SYSTEMS
Fulcrum Microsystems Debuts ControlPoint Developer Alliance
Software Development Community Allows Equipment Providers to Deliver Ethernet Features for Storage, Telecom Fabric, Data Center and Enterprise Applications: Fulcrum Microsystems today announced the ControlPoint Developer Alliance to help equipment providers deliver networking platforms that are more innovative, secure and feature-rich. The centerpiece of the Alliance is the ControlPoint 10G Ethernet Switch Management Software Suite, Fulcrum’s complete IP routing software solution for enterprise, datacenter, and telecom fabric and access platforms. 
The networking software is an increasingly critical component of a networking platform because it exposes the features offered by those platforms, such as quality of service (QoS), congestion management (CM), virtual LANs (VLANs), and routing. The modular ControlPoint software allows Alliance members to integrate these services into their designs as necessary, and to have access to published application-programming interfaces (APIs) to develop their own next-generation features. Members of the Alliance are able to use ControlPoint software on their hardware platforms, and have rights to develop their own features, or can leverage the work of other Alliance members to gain access to new capabilities. Founding members announcing their active involvement in the Alliance at this time include: Continuous Computing, Green Hills Software, Liquid Computing, Nimbus Data Systems, Open Grid Computing, Panasas, Quadrics, SMC Networks and XORP. “The growing value that software brings to a networking solution makes this the right time to build a diverse ecosystem around ControlPoint to ensure that the software – and Alliance members – stay at the cutting edge of these feature developments,” said Mike Zeile, vice president of marketing for Fulcrum Microsystems. “While others seek to lock customers in with vendor-specific software, Fulcrum, with the Alliance, seeks to offer a flexible solution, with broad licensing terms, that enables equipment providers to get to market quickly with differentiated solutions. The Alliance serves a variety of equipment providers, from those who want to augment their own development efforts to those who need to acquire a complete software solution.” When they join the Alliance, companies will have access to the ControlPoint software, a 24-port 10G Ethernet switch reference design and a software development kit that will allow them to add new features or customize the software to their systems. Alliance membership also entitles the member company to use the software on their systems without additional licensing fees. Additionally, members who develop unique software capabilities can market those capabilities to other Alliance members, and members focused on research and development can make use of Fulcrum’s hardware platforms at a dramatically lower cost than current open source software and commercially available hardware platforms. Alliance membership includes principal members, who are OEMs, ODMs and switch manufacturers that will use ControlPoint in the systems they develop; research members, who are willing to contribute to research, development, enhancement, testing, or documentation of the body of code but do not intend to develop systems for sale to customers; consulting members, who offer valuable services to Alliance members as third-party contractors, consultancies, test service providers or related tools providers; and “founding” members, who are any kind of member that has actively contributed to the formation and ongoing development of the Alliance. ControlPoint Developer Alliance members all have access to the L2 and L3 stacks of the ControlPoint software suite for both IPv4 and IPv6. A supported distribution of Linux OS and related compilers and debuggers are also included in addition to complete documentation. Technical support services for debugging and sharing development tips are also available through the Alliance membership. Alliance Website More information about the ControlPoint Developer Alliance is available at www.fulcrummicro.com/cda. Fulcrum will demonstrate ControlPoint software at Interop (booth 2177) and will officially launch the Alliance web site at the show.
The networking software is an increasingly critical component of a networking platform because it exposes the features offered by those platforms, such as quality of service (QoS), congestion management (CM), virtual LANs (VLANs), and routing. The modular ControlPoint software allows Alliance members to integrate these services into their designs as necessary, and to have access to published application-programming interfaces (APIs) to develop their own next-generation features. Members of the Alliance are able to use ControlPoint software on their hardware platforms, and have rights to develop their own features, or can leverage the work of other Alliance members to gain access to new capabilities. Founding members announcing their active involvement in the Alliance at this time include: Continuous Computing, Green Hills Software, Liquid Computing, Nimbus Data Systems, Open Grid Computing, Panasas, Quadrics, SMC Networks and XORP. “The growing value that software brings to a networking solution makes this the right time to build a diverse ecosystem around ControlPoint to ensure that the software – and Alliance members – stay at the cutting edge of these feature developments,” said Mike Zeile, vice president of marketing for Fulcrum Microsystems. “While others seek to lock customers in with vendor-specific software, Fulcrum, with the Alliance, seeks to offer a flexible solution, with broad licensing terms, that enables equipment providers to get to market quickly with differentiated solutions. The Alliance serves a variety of equipment providers, from those who want to augment their own development efforts to those who need to acquire a complete software solution.” When they join the Alliance, companies will have access to the ControlPoint software, a 24-port 10G Ethernet switch reference design and a software development kit that will allow them to add new features or customize the software to their systems. Alliance membership also entitles the member company to use the software on their systems without additional licensing fees. Additionally, members who develop unique software capabilities can market those capabilities to other Alliance members, and members focused on research and development can make use of Fulcrum’s hardware platforms at a dramatically lower cost than current open source software and commercially available hardware platforms. Alliance membership includes principal members, who are OEMs, ODMs and switch manufacturers that will use ControlPoint in the systems they develop; research members, who are willing to contribute to research, development, enhancement, testing, or documentation of the body of code but do not intend to develop systems for sale to customers; consulting members, who offer valuable services to Alliance members as third-party contractors, consultancies, test service providers or related tools providers; and “founding” members, who are any kind of member that has actively contributed to the formation and ongoing development of the Alliance. ControlPoint Developer Alliance members all have access to the L2 and L3 stacks of the ControlPoint software suite for both IPv4 and IPv6. A supported distribution of Linux OS and related compilers and debuggers are also included in addition to complete documentation. Technical support services for debugging and sharing development tips are also available through the Alliance membership. Alliance Website More information about the ControlPoint Developer Alliance is available at www.fulcrummicro.com/cda. Fulcrum will demonstrate ControlPoint software at Interop (booth 2177) and will officially launch the Alliance web site at the show.