View our past project with Solana here.

As you know, CENGN is continuously working on projects in a variety of high-tech areas. Supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to commercialize their innovations allows us to also commercialize Canada’s ICT market. Most recently, we’ve completed our third project with veteran CENGN SME Solana Networks. This project was the final test and validation of Solana’s IPv6 compatible network topology tool.

The Rundown on Solana Networks

Solana Networks is an innovative technology vendor supplying intelligent software solutions and products for IP networks. Located in Ottawa, Ontario, CENGN is proud to have such a strong relationship with an SME right at home! As one of their goals, Solana aims to provide service providers and enterprises with the tools they need to optimize network performance, and lower operating costs.

The Solana SmartHawk Project

We are excited to be wrapping up this successful project with Solana Networks! One of Solana’s flagship products is their network discovery and monitoring SmartHawk solution. This tool specializes in helping network operators discover and map networks, as well as providing them with helpful network analytics to improve system performance.

This CENGN project tested the SmartHawk solution’s IPv6 and IPv4 compatibility, as well as the SmartHawk Management Client. SmartHawk’s Management Client is a network reporter that provides insight on path tracing, asymmetric link, link and node up/down, and what-if scenario emulation. For the end-user, these reports are invaluable to developing network routing solutions in today’s Internet Protocol (IP).

The importance of IP Innovation

As you may know, the exponential increase in IPv4 network users has exhausted the number of available IP addresses. To solve this issue, IPv6 was developed to support the world’s growing networking needs.

The challenge with IPv6 is that its topology software is not as mature as IPv4, meaning it’s difficult for network operators to troubleshoot IPv6 network issues. So how does Solana’s SmartHawk fit into the equation? Solana has created a discovery and network monitoring tool that makes it possible to manage networks for both protocols, while also making it easier for network operators to troubleshoot, and improve IPv6 network performance. With next generation networking (NGN) demanding better network infrastructure, innovative solutions like Solana’s SmartHawk are critical to Canada’s continued growth in the ICT sector.  Solana’s SmartHawk solution will ensure efficient and reliable network discovery, routing, and monitoring for NGN.

Project Success

To test and validate their IPv6 and IPv4 compatible network topology software Solana leveraged CENGN’s state of the art cloud infrastructure, hardware hosting,and bare metal services. On top of this, CENGN provided Solana with support in a variety of other areas including business, marketing, infrastructure services, and engineering expertise.

Through testing their product with CENGN, Solana has obtained the validation needed to bring their SmartHawk appliance to the broader market. The success of Solana’s project also means they will be able to network with CENGN members and partners to establish important industry connections.

Building the Canadian ICT Sector

As one of CENGN’s goals to accelerate commercialization in Canada’s ICT sector, we are excited to see another successful SME project showcasing itself to potential partners and the global market. Here at CENGN, we love working with SMEs like Solana Networks on innovative cloud and network solutions. With our latest Ontario funding, CENGN will be able to engage with even more SMEs in different project areas. We plan to continue our momentum in cementing Canada’s leadership role in the ICT sector and NGN by giving the support SMEs need to showcase their innovations.

[cherry_button text=”Learn More About Solana” url=”https://www.cengn.ca/companies-solana-networks/” style=”default” fluid_position=”right” icon_position=”top” color=”#828282″ min_width=”80″ target=”_self”][/cherry_button]                [cherry_button text=”Submit Your Project Here” url=”https://www.cengn.ca/projects/” style=”default” fluid_position=”right” icon_position=”top” color=”#828282″ min_width=”80″ target=”_self”][/cherry_button]

[cherry_button text=”View More Projects” url=”https://www.cengn.ca/service-view/past-projects/” style=”default” fluid_position=”right” icon_position=”top” color=”#828282″ min_width=”80″ target=”_self”][/cherry_button]

About the Author

CENGN, Canada’s Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks, drives technology innovation and industry growth through our testbed, technical expertise, talent development, and partner ecosystem. Through our projects, CENGN enables small and medium Canadian Enterprises to test and validate promising technologies, removing barriers to product commercialization and accelerating market growth.

More by CENGN