Contact: 
Mariana Haven 
Hammer Technologies
888-888-8888 
mhaven@ham.com

WILMINGTON, Mass. (February 1, 1999 ) - Midnight Networks announced today that its two new IP (Internet Protocol) test suites for multicasting, IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) and DVMRP (Distance Vector Multicast Routing Protocol) are available immediately. The IGMP and DVMRP test suites are the latest addition to the many suites supported by Midnight Networks' Automated Network Validation Library (ANVL), the industry standard automated test tool for validating protocol conformance and interoperability in networking products. ANVL validates the protocol implementations and operational robustness of networking devices including layer 3 switches, high density RA servers, backbone routers and end nodes. 

Today, Internet bandwidth is a critical factor in utilizing the Internet. Multicast routing protocols are an essential medium for reducing bandwidth constraints by effectively delivering packets of information to multiple destinations effectively through the Internet. The demand for services that require multicasting such as voice, video and webcasting over the Internet is growing. In response, router vendors are implementing multicasting protocols such as IGMP and DVMRP. Midnight Networks' support of these two protocols allows router vendors to validate both the conformance with the protocol standards and interoperability of their devices in networking products. 

"Today, using the Internet includes many services that could be even better with multicasting," said David V. Baker, ANVL Group Leader, Midnight Networks. "Multicasting allows for smarter, more efficient distribution of data over the Internet. For example, widespread deployment of multicasting technologies will help get real, live audio and video to the desktop, both at the office and at home, without requiring excessive bandwidth everywhere." 

Midnight Networks support of these protocols will help vendors test their routers and switches to make sure that they support the complexities of multicast routing.

IGMP and DVRMP Protocol Areas Tested
IGMP allows hosts on multi-access networks to inform locally attached routers of their group membership information and to facilitate the exchange of information with other multicast routers. The IGMP test suite was developed using RFC 2236 v.2. It contains over 40 tests. 

DVMRP is the original IP Multicast routing protocol designed to run over both multicast capable LANs as well as through non-multicast capable routers. DVMRP utilizes IP Tunneling to directly link to another multicast router. The DVRMP test suite was developed using version 3 of the Internet draft. It contains over 80 tests. Both IGMP and DVMRP focus on validating protocol conformance, interoperability and router performance. 

Midnight Networks Adds Media Link Support for Token Ring on Windows NT Platform 
Midnight Networks recently added support for Token Ring over Windows NT to ANVL. The software now supports a wide variety of media/link types, which include:

Solaris: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, async and sync serial, Token Ring and FDDI;
Linux: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, and async serial; 
Windows NT 4.0: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet and async serial and Token Ring 

Pricing and Specifications 
The ANVL IGMP and DVMRP Test Suites can be run against any network device with a ... implementation. ANVL runs on Windows NT, Solaris and Linux platforms and includes support for media types including Ethernet and serial lines. Pricing for ANVL starts at $15,000 and is based on the type of license and number of test suites purchased. IGMP is available immediately for $12,995 and DVMRP will be available soon for $17,995. 

About Hammer Technologies
Hammer Technologies, a Teradyne company (NYSE:TER), is one of the world's leading suppliers of Computer Telephony, Voice over IP, and Enhanced Services test systems to major call centers, telecommunications equipment vendors, and carriers. Hammer test systems are widely used by call centers for continuous Quality of Service testing of automated customer service systems in addition to providing load, stress and feature/function testing of telecommunications systems and applications prior to deployment. Hammer IT, Hammer CallMaster, and Hammer Regression Pack are trademarks of Hammer Technologies and Teradyne, Inc.