OpenClovis has updated its dual-licensed “carrier-grade” middleware for high-availability (HA) telecom and enterprise systems. OpenClovis CGM (carrier-grade middleware) 3.0 is said to offer the “most comprehensive and native” off-the-shelf implementation of several Service Availability Forum (SAForum) specs, pre-validated for popular Carrier Grade Linux (CGL) distributions and carrier hardware… platforms.

CGM is positioned as an off-the-shelf package capable of saving application developers and systems integrators the considerable effort of implementing high-availability features themselves. CGM supports HA standards from the SAForum, ensuring interoperability within complex, distributed systems requiring “five 9's” of reliability (99.999 percent uptime, or less than five minutes of downtime per year). Target applications include broadband access devices for DSL, PON, 3G/WiMAX; Ethernet and edge switches/routers; IPTV application servers; and, IMS core elements.

CGM is delivered as an Eclipse-based IDE (integrated development environment, test suite, and a modular set of middleware components. The components sit atop a carrier-grade OS such as Carrier Grade Linux (CGL), and provide an API (application programming interface) that developers can use to manage hardware and software components.

OpenClovis middleware “marketecture” diagram
(Click to enlarge)
OpenClovis released CGM under the GPL (GNU General Public License) in May of 2006. The move was prompted by increased demand for high-availability services outside of the telecom market. CTO Jim Lawrence said at the time, “Any loss [of revenue due to open source licensing] is more than made up for by the broader industry penetration the [open source license] will allow.”

Lawrence also noted that CGM links quite closely with applications, leaving little ambiguity about the need for commercial users to purchase a license. The freely downloadable, GPL-licensed version is mostly intended to let users fully test and evaluate CGM, he suggested.

OpenClovis claims that the new version 3.0 of CGM offers the “most comprehensive and native implementations” of the SAForum's Application Interface Specification (AIS) with the Hardware Platform Interface (HPI). Other touted features include “pre-validation” with various Linux distributions, including Wind River's PNE-LE (Platform for Network Equipment, Linux Edition), and pre-validation with ATCA hardware, including products from Sun, Radisys, HP, and IBM.

Additional new features include:

• Supports TIPC
• Up to 200,000 IPC messages per second, with 64 byte payload
• SAForum AIS B.02 compliance with IMMR alignment, N+M redundancy model, etc.
• Hot-stand capability with fault detection and failover capabilities within a few milliseconds
• Generalized software group membership extending SAF CLM
• New system management features for bulk provisioning and SNMP subagent code generation
• “Intelligent” memory management
• Support for binary log streams with online and offline log viewers
• Pre-integrated SAF HA reference application

V.K. Budhraja, CEO, stated, “Version 3.0 enhances developer productivity and reduces time to market with platform-independent, model-driven architecture and implementation, as well as a small software footprint for optimized performance. We have strong partnerships with leading platform and OS vendors.”

OpenClovis touts customer wins that include Mercury Computer Systems, Lockheed Martin, and ip.access.

Availability

Version 3.0 of CGM is available now for free download. Commercial licenses are also available. Pricing was not disclosed.

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