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Interview: "T-series Family Extends Investment Lifespan into Future"

from JAPAN

April 24, 2002

With the support of the new Juniper Networks ASICs and Matrix Technology, the T640 Internet Routing Node delivers 640 Gbps of throughput and accommodates up to 32 OC-192 ports.

We interviewed two key people from Juniper Networks Inc.: Alan Pettigrew, Japan Asia Marketing Operations Director and Mr. Peter Wexler, Vice President, Engineering to learn why they developed the T640. They visited Japan to announce the product.

Mr. Pettigrew (left) and Mr. Wexler are busy flying in the Asia Pacific region to announce the introduction of T-series family. Their next destination is China.

ZDNet: There is a widespread need for broadband Internet access. But some say that backbone bandwidth isn't fully utilized. Do you really think that there is a need for a product such as the T640 in the market?

Pettigrew: Yes, of course. Internet traffic has been increasing by 80 to 150 percent on an annual basis. So we can expect that it will increase by 1,500percent in the next five years. Therefore, it doesn't matter if only 40 percent of the backbone bandwidth is utilized today. There is no doubt that extension will be necessary in the next two years or so. In this respect, this is the right time to introduce T640.

ZDNet: Investment protection is one of the key issues for carriers and service providers. Does T640 support today's dominant network interfaces of OC-48c or below, and ATM (asynchronous transfer mode)?

Wexler: In the T640 environment, each slot supports 10 Gbps throughput. There is not much point in providing interfaces that don't deliver a certain speed. This box supports speeds of up to OC-12c/STM-4. M-series would be more suitable for circuits with lower speeds. For example, M20 or M40e can be used to put everything together before being tethered to the T-series at STM-16. What's important is that the JUNOS software provides seamless scalability for both the M-series and T-series.

ZDNet: Does it support 10 Gbps Ethernet?

Wexler: We haven't worked out a date yet, but this will happen before the year-end.

ZDNet: We understand that the newly developed ASICs and Matrix Technology make the core technologies for the T-series family. Please tell us about the features of the new ASICs. What makes it different from the existing ASICs?

Pettigrew: It is completely new. Based on the newly developed silicon technology and all functionalities of the M-series family, it delivers improved performance and enhancement.

ZDNet: What about the Matrix Technology? Does it enable multiple T640s to operate as a single router?

Wexler: Yes, it does.

ZDNet: Is it ready for commercial use?

Pettigrew: It's not available in the market yet. But the silicon and technology are complete and are functioning well. We are demonstrating this technology to our customers at our research facilities. We will schedule shipments in line with demand.

ZDNet: Who would benefit from this technology TX?

Pettigrew: It may not be easy to imagine the world of terabit. But the core already has capabilities to deliver 20 Gbps throughput. As I said before, IP traffic is growing at the annual rate of 80%. In one case, our customer in Asia is experiencing congestion due to increased traffic into POP. But it's not easy to enhance the performance of conventional routers while seeking profits (because ports must be used to interconnect routers).

The situation is already dire. In view of future requirements, a product like Matrix Technology is essential for carriers and service operators. We think that such demand will grow over the next two years. Based on the assumption that Matrix Technology becomes essential in two years time, the 640 platform definitely makes an ideal investment today. The T640 platform will work well with the Matrix Technology so that there will be no need to replace it. If more scalability is required, all you have to do is to simply add more T640s.

ZDNet: Its performance and enhancement seem to have been particularly emphasized in the presentation this time. But we understand that reliability and availability are also important elements.

Wexler: That's right. T640 is the product that will play important roles in networks, so its reliability and availability are crucial. Because many of our customers are carriers and local telecom companies, the T640 is designed to exclude a single traffic barrier and have carefully considered redundancy. Upgrades can be implemented without suspending the operation of whole systems, enabling carriers and telecom companies to continue offering services without disruption.

ZDNet: Do you expect that slowed demand in the telecom market and your latest business results would affect your development plans?

Pettigrew: It is true that there have been dramatic changes in the industry in the past two to three years. But we managed to report increased revenue on a quarterly basis during that time. We will assume a cautious attitude towards financial affairs and continue our research and development efforts so that we can continue providing innovative products to meet future demand.

ZDNet: What kind of 'innovative products' do you have in sight?

Wexler: The T-series family will satisfy the need of core networks for a while. We are intending to develop a new product that continues our tradition of offering innovative products over the next three years. Before that, we will introduce new products in the mobile and access markets. It took four years to develop T640. So we are in no hurry to work for replacement.