TEMPE, Az. — (company press release) — Motorola Computer Group (MCG), part of Motorola's Integrated Electronics Systems Sector (IESS), announced its advanced High Availability Linux (HA Linux) offering, strengthening its position as the leader in high-availability embedded computing platforms for the telecommunications industry.

MCG's HA Linux distribution — with hot swap capability and support for system platforms based on Intel and PowerPC architectures — is the first Linux offering for carrier-grade networking, wireless and Internet applications that require 99.999% availability (5NINES). 5NINES availability equates to 5 minutes or less of downtime per year, both planned and unplanned.

With its very low cost and freely available source code, Linux is being rapidly adopted as the platform of choice for new telecommunications applications.

Until now, however, a HA Linux solution for applications that require near constant uptime — such as Operation Administration & Maintenance (OA&M) platforms, call servers, IP gateways, gatekeepers and home location registers — was not available. MCG has recognized this need and filled it with its advanced HA Linux offering.

HA Linux is supported by MCG's broad range of service, training and systems integration capabilities.

Early HA Linux adopters include Natural MicroSystems Corp., which is integrating its Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and network interface modules with MCG's HA Linux offering. “With MCG's CPX8000 carrier-grade, NEBS-compliant platform, our AG2000 and AG4000 family of modules, and now a truly HA Linux solution, developers can create leading-edge voice and data applications and enhanced services with 99.999% availability — and get to market quickly,” said Brough Turner, senior vice president of technology for Natural MicroSystems. “Because we are supporting very large numbers of calls on each resource board, it is important that our customers are able to hot swap all components using Linux in this advanced high-availability environment.” Turner added, “The network management capabilities offered by the CPX8000 and HA Linux make it easy for network operators to manage our DSP and network interface modules remotely. This will help us reduce our customers' time to market and lower their costs.”

According to John Hughes, vice president and director, Telecommunications Business Unit, MCG, “HA Linux is proof that Linux is ready for deployment in applications needing 99.999% reliability in the telecom infrastructure. “This advanced, HA Linux solution, coupled with our CPX8000's HA architecture, will help network operators achieve the reliability, performance and scalability they require to compete in the new telecommunications market.” “With the introduction of HA Linux, MCG has again taken the lead in providing advanced high-availability hardware and software platforms in an open system for the telecommunications industry,” Hughes added.

In addition to the ability to hot swap system components like processors, I/O controllers, power modules and fans, HA Linux provides:

• Active stand-by system and CPU support, enabling applications to continue service while switching to a backup processor;
  
• The management of telecom alarms and component status LED's, allowing easy and error-free operations by craft personnel;
  
• SNMP support with an SNMP agent and system MIB, enabling system state changes and events to be monitored and managed by the network and operations management system; and
  
• An inter-system communications interface that allows applications in the primary and backup system processors to communicate with each other to facilitate rapid switch-over to the backup.

MCG's advanced HA Linux is expected to be shipping in May.

 
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