BBN/Ungermann-Bass Joint Venture Chooses LynxOS for Advanced ATM Switch

LightStream 2010 Switch Doubles Network Efficiency; LynxOS Plays major Role
In Achieving Performance

August 1, 1994 -- LightStream, a joint venture of Bolt Beranek and Newman,
Inc. (BBN) and Ungermann-Bass, has chosen LynxOS from Lynx Real-Time
Systems as the real-time operating system for a new generation of
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switches.

The joint venture's first product, the LightStream 2010 ATM switch is an
enterprise backbone product with 2 gigabits/sec switching capacity which
can function both as a wide area bandwidth manager and a multiprotocol
bridge/router. The LightStream 2010 offers a network traffic efficiency
more that twice that of other ATM switches and also provides direct
connectivity to existing technologies such as: SNA, x.25, Frame Relay.,
Ethernet, FDDI and most other industry-standard network protocols.

LynxOS is the only POSIX-compliant, UNIX-compatible operating system
which:

** offers fast, deterministic performance comparable to proprietary
   kernels,
** can either be embedded in ROM or configured as a complete,
   self-hosted development system, and
** is available on every major CISC and RISC microprocessor.

"We evaluate standard UNIX systems as well as several well-known real-time
kernels and operating systems," said John Goodhue, LightStream's vice
president of engineering. "LynxOS met our needs for real-time performance,
and the advantages of the UNIX run-time environment were compelling.
LynxOS is compatible with our UNIX workstations, which lets us use the
same development and debugging tools in both environments. LynxOS also
makes it easy to port UNIX-based software packages to the Light Stream
2010. Both factors have helped us bring our product to market quickly."

According to LightStream engineers, LynxOS was chosen for the 2010 ATM
switch because it:

** is deterministic and fully pre-emptible thus allowing it to
   guarantee execution of time-critical functions while still
   efficiently handling those applications which don't require
   hard, real-time capabilities.
** can use existing C code software running on BSD UNIX,
** provides standard communications protocols (TCP/IP and NFS),
** supported the 68040's MMU (Memory Management Unit)
** supports virtual memory for lower-priority tasks such as network
   management, user interface, and maintenance functions, and
** facilitated development of all applications using SUN workstations.

Applications can then be cross-compiled to LynxOS on the 68040 without
expensive downloads or proprietary development environments.

While other backbone networks average approximately 40 percent bandwidth
efficiency to maintain high-quality application service, the LightStream
2010 can achieve 80 to 90 percent efficiency through intelligent bandwidth
management that includes:

** prioritized types of service and,
** congestion avoidance (rather than congestion "management"
   as is done with other ATM switches).

Lynx Real-Time Systems, Inc., was established in 1985 and is headquartered
in San Jose, California, with sales offices in North America, Europe and
Japan.

The LightStream 2010 ATM switch is designed for high-performance,
mission-critical enterprise backbone networks carrying data, voice, and
video communications in both local and wide area. Based on a high-speed
busless switching architecture, the LightStream 2010 is a modular device
with fault tolerant capability. The switch includes sophisticated
bandwidth management and congestion avoidance capabilities that enable
customers to reduce their wide-area bandwidth costs without compromising
the quality of service provided to applications.

LightStream Corporation, headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts,
develops and markets networking products based on Asynchronous Transfer
Mode (ATM) technology and is an active member of the ATM Forum and the
Frame Relay Forum. LightStream Corporation is 80 percent owned by Bolt
Baranek and Newman, Inc. (NYSE: BBN), and 20 percent by UB Networks, Inc.,
which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tandem Computers (NYSE: TDM).

For more information, contact sales@lynx.com, or call 1-800-255-LYNX or +1
408 879 3900.
 
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