 | |
| Industry | Computer networking |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996; 29 years ago (1996) |
| Fate | Acquired byNortel in 2000 Acquired byRadware in 2009 |
| Headquarters | , United States |
| Products | Network switches Network interface controllers |
| Parent | Radware |
| Website | www |
Alteon WebSystems (originallyAlteon Networks, Inc.) is a division ofRadware that producesapplication delivery controllers.
Alteon was acquired byNortel Networks on October 4, 2000.[1]On February 22, 2009 Nortel Networks sold the Alteon application switching line toRadware.
Alteon Networks was founded in 1996 by Mark Bryers, John Hayes, Ted Schroeder and Wayne Hathaway. Initialventure capital investors wereMatrix Partners andSutter Hill Ventures. Dominic Orr became chief executive in October 1996.[2]
Alteon introduced innovative products such as the ACEswitch 180, which was the firstnetwork switch to deliverEthernet with selectable speed, 10/100 or 1000Mbit/s, on every port viaautonegotiation. Their ACEdirectorLayer 4-7 switch was designed as an integrated services front-end and serverload balancer. They also introducedJumbo Frames (up to 9,000 bytes) with their ACEnic adapters, and supported by their switches.[3]
In addition to server switches, Alteon produced the firstnetwork interface controller (NIC) in 1997 that usedGigabit Ethernet (demonstrated at theNetworld + Interop trade show in September 1996).[4]Alteon's third generation Gigabit Ethernet NIC (code named "Tigon") became the basis forBroadcom's family of Ethernet controllers (series BCM570x)[5] and has shipped over 60 million copies. It was used in low-cost adapters from vendors such as3Com.[6]
In July 2000,Nortel Networks announced it was buying Alteon forUS$6 billion in stock. The deal had originally been announced with a value of $7.8 billion, but the stock market plummeted before the deal closed in October.[1][7]Nortel rolled the ACEDirector and ACESwitch products into its Personal Internet product line, but one year later sales had slowed down.[8]On February 22, 2009 Nortel Networks announced they would sell the Alteon application switching line toRadware, for $17.65 million.[9][10]
In November 2013, Radware announced the Alteon NG, marketed as anapplication delivery controller.[11]
