OTTAWA -- Galazar Networks™ Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company with advanced, next-generation SONET/SDH framers, today announced that network equipment vendors and carriers have tested and verified the functionality of the MSF250™, DSF250™ and MSF15™ framers.

Galazar's flagship product, the MSF250 multi-service framer, is the first complete system-on-a-chip (SoC) framer to offer comprehensive SONET device integration of legacy DS1/E1 and emerging Ethernet data services. A single MSF250 offers multiple voice, leased line and data service interfaces such as 10/100 Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, DS1/E1 and DS3/E3, mapping into protected SONET lines from OC-3 to OC-48. The Galazar product family consists of the world's first devices to simultaneously support mixed High Order (STS) and Low Order (VT) Virtual Concatenation (VC) with Link Capacity Adjustment Scheme (LCAS).

Galazar's framers are targeted at network equipment manufacturers whose systems enable carriers to extend their current SONET investments by providing next-generation packet and Ethernet services on their existing infrastructure. The products allow carriers to increase their service offerings and revenue without additional central office investments. Galazar designed its products in collaboration with several carriers and Tier One equipment vendors, resulting in highly flexible, interoperable devices.

"Network equipment vendors and carriers have been using our products over the past couple of months, and our framers have interoperated successfully with other key network and test equipment," said Richard Deboer, CEO, Galazar Networks. "We believe our close collaboration with our customers in the development phase is responsible for this success. Galazar's ability to deliver real products to a solid Tier One customer base positions us very competitively."

Agilent Technologies Inc. has supplied its latest OmniBER OTN 2.5 Gb/s next-generation SONET test platform (www.agilent.com/find/omniber) to support Galazar on its MSF250 evaluation platform customer tour. Agilent's OmniBER OTN 2.5 Gb/s is the industry's first analyzer to test Ethernet over SONET transport via Generic Framing Procedure (GFP) encapsulation and High and Low Order Virtual Concatenation.

"We are very pleased to be working with Galazar on its MSF250 evaluation tour," said Ronnie Neil, Agilent's marketing programs manager for next-generation SONET testing. "Interoperability is key to the deployment of next-generation SONET networks and services, and the use of the OmniBER OTN enables customers to fully evaluate the functionality and interoperability of the Galazar framer."

Successful interoperability of Galazar's MSF250 on a live network has also been demonstrated by CANARIE Inc., Canada's advanced Internet development organization (www.canarie.ca). Using Galazar's MSF250, CANARIE successfully demonstrated Virtual Concatenated Ethernet over SONET (EoS) services over a SONET network on its live, CA*net 4 national network. The CA*net 4 links all Canadian research-intensive institutions over a 10 Gigabit coast-to-coast network in North America.

"The first-ever successful implementation of an Ethernet over SONET framer supporting High and Low Order Virtual Concatenation on an in-service network is a tremendous accomplishment for Galazar," said Andrew Bjerring, president and CEO of CANARIE Inc. "This test supports not only CANARIE's goal of advancing technology but also of supporting world-class companies, such as Galazar, in order to develop leading, next-generation products."

Product portfolio: MSF250, DSF250 and MSF15

Galazar's Ethernet over SONET (EoS) framers are the world's first carrier class devices to simultaneously support mixed High Order and Low Order Virtual Concatenation (VC) with Link Capacity Adjustment Scheme (LCAS). This allows for more efficient use of network bandwidth, which is critical to maximizing revenues from existing infrastructure. All devices offer up to 24 Virtual Concatenation Groups (VCG), providing further maximization of SONET/SDH lines. Until now, mapping of only four or 12 groups was available. The chips' external SDRAM interface offers up to 250ms differential delay compensation. The devices adhere to the GFP/X.86/HDLC Ethernet mapping standards.

Galazar offers full customer support for all products, including evaluation platforms, software drivers and a software support program.

MSF250

The single-chip MSF250 framer is a 2.5 Gb/s SONET/SDH device for multi-service CPE/CLE products. The MSF250 offers multiple voice, leased line and data service interfaces, including 10/100 Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, SPI-3, DS1/E1, DS3/E3, SPI-3 and Telecom Bus interfaces mapping into protected SONET/SDH lines ranging from OC-3/STM-1 to OC-48/STM-16. www.galazar.com/products/msf250_device.html

DSF250

The DSF250 is a single-chip 2.5 Gb/s framer for packet and Ethernet over SONET/SDH. The DSF250 offers 10/100 Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, and SPI-3 interfaces mapped into protected SONET/SDH lines ranging from OC-3/STM-1 to OC-48/STM-16. www.galazar.com/products/dsf250_device.html

MSF15

The MSF15 is a highly integrated 155 Mb/s SONET/SDH framer for multi-service CPE/CLE applications. The MSF15 is capable of mapping legacy DS1/E1, DS3/E3 services and 10/100 Ethernet traffic into redundant OC-3/STM-1 SONET/SDH lines. www.galazar.com/products/msf15_device.html

Galazar Networks Inc.