RouteScience's rack-mountable PathControl device determines the optimal path for traffic in real time and automatically updates edge routers to better serve customers across an ISP's network.

by Wayne Kawamoto [September 12, 2001]

RouteScience introduced its RouteScience PathControl, a device that lets service providers make Internet routing decisions at the network's edge to enforce their business-specific cost and performance objectives.

Instead of relying on default Internet routing, the device lets ISPs route traffic through the paths that can deliver the best end-to-end performance.

Using performance metrics and customer preferences for ISP link costs, PathControl determines the best ISP path and automatically updates the organization's edge routers in real time with the best path routing information. The results are a cost-efficient use of bandwidth and faster transactions for 50 to 80 percent of destinations, which should make them more than twice as fast on average—and up to 10 times faster for poorly served end users.

By moving control over Internet routing decisions to the network's edge, route control technology may address the root cause of Internet performance problems. The end result may also offer more predictable Internet performance regardless of the amount of congestion and delay at the Internet's core.

PathControl is designed to deliver optimized Internet routing using the following real-time, closed-feedback system:

1. Instrumentation—PathControl uses patent-pending technology to measure the real-time performance of an organization's end users over its ISP links. This end-to-end process is passive (no annoying pings) and uses minimal network resources.
2. Analysis and Decision Making—PathControl analyzes the organization's end-user performance to determine the best routes by using customer-specified performance criteria and preferences for ISP links based on their own cost metrics. This allows Internet traffic to be routed to the ISP links that deliver the right mix of cost and performance.
3. Automatic Route Updates—PathControl can be set to automatically send route updates to the edge routers in real time using standard Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). PathControl is designed to generate hundreds of thousands of routing updates each day.
4. Reporting—PathControl reports on ISP performance and the route optimization process, prefix by prefix, second by second. These detailed reports can be used to objectively evaluate ISP performance from the organization's premises to its own end users.

"Route control technology from pioneering companies such as RouteScience could change the Internet from an unpredictable, low-performance network to the most reliable solution for delivering the applications and information that will drive business into the 21st century," said Christine Heckart, president of TeleChoice. "This new category of products may change Internet routing from haphazard guesswork with out-of-date protocols to informed decisions based on real-time performance. This is one of the most exciting routing innovations in the last five years."

"RouteScience is pioneering a new way to boost performance over the public Internet," said Susan Almeida, co-founder of Network Strategy Partners. "While optical, broadband, QoS and content delivery continue to drive improvements, consistent end-to-end performance across all of the service provider nets between a user and content is still hamstrung by simplistic routing protocols which choose a path and stick with it no matter how bad the performance. RouteScience's unique, pragmatic approach aims to dramatically and consistently improve this important part of the equation by automatically directing data center or content site routers to the best on-ramp based on sophisticated analysis of real-time, end-to-end performance."

"RouteScience PathControl is empowering organizations to become informed bandwidth consumers by allowing them to route their traffic in real time to the service providers that actually deliver the best performance to their end users," said Herb Madan, chairman, CEO and co-founder of RouteScience. "Service providers can likewise become informed bandwidth producers by using PathControl to monitor and tune their own networks to meet the performance needs of their enterprise customers."

Pricing and availability
RouteScience PathControl is currently in field trials with key enterprise customers—including a large Web portal and several major financial services institutions—and will be available for volume shipments in October 2001.

Pricing ranges from $140,000 to $250,000 depending on the device configuration. Entry-level pricing includes a modular, 8U, 14-slot chassis and support for two ISP links. Optional modules can be added to support additional ISP links and enhanced reporting features.

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