If it's not stateful, it wouldn't seem to be worth the effort, although I guess it might help with DDoS attacks.
Sounds snake-oilish to me, but I'm biased by lots of experience with firewalls and proxy servers, and the limitations thereof.
Ken
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rohit Khare [mailto:khare@alumni.caltech.edu]
> Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2002 5:00 PM
> To: fork@example.com
> 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.
>
>