Case Studies

After the U.S. government deregulated telecommunications in 1996, there was a large emergence of new service providers. One of the success stories is Internap Network Services. This case study explores how Internap chose the Transition Networks Point System™ media conversion platform to help deliver quality data services to their customers.

Internap Network Services Corporation is the leading provider of fast, reliable and centrally managed internet connectivity services targeted at businesses seeking to maximize the performance of mission-critical internet-based applications. Internap has created a platform to intelligently route data over the internet’s major backbones from a single connection to one of Internap’s service points. They achieve this by connecting directly to each of the major backbones, thereby avoiding the congested traffic exchange process, while using their intelligent routing technology to find the most direct path across the public infrastructure.

The company began selling internet connectivity services from its first Private Network Access Point (P-NAP) facility, located in Seattle, in October 1996. Internap has deployed P-NAP facilities in most major U.S. cities, as well as an international presence in London, Amsterdam, and Japan.

Major e-commerce companies and networks served by Internap include Datek Online, Go2Net, ITXC, MindSpring, The NASDAQ, TheStreet.com and many others—including many local and regional ISPs. Internap’s customers are primarily businesses desiring high-performance internet connectivity services in order to run mission-critical internet-based applications. Internap believes customers will continue to demand the highest quality of service as their Internet connectivity needs grow and become more complex.

Internap has created an innovative way of using the existing internet network infrastructure to route data and avoid the internet’s points of congestion. They have built an Overlay Network armed with intelligent routing technology to get your data from point A to point B in the fastest, most reliable and least-congested path possible.

Unlike some internet access providers who randomly choose public NAPs or private peering points, Internap’s routing technology sends customer data out along the correct internet backbone immediately, through their Private Network Access Point (P-NAP) facilities. For Internap customers, the optimizing effects of their proprietary network architecture and advanced routing technologies dramatically boosts performance.

Internap offers a wide array of data services for remote connectivity, Ethernet connectivity, and collocation. These services utilize T1, DS3, OC3, OC12, Ethernet and Fast Ethernet technologies.

Transition Networks

Transition Networks is the market share leader of conversion technology. Offering a wide array of media converters, Transition Networks had the solution for Internap. Internap chose the Transition Networks Point System™ platform. This next generation product offers enhanced management, greater density, and much more. The Point System™ offers flexibility with its modular design to serve the needs of multi-protocol and multi-media users.

Internap needed a reliable method of connecting the customer to their Point of Presence (POP). Several issues were vital to Internap, but knowing about trouble at the customer site was critical. "The passing of far-end link status was the most important feature for us. This allows us to monitor the customer connection and give them the best possible proactive support", says Dean Varton National Facilities Project Manager, Internap Networks.

The products selected by Internap include Transition Networks 18-slot Point System™ chassis, Ethernet and Fast Ethernet converters which offer both multimode and single-mode optics depending on the distance to the customer location. At the customer’s site, standalone media converters were used to interface with the customer’s equipment. To maintain the integrity of the network, Internap required hot-swappable cards and redundant power supplies with an option for AC or DC power.

Why Internap Chose Transition Networks

According to Dean Varton, Internap selects products based on three key points: customer service, availability, and price. "I try to find manufacturers/distributors who give us the best possible service the industry has to offer. Since Internap strives to have the best customer support and service in the industry, we also look for these same qualities in the manufacturers and distributors. If you have the best product in the industry but cannot support it, what good is it to me?"

Dean also says, "Like other companies, Internap has to meet the customer expectations and deadlines. If you have the greatest product and provide the best service, but I cannot get the product, what good is it to me? The products we evaluate need to be price competitive with other manufacturers in the same arena. Although price is important, it is the last consideration in this list. Internap chose Transition Networks primarily based on the first two points. However, their pricing was very competitive with the industry."

Customer Service is King

"Internap chose Transition Networks because of several reasons. The fantastic service they provided us proved to be invaluable. I could not have asked for better service then we have and continue to receive from Transition. Other manufacturers were given the chance to be included in our evaluation of media converters, but their poor service or lack of responding to our request for product evaluation put them out of the race. Not only did Transition win us over with customer service, but also the products we evaluated met or exceeded all of our requirements. The products performed as indicated by the documentation without failure. Other manufacturers’ converters we tested did not even compare to the level of features of the Transition gear. One feature in particular that we were looking for was the passing of far-end link status. Transition Networks equipment was able to perform this feature without flaw, while other manufactures claimed the feature was available, making it work was another story," according to Dean.

Transition Networks offers a wide array solutions for service providers. Not only from a technical standpoint, but also from a customer service standpoint. Whether you are providing Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, T1/E1, DS3, ATM, or other data service, Transition Networks has a solution. Transition Networks’ media converter products can provide technical solutions, deliver them in a cost-effective manner and back them by outstanding customer service.

To learn more about Transition Networks or Internap Network Services please visit these web sites at www.transition.com and www.internap.com