Net Announces General Availability of UX1000

Network Equipment Technologies, Inc. announced today the general availability of the UX1000, a multi-function, single box appliance for branch office communications needs. The UX1000 is the latest product based on the company's Unified Exchange Series high performance mediation platform. With the addition of the UX1000, NET has significantly expanded the range of opportunities that can be addressed by the UX Series for Microsoft Lync™ applications, by providing a solution appropriate for small- to mid-size branch offices. The UX1000 gives mid-size businesses access to "enterprise grade" unified communications without taxing IT and financial resources.

"Extending unified communications systems to remote offices poses significant challenges for enterprises, including providing disaster recovery, navigating firewalls, ensuring security for UC traffic, and implementing tools for the real-time diagnosis of network issues," said Kevin Isacks, Acting Chief Development Officer at NET. "We are proud to introduce the UX1000, which solves these challenges."

NET's UX1000 SolutionThe UX1000 offers true "any-to-any" signaling translation, media interworking, and security between Microsoft Lync and SIP Trunks, TDM and IP PBX (Private -Automatic- Branch Exchange)'s, legacy analog endpoints, and the PSTN. The UX1000 as well interconnects various IP-based endpoints. With NET's optional SmartSIP application, enterprises can as well continue to use legacy non-Lync SIP customers in their Lync environment.

Integrated enterprise session border controller

Integrated Enterprise Session Border ControllerWith an integrated enterprise session border controller, the UX1000 enables Internet Telephony Service Providers to offer SIP Trunking services to branch offices.

UX Series Product FamilyNET's UX Series is based on a modular 1U platform that has been purpose-built for unified communications and enterprise session border controller applications. As a session mediation platform, UX Series products reduce both capital and operational expenses by eliminating the need to purchase separate infrastructure components just as a PSTN gateway, session border controller, and application server. The UX Series is qualified as a Survivable Branch Appliance for Microsoft® Lync? 2010.

Secure, Single Web InterfaceA web-based tool lets the network operator remotely configure any UX Series appliance in real time, lowering operational expenses. The operator can see the top-level view of the relationships between the Microsoft Lync Survivable Branch Appliance, chassis, telephony cards, DSP modules, channels, and ports. It as well allows the user to configure IP interfaces, routing protocols, calling routes, digit manipulation, and the Survivable Branch Appliance. The web-based GUI interface can as well be used for real-time monitoring of channels and alarm activity. The integrated web-based monitoring tool provides real-time monitoring of all channels and alarm activity in UX Series nodes and allows network operators to view real-time call data. The UX Series management tool interfaces with industry standard management systems like SCOM and HP Openview/NNMi.

Global SupportTo meet and manage the complex requirements of system implementations across multiple territories, NET utilizes a "Global Deployment" approach to provide a set methodology for the deployment of all its platforms. This global implementation methodology includes a central working group of global and local NET experts, ensuring that clients benefit from the valuable knowledge of local NET personnel and business partners, as so then as the global UC expertise of NET's international team. A centralized global support hub is available on request 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through a web-based platform. By utilizing a global support hub, NET provides its consultants with a valuable overview of deployments across a number of countries and provides its clients with more coordinated processing of customer requests. NET as well provides global support agreements and SLAs, streamlining, and furthermore standardizing the support process.

"The NET UX1000 is an elegant Small Branch Appliance package for enterprises deploying or preparing for Microsoft Lync 2010," said Marty Parker, independent consultant with UniComm Consulting and co-founder of UCStrategies.com. "The UX1000 inherits all of the performance and security features of the UX2000 as tested by Meircom in February 2011 and delivers this in a scaled-down, competitively-priced package. As well, the UX1000 architecture and administrative features simplify branch office solution design, implementation and operation. Since the UX1000 enables easy co-existence of Microsoft Lync with the existing branch PBX system, it is an ideal tool for both migration and ongoing operation."