Hardware acceleration for SSL makes sense since PKI can slow down a
transaction by as much as 1,000-fold. Per this article, XML formatting only
increases doc size by about 20-fold.. I'm not sure there are enough "powers
of ten" in there to justify hardware acceleration.
Expect the next major release from DataPower to be the revolutionary new
"email chip" - allows you to offload the sending and receiving of email
messages onto dedicated hardware while you get on w/ more important things
.. like listening to MP3s..
Best,
Paul Sholtz
-----Original Message-----
From: Rohit Khare
To: fork@spamassassin.taint.org
Sent: 8/27/02 3:00 PM
Subject: DataPower announces XML-in-silicon
No analysis yet... don't know what to make of it yet. But here's the raw
bits for all to peruse and check out what's really going on... Best,
Rohit
===========================================================
DataPower delivers XML acceleration device
By Scott Tyler Shafer
August 27, 2002 5:46 am PT
DATAPOWER TECHNOLOGY ON Monday unveiled its network device designed
specifically to process XML data. Unlike competing solutions that
process XML data in software, DataPower's device processes the data in
hardware -- a technology achievement that provides greater performance,
according to company officials.
The new device, dubbed DataPower XA35 XML Accelerator, is the first in a
family of products expected from the Cambridge, Mass.-based startup. The
DataPower family is based on a proprietary processing core technology
called XG3 that does the analysis, parsing, and processing of the XML
data.
According to Steve Kelly, CEO of DataPower, the XA35 Accelerator was
conceived to meet the steady adoption of XML, the anticipated future
proliferation of Web services, and as a means to share data between two
businesses.
"Our vision is to build out an XML-aware infrastructure," Kelly said.
"The XA35 is the first of a family."
Kelly explained that converting data into XML increases the file size up
to 20 times. This, he said, makes processing the data very taxing on
application servers; DataPower believes an inline device is the best
alternative.
In addition to the large file sizes, security is also of paramount
importance in the world of XML.
"Today's firewalls are designed to inspect HTTP traffic only," Kelly
said. "A SOAP packet with XML will go straight through a firewall.
Firewalls are blind to XML today."
Future products in DataPowers family will focus more specifically on
security, especially as Web services proliferate, Kelly said.
According to DataPower, most existing solutions to offload XML
processing are homegrown and done in software -- an approach the company
itself tried initially and found to be inadequate with regards to speed
and security. After trying the software path, the company turned to
creating a solution that would process XML in hardware.
"Our XG3 execution core converts XML to machine code," said Kelly,
adding that to his knowledge no other company's solution does. Kelly
said in the next few months he expects the market to be flooded with
technologies that claim to do XML processing -- claims that he believes
will be mostly false.
Other content-aware switches, such as SSL (secure socket layer)
accelerators and load balancers, look at the first 64 bytes of a packet,
while the XA35 provides deeper packet inspection, looking at 1,400 bytes
and thus enabling greater processing of XML data, Kelly explained.
The 1U-high network device has been tested against a large collection of
XML and XSL data types and can learn new flavors of the markup language
as they pass through the device.
The XA35 can be deployed in proxy mode behind a firewall and a load
balancer, and it will inspect all traffic that passes and will identify
and process those packets that are XML, Kelly said.
In addition to proxy mode, the device can also be used as an application
co-processor. This deployment method gives administrators more granular
control over what data is inspected and the application server itself
controls the device.
DataPower is not the only company chasing this emerging market. Startup
Sarvega, based in Burr Ridge, Ill., introduced the Sarvega XPE switch in
May, and earlier this month Tarari, an Intel spin-off, launched with a
focus on content processing and acceleration.
The DataPower device is now available, priced starting at $54,995. The
company has announced one customer to date and says the product is in
field trails at a number of other enterprises.
========================================================================
=
DataPower has been addressing enterprise networking needs since it was
founded in early 1999 by Eugene Kuznetsov, a technology visionary who
foresaw the adverse effects XML and other next generation protocols
would have on enterprise networks. Long before industry interest in XML
grew, Kuznetsov assembled a team of world-class M.I.T. engineers and
designed the industry's first solutions to address the unique
requirements for processing XML. The first such solution was a software
interpreter called DGXT. This software-based approach to XML processing
is still licensed by many companies for use in their own products today.
Leveraging the detailed knowledge and customer experience gained from
developing software-based accelerators, Kuznetsov's team raised the bar
and designed a system for processing XML in purpose-built hardware. In
2001, DataPower's effort produced XML Generation Three (XG3™), the
industry's fastest technology for XML processing, bar none.
Today, XG3™ technology powers the industry's first wire-speed XML
network devices, enabling secure, high-speed applications and XML Web
Services. While other companies are just now marketing first versions of
products, DataPower is delivering its third generation of technology,
providing an immediate return on technology investments to
industry-leading customers and partners.
DataPower's M.I.T. heritage is complemented by a management team that
brings decades of experience in the networking and computing industries,
drawing veteran leaders from several successful companies including
Akamai, Argon, Cascade, Castle Networks, Sycamore and Wellfleet.
========================================================================
=
DataPower Technology Secures $9.5 Million in Funding
Venrock Associates, Mobius Venture Capital and Seed Capital Back Pioneer
in XML-Aware Networking for Web Services
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - July 8, 2002 - DataPower Technology, Inc., the
leading provider of XML-Aware network infrastructure, today announced
that it has secured $9.5 million in series B financing. Investors for
this round include Venrock Associates, Mobius Venture Capital and Seed
Capital Partners. Michael Tyrrell, of Venrock, Bill Burnham, of Mobius,
and Jeff Fagnan, of Seed Capital, have joined DataPower’s Board of
Directors.
DataPower will use this funding to accelerate development, marketing and
sales of the company’s breakthrough technology for XML-Aware networking.
Founded in 1999, DataPower invented the world’s first intelligent XML
networking devices, capable of transforming XML traffic and transactions
at the wire-speed enterprises need to effectively embrace Web services
and other XML-centric initiatives. DataPower’s solutions are based on
its patent-pending XML Generation Three (XG3™) technology.
"Enterprises are adopting XML at rapid rate to facilitate inter-and
intra-company communications but their network infrastructure is ill
prepared to support the requirements of this new traffic type.
DataPower’s XML-acceleration devices enable the wirespeed processing of
XML that is required to support next generation enterprise
applications," said Eugene Kuznetsov, CTO and founder of DataPower
Technology.
"DataPower gives companies the ability to use XML that’s critical to Web
services projects without sacrificing an ounce of performance." A single
DataPower acceleration engine delivers the processing power of 10
servers—breaking the performance bottleneck associated with XML
processing and delivering an extraordinary return on investment. In
addition, the DataPower platform provides enhanced XML security,
protection against XML-based denial-of-service attacks, connection of
e-business protocols for incompatible XML data streams, load balancing
between back-end servers and real-time statistics reports.
"In the post-bubble economy, technology investment decisions require
laser-focused scrutiny. DataPower’s patent-pending technology addresses
a very real and growing pain point for enterprises," said Michael
Tyrrell of Venrock Associates. "By turbo-charging their networks with
DataPower’s unique XML-Aware networking technology, companies will be
free to adopt next generation Web services without encountering
performance and security pitfalls."
"We looked long and hard for a company capable of addressing the rapidly
growing problems surrounding XML message processing performance and
security," said Bill Burnham of Mobius Venture Capital. "DataPower is on
their third generation of technology. Their patent pending XML
Generation Three (XG3) technology was quite simply the single most
compelling technology solution we have seen to date."
"XML is not a nice-to-have, it is a must have for enterprises serious
about optimizing application efficiency. Since 1999, DataPower has been
developing solutions to facilitate enterprise use of XML and Web
services," said Jeff Fagnan of Seed Capital Partners. "DataPower’s
XML-acceleration devices are a key requirement for enterprises that rely
on XML for mission critical applications."
About Venrock Associates
Venrock Associates was founded as the venture capital arm of the
Rockefeller Family and continues a tradition of funding entrepreneurs
that now spans over seven decades. Laurance S. Rockefeller pioneered
early stage venture financing in the 1930s. With over 300 investments
over a span of more than 70 years, the firm has an established a track
record of identifying and supporting promising early stage, technology-
based enterprises. As one of most experienced venture firms in the
United States, Venrock maintains a tradition of collaboration with
talented entrepreneurs to establish successful, enduring companies.
Venrock's continuing goal is to create long-term value by assisting
entrepreneurs in building companies from the formative stages. Their
consistent focus on Information Technology and Life Sciences-related
opportunities provides a reservoir of knowledge and a network of
contacts that have proven to be a catalyst for the growth of developing
organizations. Venrock's investments have included CheckPoint Software,
USinternetworking, Caliper Technologies, Illumina, Niku, DoubleClick,
Media Metrix, 3COM, Intel, and Apple Computer. With offices in New York
City, Cambridge, MA, and Menlo Park, CA, Venrock is well positioned to
respond to opportunities in any locale. For more information on Venrock
Associates, please visit www.venrock.com
About Mobius Venture Capital
Mobius Venture Capital, formerly SOFTBANK Venture Capital, is a $2.5
billion U.S.-based private equity venture capital firm managed by an
unparalleled team of former CEOs and entrepreneurs, technology pioneers,
senior executives from major technology corporations, and leaders from
the investment banking community. Mobius Venture Capital specializes
primarily in early-stage investments in the areas of: communications
systems software and services; infrastructure software and services;
professional services; enterprise applications; healthcare informatics;
consumer and small business applications; components; and emerging
technologies. Mobius Venture Capital combines its technology expertise
and broad financial assets with the industry's best entrepreneurs to
create a powerhouse portfolio of over 100 of the world's leading high
technology companies. Mobius Venture Capital can be contacted by
visiting their web site www.mobiusvc.com.
About Seed Capital Partners
Seed Capital Partners is an early-stage venture fund affiliated with
SoftBank Corporation, one of the world's leading Internet market forces.
Seed Capital manages funds focused primarily on companies addressing
Internet-enabled business-to-business digital information technology
opportunities, which are located in the Northeastern U.S., the
southeastern region of the Province of Ontario, Canada, and Israel. Seed
Capital’s portfolio includes Spearhead Technologies, Concentric Visions
and CompanyDNA. For more information on Seed Capital Partners, please
visit www.seedcp.com.
About DataPower Technology
DataPower Technology provides enterprises with intelligent XML-Aware
network infrastructure to ensure unparalleled performance, security and
manageability of next-generation protocols. DataPower’s patent-pending
XML Generation Three (XG3™) technology powers the industry’s first
wirespeed XML network devices, enabling secure, high-speed applications
and XML Web Services. Founded in 1999, DataPower is now delivering its
third generation of technology, providing immediate return on technology
investments to industry-leading customers and partners. DataPower is
privately held and based in Cambridge, MA. Investors include Mobius
Venture Capital, Seed Capital Partners, and Venrock Associates.
CONTACT:
DataPower Technology, Inc.
Kieran Taylor
617-864-0455
kieran@datapower.com
Schwartz Communications
John Moran/Heather Chichakly
781-684-0770
datapower@schwartz-pr.com
========================================================================
Steve Kelly, chairman and CEO
During over twenty years in the technology industry, Steve Kelly has
built and managed global enterprise networks, provided consulting
services to Fortune 50 businesses, and been involved in the launch of
several start-ups. Prior to DataPower, Kelly was an
entrepreneur-in-residence at Venrock Associates, and was co-founder of
Castle Networks, where he led the company's sales, service and marketing
functions. Castle was acquired by Siemens AG in 1999 to create Unisphere
Networks, which was subsequently purchased by Juniper Networks. Kelly
was an early contributor at Cascade Communications, where he built and
managed the company's core switching business; Cascade's annual revenues
grew from $2 million to $300 million annually during Kelly's tenure.
Kelly also worked at Digital Equipment Corporation where he managed and
grew their corporate network to 50,000+ nodes in 28 countries, the
largest in the world at the time. Kelly has a B.S. in Information
Systems from Bentley College.
Eugene Kuznetsov, founder, president and CTO
Eugene Kuznetsov is a technology visionary that has been working to
address enterprise XML issues since the late 90s. Kuznetsov founded
DataPower Technology, Inc. in 1999 to provide enterprises with an
intelligent, XML-aware network infrastructure to support next-generation
applications. Prior to starting DataPower, Kuznetsov led the Java JIT
Compiler effort for Microsoft Internet Explorer for Macintosh 4.0. He
was also part of the team which developed one of the first clean room
Java VM's. This high-speed runtime technology was licensed by some of
the industry's largest technology companies, including Apple Computer.
He has consulted to numerous companies and worked on a variety of
hardware and software engineering problems in the areas of memory
management, power electronics, optimized execution engines and
application integration. Kuznetsov holds a B.S. in electrical
engineering from MIT.
Steve Willis, vice president of advanced technology
Steve Willis is an accomplished entrepreneur and a pioneer in protocol
optimization. Prior to joining DataPower, Willis was co-founder and CTO
of Argon Networks, a provider of high-performance switching routers that
was acquired by Siemens AG in 1999 to create Unisphere Networks;
Unisphere was subsequently purchased by Juniper Networks. Before Argon,
Steve was vice president of advanced technology at Bay Networks (now
Nortel Networks) where he led both IP and ATM-related technology
development and managed a group that generated 24 patent applications,
developed a 1 Mbps forwarding engine and led the specification of the
ATM Forum's PNNI routing protocol. Most notably, Steve was co-founder,
original software director and architect for Wellfleet Communications, a
leading pioneer of multi-protocol routers. Wellfleet was rated as the
fastest growing company in the U.S. for two consecutive years by Fortune
magazine. Willis is currently a member of the Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Internet Research Task Force
(IRTF) Routing Research Group. Willis has a B.D.I.C. in Computer Science
from the University of Massachusetts.
Bill Tao, vice president of engineering
With a vast understanding of network optimization technologies and
extensive experience in LAN and WAN networking, Bill Tao brings over 25
years of critical knowledge to lead DataPower's engineering efforts.
Prior to DataPower, Tao was the vice president of engineering for
Sycamore Networks, developing a family of metro/regional optical network
switches. He is also well acquainted with network optimization
techniques as he was previously vice president of engineering at
InfoLibria, where he led development and software quality assurance
engineering for a family of network caching products. Tao has held
senior engineering positions at NetEdge, Proteon, Codex and Wang. Tao
received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of
Connecticut and an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of
Illinois.
Kieran Taylor, director of product marketing
Kieran Taylor has an accomplished record as a marketing professional,
industry analyst and journalist. Prior to joining DataPower, Taylor was
the director of product management and marketing for Akamai Technologies
(NASDAQ: AKAM). As an early contributor at Akamai, he helped develop the
company's initial positioning and led the technical development and
go-to-market activities for Akamai's flagship EdgeSuite service.
Taylor's early contribution helped position the service provider to
secure a $12.6 billion IPO. He has also held senior marketing management
positions at Nortel Networks, Inc. and Bay Networks. Taylor was
previously an analyst at TeleChoice, Inc. and the Wide Area Networks
editor for Data Communications, a McGraw Hill publication. Taylor holds
a B.A. in Print Journalism from the Pennsylvania State University School
of Communications.
=================================================================
Board of Advisors
Mark Hoover
Mark Hoover is President and co-founder of Acuitive, Inc., a start-up
accelerator. With over 20 years experience in the networking industry,
Hoover's expertise spans product development, marketing, and business
development. Before launching Acuitive, Hoover worked at AT&T Bell
Laboratories, AT&T Computer Systems, SynOptics, and Bay Networks, where
he played a role in the development of key technologies, such as
10-BASET, routing, FDDI, ATM, Ethernet switching, firewall, Internet
traffic management, and edge WAN switch industries.
George Kassabgi
Currently Vice President of Engineering at BEA Systems, Mr. Kassabgi has
held executive-level positions in engineering, sales and marketing, and
has spearheaded leading-edge developments in the application server
marketplace since 1996. He is widely known for his regular speaking
engagements at JavaOne, as well as columns and contributions in JavaPro,
Java Developer's Journal and other publications. In addition to being a
venerated Java expert, George Kassabgi holds a patent on SmartObject
Technology, and authored the technical book Progress V8.
Marshall T. Rose
Marshall T. Rose runs his own firm, Dover Beach Consulting, Inc. He
formerly held the position of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Area Director for Network Management, one of a dozen individuals who
oversaw the Internet's standardization process. Rose is the author of
several professional texts on subjects such as Internet Management,
Electronic Mail, and Directory Services, which have been published in
four languages. He is well known for his implementations of core
Internet technologies (such as POP, SMTP, and SNMP) and OSI technologies
(such as X.500 and FTAM). Rose received a PhD in Information and
Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine, in 1984.