Operax Receives Two Patents

STOCKHOLM -- Operax, the leading vendor of dynamic Resource and Admission Control solutions for IP Service Quality, today announced that it has been granted two new patents in Japan. These patents are for technology which provides a common topology view in multi-vendor networks and which allows both open-ended and time-limited reservation of network resources. These ensure the most efficient allocation of bandwidth and guaranteed Quality of Service for services such as IPTV and VoD.

The first patent describes a method for providing topology awareness information within a multi-vendor sourced IP network. It effectively allows operators with multiple network domains to accurately understand what resources and bandwidth are available. Operax’s technology directly probes for resources, examining different nodes and links, as well as taking feeds from third-party solutions that are also sources of valuable network resources data. This distinct method allows information to be collated from these multiple sources and presented in a merged topology view. The patent enables the network to be built from numerous vendors’ equipment but still efficiently managed from a single point of control and intelligence.

The second patent describes a method for mixing open-ended and time-limited network resource reservations. This allows not only the open-ended dedication of network resources to particular users and applications, but also time-limited resource reservations to be blended in a single approach. Time-reservations can be made on demand in real-time or established for future events enabling flexible management of resources. For example, a major live sports event broadcast on IPTV, network capacity can be reserved at the appropriate time as opposed to relying on 'best efforts' services with no explicit quality guarantees. Once released, these network resources can be redeployed to other users or applications. Meanwhile, dedicated resources can be reserved on a dedicated and permanent basis for other applications such as a home worker’s corporate VPN.

These patents are commercially significant because they enable a single point of management and control for different types and durations of capacity demand in cost-effective multi-vendor networks. This allows Network Operators to multi-source and integrate their networks from multiple vendors – thus ensuring capital cost optimization – while ensuring the services carried benefit from guaranteed quality.

Olov Schelén, CTO Operax stated: “As more and more bandwidth hungry applications such as IPTV and VoD enter the mainstream, it is vital for carriers not only to understand the underlying topology of their networks but also to maximize the efficiency of their resource allocation. Operax’s solutions not only afford operators the flexibility to manage their resources in real-time on a per session per user basis but also allow them to integrate and control other third party standards-based products already used in the network.”

Operax AB