen Smith, group marketing director of the network equipment provider group at Sun. "Oftentimes, todays telecom requirements are tomorrows enterprise requirements," Smith said. "Many IT managers need systems with increasing levels of high availability. Many of these things inevitably filter down into the enterprise."

The Netra software is an off-the-shelf, non-proprietary product for carriers that demand uninterrupted services. The Santa Clara, Calif., company champions it for bringing availability to "new levels." By offering the flexibility of open industry standards, it provides for seamless integration with existing infrastructures.

As vendors integrate high-availability software into their network infrastructure, and carriers in turn implement it, enterprises are expected to benefit from faster and cheaper deployment of advanced services, potentially giving IT departments more flexibility in outsourcing such services. "IT managers will not need to develop anything," said Alvan Richard, marketing director of network equipment provider group at Sun. "Were providing the foundation servers and the application servers."

The new high-availability software is scheduled for general availability early next year.