Nominum Changes DHCP Landscape with New Management, IPv6 Features

Principal Architect at Nominum, Ted Lemon, Named Co-Chair of the DHC Working
Group
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Nominum, the leader in network naming and addressing solutions, changes the DHCP
landscape with significant enhancements to the Dynamic Configuration System
(DCS), its commercial-grade Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server
featuring the industry`s best performance, scalability, and availability for IP
network connections. The new DCS includes support for DHCPv6 and extensive new
management capabilities that allow network operations staff to make the best use
of precious IP addresses. The new DCS features these additional enhancements:

* SNMP-based management with alerts (traps) for critical notification of events
such as:

* Abandoned addresses to flag potential problems on the network or detect DoS
attacks
* Notification when a "remaining address" threshold is exceeded to allow high
service levels to be maintained with an absolute minimum of IP addresses

* High performance Dynamic DNS (DDNS) support for IPv4 and IPv6 allows automated
updates of host information in authoritative DNS servers
* Complete standards-based support for both DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 as well as IPv4
and IPv6 transport on a single server

Before any device can connect to the Internet it needs to be configured with an
IP address. DHCP has become the predominant method of providing IP addresses and
other configuration parameters for IP-enabled devices in service provider and
enterprise networks. DHCP is invisible when there are no issues with Internet
connections or IP addresses but new requirements stretch the capabilities of
most DHCP servers designed many years ago for the Internet of the past. Personal
computers have long used DHCP but now a multitude of new devices such as smart
phones, VoIP devices, and netbooks depend on it to get network access. With IPv6
gaining traction, hundreds of millions of additional devices will need
connectivity and configuration parameters; and common applications such as voice
over IP are not tolerant of any down time. Nominum`s DCS is designed for the new
Internet.

"After migrating our DHCP infrastructure to Nominum DCS we have seen a
significant improvement in our network," said Xavier Darche, director of
platform operations at Numericable. "The new management capabilities greatly
simplify our operations and allow us to manage our addresses more effectively.
Customer satisfaction is also higher because DHCP is literally always available,
which is critical for an Internet Service Provider that offers broadband
Internet, telephony, and video on-demand services."

Substantial enhancements to the management capabilities of Nominum DCS make it
easier for service providers to identify problems on their networks and tightly
control allocation of precious IP addresses. Abandoned addresses on a network
can signal problems with hosts or a DoS attack that is attempting to bring down
the DHCP server and thus shut down network access. With Nominum`s new features,
operators are instantly notified of unusual behavior on the network. Thresholds
on remaining addresses also proactively notify operators so they can take action
before address pools are exhausted.

DHCP is a product of the DHC working group of the Internet Engineering Task
Force (IETF). The DHC Working Group developed DHCP and continues to oversee
extensions to the protocol. The group is responsible for reviewing other
Internet drafts that use the services provided by DHCP to ensure compatibility
and effective use of the widely deployed infrastructure that supports the
protocol. Nominum continues to support the advancement of the naming and
addressing standards that directly impact the Internet. Ted Lemon, a principal
software architect at Nominum, has assumed a role as co-chair of the IETF
Dynamic Host Configuration (DHC) Working Group.

Advancements in DCS Eliminate Internet Downtime

Most existing DHCP servers are significantly challenged supporting IPv4
networks, lacking the underlying architecture to allocate and manage IP
addresses and host configuration parameters while maintaining performance at
massive scale; these requirements are magnified with IPv6. Nominum developed a
special in-memory database for DCS that is completely optimized to deliver high
performance. A transaction log is maintained on the server`s hard disk so the
database can be recovered instantly in the event of a system crash. In addition,
DCS has open interfaces to integrate with databases commonly used in conjunction
with DHCP servers such as RADIUS, provisioning databases, or LDAP. Competitive
products lack these fundamental structural advantages and can not be
retrofitted.

Clear benefits of these technology advancements from Nominum have been verified
in a report from the Tolly Group. Rigorous testing showed DCS can support 100
times more load than open-source based DHCP solutions and allocate IP addresses
20 times faster.

Advanced failover capabilities built into DCS, such as active/active redundancy
and "on the fly" configuration (no server restart after configuration changes),
ensure 100 percent availability. The Tolly report verifies DCS can restart ten
times faster than competitive DHCP servers and maintain 100 percent availability
with two servers deployed in an active/active configuration that totally
eliminates downtime. Customer experience backs up the results of the
availability testing performed by the Tolly Group. Previously, Penn State
University reported that it achieved 100 percent uptime of its DHCP service for
four consecutive years with DCS.

"DHCP is another part of the Internet infrastructure that has been taken for
granted for too long. Incumbent vendors are abandoning products developed for
yesterday`s Internet because they can`t afford a complete redesign," said Gopala
Tumuluri, vice president of marketing for Nominum. "The advantages of our
software architecture are readily apparent with these latest enhancements and
with our flawless track record of performance and availability."

ABOUT NOMINUM

Nominum`s network naming and addressing solutions are the foundation of the
always-on broadband Internet, supporting more than 150 million households
connected by more than one hundred service providers in every region of the
world - North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. Nominum`s Domain
Name System (DNS) and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) products lead
the industry in security, performance, and reliability. Nominum innovations
allow providers and enterprises to leverage DNS to deliver a Trusted Internet
Experience, creating an environment where individuals can browse, interact, and
transact online without fear of identity theft or exposure to illegal or
malicious content. This environment preserves the freedom to explore, create,
and share content, while maintaining privacy. It also removes the immense burden
on Internet users to provide and maintain the technology needed to protect
themselves from an increasingly complex and continually changing range of online
threats. For more information, please visit www.nominum.com.

Nominum
Bruce Van Nice, 650-381-6308
bruce.vannice@nominum.com
or
Engage PR for Nominum
Chelsea Irwin, 510-748-8200 ext. 203
cirwin@engagepr.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009