SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The Resilient Packet Ring Alliance (RPRA), a non-profitcorporation promoting the standardization of resilient packet ring (RPR)technology, today formally announced its long-term goals, strategy andmission. RPR is a new data-oriented ring technology that addresses thebandwidth limitations resulting from growing traffic in carriernetworks. The Alliance will provide input on the market and technologydynamics impacting RPR technology to the IEEE 802.17 working group thatwill formalize the RPR standard. RPR will provide a resilient data linklayer optimized for data traffic for optical networks used in LANs,MANs, and WANs and standardization of the technology will ensure thatall products developed in accordance with the standard will becompatible and interoperable.

“Traffic on today’s MANs and WANs is exploding at exponential rates, andthe requirement for these networks to accommodate high-volume packetdata is also increasing,” said Robert Love, chairman of the RPRAlliance. “The networking industry needs a carrier-class,data-optimized solution that is low cost, highly scalable and addressesthe critical bandwidth dilemma that all equipment vendors, carriers andusers are encountering. The IEEE working group’s RPR standard is thesolution that will meet these challenges. It is a unique layer 2technology that is optimized for MANs and WANs. Also, it leverages theEthernet’s physical layer as well as the rich resiliency capabilities ofSONET.”

http://www.rpralliance.org