Sockeye Networks' GlobalRouteSM 2.0 promises a new level of accuracy, control, and visibility over first generation route optimization products, all with a little help from Akamai Technologies.

by Wayne Kawamoto [July 15, 2002]

Sockeye Networks, a provider of route optimization services, introduced Release 2.0 of its GlobalRouteSM service. GlobalRoute combines customer-specific edge measurements with a proactive global view of Internet congestion to provide route optimization.

According to the company, independent network testing services have demonstrated that its GlobalRoute service improves Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing selections, and lowers bandwidth and network management costs for service providers that use more than one connection to the Internet. Also, the tests highlighted the inefficiency of standard IP protocols and show that BGP selects sub-optimal routes the majority of the time.

GlobalRoute combines real-time global data, licensed from Akamai Technologies' worldwide platform of more than 12,600 servers, with edge measurements to destinations identified by Akamai's view of optimal scan points on the Internet or to destinations defined by the customer. The new 2.0 version of GlobalRoute is designed to capture and analyze customer traffic patterns; automatically identify and optimize traffic to key destinations and give customers the option of manually adding destinations for optimization. Additionally, GlobalRoute 2.0 delivers enhanced cost-based routing.

According to the company, GlobalRoute Release 2.0 offers an improved user interface that ensures that network engineers have control over their routing decisions, including control over parameters and thresholds. GlobalRoute 2.0 includes graphical displays of customer traffic patterns as well as "time-lapse" data. Also, GlobalRoute 2.0 includes new reporting features that may allow customers to view head-to-head comparisons between service providers and customer traffic reports that include aggregate traffic volumes to specific networks and highest volume destinations. This visualization may give customers an in-depth, proactive perspective of network problems as well as comparative quantification of network performance both with and without GlobalRoute.

"Many enterprises are operating with the perception that because they don't regularly have massive outages, and because they have Tier 1 providers, that they don't have a problem," explains Zeus Kerravala, vice president of the Yankee Group. "They are just starting to recognize the urgency of addressing the persistent degradation in performance and lack of cost control that is eroding their networks performance and their bottom line—at a time when they are desperate to control IT costs. The GlobalRoute service, which has always combined real-time global information from Akamai with customer-specific edge measurements to provide highly accurate route optimization, now further raises the bar on accuracy with the addition of Netflow information factored into the routing decisions."

"GlobalRoute gives me non-intrusive, accurate route optimization because it combines extensive global Internet traffic data with my own network flow data while at the same time providing me with the most flexible means to control IP traffic," explained Scott J. Ellentuch, President of TTSG Internet Services, Inc. "It evens out my bandwidth consumption so I can use all my commitment levels to the fullest extent before I move to the next level. In addition to helping me reduce monthly bandwidth costs, GlobalRoute gives me the confidence that I'm making good business decisions about bandwidth usage, fee ngotiations, and technology upgrades."

Pricing and availability
GlobalRoute Release 2.0 is available now. Pricing starts at $4,900 per month for full route optimization for all IP traffic, and $1,200 per month per site for VPN applications.

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