BBN/Ungermann-Bass Joint Venture Chooses LynxOS for Advanced ATM Switch LightStream 2010 switch doubles network efficiency; LynxOS plays major role in achieving performance

WHO ELSE USES A LynuxWorks EMBEDDED OS?

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 than 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:

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

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.

About Lightstream Corporation

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).

About Lynx Real-Time Systems, Inc.

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

LynxOS and the Lynx logo are trademarks of Lynx Real-Time Systems, Inc. All other product names, trademarks, and registered trademarks, are the property of their respective holders.

LynuxWorks press contacts

Kirsten Long Director, Marketing Communications LynuxWorks, Inc. USA +1 408-979-4404	Barbara Stewart Patterson & Associates USA 480-488-6909
Hamid Mirab Managing Director EMEA LynuxWorks Ltd. United Kingdom +44 208-906-9506	Peter van der Sluijs Neesham Public Relations Europe +44 1442-879222