Exploring Content-Aware Network Appliances
Content-aware networking received a big visibility boost this past summer when Cisco announced its Application-Oriented Network (AON) product strategy (see “Embedding Apps in Network Devices?” BCR, September 2005).

Behind the Revolution – Technology driving next-gen networks…
The technology driving everything from next-gen networks to Web 2.0 has surprisingly deep links to experts and entrepreneurs in Ottawa.

XML Marks the Spot in IP Services
The move to provision broadband voice, video and data services at the application layer via XML picked up steam last week. As executives from Telcordia Technologies Inc. toured the country to promote their Maestro Internet Protocol multimedia service (IMS) suite, IBM Corp. announced it acquired DataPower Technology Inc., one of the last independent providers of XML acceleration systems.

IBM acquires Datapower
IBM Corp. has acquired DataPower Technology (Cambridge, Mass.), removing from the field one of the last independent startups in XML acceleration. Following last summer’s acquisition of Sarvega by Intel Corp., the deal leaves only Tarari Inc. as a chip and software player, and Solace Systems Inc. as a developer of full XML server accelerator systems.

CISCO AON – Another Validation for Solace Systems
Earlier this spring, I met with Sir Terry Matthews at a Mitel Analyst event here in Toronto and we briefly spoke about Solace Systems, which is focused on application aware networking (i.e. XML routing). Having heard about Solace’s deployment at Allstream, I was already familiar with the company, but his enthuasism was so contagious that I had to go and check the company out myself at Supercomm.

Solace Systems approach validated by entry of incumbents in message routing marketplace.
Cisco Systems Inc.’s long-awaited response to Extensible Markup Language (XML) acceleration products was unveiled Tuesday (June 21) during a company event in Las Vegas

Telecommunications announces 10 Coolest Companies of 2005
With their wreckage strewn about the industry like crushed cars at a massive junkyard, countless so-called “hot” companies from past years provide striking evidence of the fate that awaits innovative companies that lack an understanding of the business of technology.

Firm ships message router
Solace Systems this week announced the general availability of its 3200 Series Multiservice Message Router.

XML router gets rolled into message passing job
Application-layer processing using Extensible Markup Language (XML) has become common enough to warrant standard silicon for XML processing and standard board-level blades for XML acceleration. Yet when Canadian startup Solace Systems Inc. was designing a router for application-to-application messaging, it chose to use custom silicon and a proprietary real-time OS for the resultant 3200 platform, its unique approach to messaging acceleration.

Enabling Carrier Service Differentiation
Looking to enable carriers to provide profitable next generation IP services, startup Solace Systems, Inc. today launched a product designed to support Web services, joining a growing trend of infrastructure vendors, including Cisco and Juniper, whom seek to recast business conducted on the Internet.