1 DDS Xpress Digital Data Storage Solution. 2 Long-term Goal Legacy Telecoms switches are still operational Expected lifespan at least another 10 years.

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DDS Xpress

Digital Data Storage Solution

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Long-term Goal

Legacy Telecoms switches are still operational Expected lifespan at least another 10 years

IP-based replacement technology Currently being evaluated, ordered or even installed However this will take some years to complete

Need to extend the lifecycle of legacy switches But several switch components are failing Replacement 'spare' parts are hard to find

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Presentation Outline

DDS Xpress Magnetic Tape Replacement Long-term Goal Customer Wishes Fulfilling Customer Needs Cost Analysis Strengths and Advantages Next Steps of Action

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Equipment Problems

Basic Switch hardware is still functional But it relies on many moving parts MTU (Magnetic Tape Units) DKU (Disk Unit)

These parts are failing at an increasing rate Expensive to repair Difficult to obtain parts Media is obsolete

No roadmap to replace these parts Replacement items no longer manufactured

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MTU is a Key Component

The MTU provides a final backup solution If all else fails, the system falls back to the MTU There are no options if the MTU fails Failure of MTU means loss of office data

MTU often has the low level software To bring the switch back after major failure Without this, switch may be down for some time

MTU used for storing billing (AMA) data Loss of data = loss of revenue

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Customer Demands

Need to replace MTU with a modern alternative Ideally a drop-in replacement for MTU Minimal moving parts Remove need for magnetic tapes Removeable media for data transfer Life of at least 10 years

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DDS Xpress Overview

Solid state data storage for legacy devices No moving parts, uses flash media RAID storage with error correction 512 MB internal capacity 512 MB external media size

Drop-in MTU replacement NEAX 61E/M/K Any Pertec connector Others TBD

Small low power unit

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Plug and Play

DDS Xpress provides connector options 2x50 way standard Pertec 1x50 way NEAX 61K / SCSI NEAX 61M supported via low-cost adaptor

6-way standard power connector Alarm circuit supported

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Physical Dimensions

Significantly smaller than existing MTUs

Secured with rack-mount brackets

Easy cabling options via standard interface connectors

Solid metal enclosure construction

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Media

DDS Xpress uses standard xD cards Widely available (local camera shop!) Low cost

Unit is supplied with two internal cards Plus one external card for data transfer

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Data Reliability

Two levels of data error/loss prevention ECC and RAID ECC on data

Additional error correction data is written In the event of a single bit error, ECC codes can

correct the error Resulting performance (without RAID)

Error rate of 1 bit in 10 billion (1010) for writing Verify catches these

Average 1 million reads before error

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Data Reliability (RAID)

RAID Data is simultaneously written to two cards Data verify ensures that it was written correctly

During a read operation data on both cards is compared if one card has an error, the other is used

Resulting performance: Write errors detected by automatic verify function More than 1 million reads (of same data) before

error Will not happen in normal operation

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Wear Leveling

DDS Xpress incorporates advanced wear-levelling technology Each flash sector is written only once during a

pass through the entire media This provides ideal operating conditions for

the flash memory Advanced 'journaling' filing system

As used on large database servers Power failure does not result in data corruption

Only the last few blocks being written are lost

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Power Consumption

Standard NEAX 61E MTU is up to 10 Amps While starting up / loading tape 4 Amps normal operating

DDS Xpress uses only 100 mA Operation on 1kWhr of power

MTU: 5 hours DDS Xpress: 8 days

Power0

0.5

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1.5

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2.5

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3.5

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4.5

Power consumption

(W)DDS Xpress

MTU

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Easy Menu Operation

DDS Xpress has a small colour screen Simple menu system Online button Media load/unload buttons

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Status Display

LCD display shows current status Reading / writing / rewinding / offline

Some operations can take up to 45 minutes DDS Xpress shows number of MB written For reads, shows a percentage

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Software Upgrade

Unit supports field-upgradable software Using a special 'upgrade' xD card

Can be used to add custom features

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Documentation

Full printed manual supplied in English Quality colour reproduction Translation can be arranged to many languages

Describes product operation and modes Separate installation guide for installers

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Support and Maintenance

Supplied with 1 year manufacturer warranty Return to base warranty Full replacement or repair as required

Support provided through local distributor Servicing by 'Repair Group Ltd'

http://www.repairgroup.co.nz/

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Other Features

Media copy (to/from internal media) Allows backups and AMA data to

be retrieved Offline console allows switch reboot Networked operation available

Through integrated ethernet port Switchable between different Switch types Disk emulation option Adaptation service available Branding available

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Media Copy

Copy the backup, or overwrite the backup From external media

High speed copy in a few minutes cf up to an hour for legacy tape copies

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Offline Console

NEAX Switch sometimes needs a full restart Small 'offline console' program is loaded from

tape DDS has special support for this mode

Can store the program in a separate area Always available No need to locate and change tapes

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Networked Operation

Ethernet port 10/100 on rear Networking software available as

a software upgrade Allows retrieval of files to a

central location Central server software supplied

Supports 100s of DSUs withautomatic upload

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Switch Type Selection

DDS allows selection of Switch type Currently options for Pertec, 61K, 61M SCSI support expected soon

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Disk Emulation

DSU can support emulation of hard disks Drop in solid state replacement

Includes integrated RAID functionality High performance

Seek time <1 ms Data transfer rate up to 6 MB/s

SCSI base support Can also support manufacturer's variants Through Bluewater's adaptation service

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Adaptation Service

Support for esoteric interfaces / devices Using in-built reconfigurable hardware

Access to the team that developed the DDS Options include

Adaptor board to support specific connectors Interface signalling changes

Reasonable cost Adaptor board development < US$10k Minor protocol changes < US$50k Can be included in unit price

Low risk and guaranteed results

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Adaptation Service

Several steps Probing of existing system Creation of prototype for testing Integration into DDS product

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Adaptation Example

NEAX 61K support added at NEC's request Proprietary protocol No documentation available

Results Full 61K support added successfully Project duration12 weeks Cost US$155,000

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Branding Option

DDS can be branded as your OEM product We will assist with required internal approvals

Options for: Case colour and design Front panel branding Integration into other products

Manufacturing license Full IP available under license

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Switch Type Selection

On-board FPGA configuration technology Allows complete reconfiguration of connectors Support for many switch variants in one unit

Support new options via software upgrade

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Example Installation

Telecom is New Zealand's largest operator Around 1.8m lines Over 100 switches across New Zealand

Telecom was the lead DDS customer Purchased 180 DDS Xpress units through NEC NEC-badged product (the NEC DSU) Tested in NEC's Tokyo lab

Used for 'office data' backup Installed in March 2005

Expected to operate until 2015-17

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Testimonials

“Bluewater Systems...could give us one box to work with three types of exchange, within our time constraints, saving us development time and money.” Leonard Dench, Group Manager, Carrier and Provider

division at NEC NZ

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Strengths and AdvantagesSummary

Purpose built MTU replacement Reliable solid state storage Plug and Play compatibility with NEAX

switches Purchase cost similar to reconditioning an

MTU

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Availability

Supplied through accredited distributors Provides local support Can operate through your chosen vendor

Small quantities available ex stock Standard lead time 10 weeks

Shipped FOB from New Zealand

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Additional Specifications

More technical details follows this page

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Connector Specifications

Standard Pertec P1 and P2 – 50 way IDC NEAX 61K – 50 way IDC SCSI – 50 way IDC Ethernet 10/100 Control Serial Maintenance Serial Power

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Connector P1Name Row A Pin# Row B Pin# NameGND 1 2 IFBYGND 3 4 ILWDGND 5 6 IW4GND 7 8 IGOGND 9 10 IW0GND 11 12 IW1GND 13 14 ISGLGND 15 16 ILOADGND 17 18 IREVGND 19 20 IREWGND 21 22 IWPGND 23 24 IW7GND 25 26 IW3GND 27 28 IW6GND 29 30 IW2GND 31 32 IW5GND 33 34 IWRTGND 35 36 IRTH2GND 37 38 IEDITGND 39 40 IERASEGND 41 42 IWFMGND 43 44 IRTH1GND 45 46 ITAD0GND 47 48 IR2GND 49 50 IR3

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Connector P2Name Row A Pin# Row B Pin# Name

IRP 1 2 IR0IR1 3 4 ILDP

GND 5 6 IR4GND 7 8 IR7GND 9 10 IR6GND 11 12 IHERGND 13 14 IFMKGND 15 16 IDENTGND 17 18 IFENGND 19 20 IR5GND 21 22 IEOTGND 23 24 IRWUGND 25 26 INRZGND 27 28 IRDYGND 29 30 IRWDGND 31 32 IFPTGND 33 34 IRSTRGND 35 36 IWSTRGND 37 38 IDBYGND 39 40 ISPEEDGND 41 42 ICERGND 43 44 IONLGND 45 46 ITAD1GND 47 48 IFADGND 49 50 IDEN

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61K / Kennedy / CT-7500Name Row A Pin# Row B Pin# NameGND 1 26 D0GND 2 27 D1GND 3 28 D2GND 4 29 D3GND 5 30 D4GND 6 31 D5GND 7 32 D6GND 8 33 D7GND 9 34 D9GND 10 35 LAST_DATGND 11 36 CMDGND 12 37 RSTGND 13 38 ACKGND 14 39 DATA_REQGND 15 40 CNTRL_BUSYGND 16 41 CNTRL_READYGND 17 42 CART_INGND 18 43 BUS_ENGND 19 44 IF_PARITYGND 20 45 ncGND 21 46 ncGND 22 47 ncGND 23 48 ncGND 24 49 ncGND 25 50 nc

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61M Low Speed Adaptor

Adaptor pinout available on request

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Connector SCSI

Adaptor pinout available on request

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Ethernet

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Connector Power

1 NC (no connection) 2 ALMS (alarm supply) 3 ALMM (alarm monitor) 4 -48V 5 GND (ground) 6 FE (frame earth)

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Connector Serial

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xD Media

Widely available off the shelf DDS currently required non-M-type cards

DDS is supplied with three cards 2 internal 1 external

Media can be purchased easily Either with the DDS or locally Available at local camera and

computer stores

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xD Media Compatibility

DDS uses a special encoding scheme To protect xD card data against modification or

viewing on a PC Allows access control to data Use a central DDS to read AMA data cards However, PC read/write can be enabled

To support emailing/download of data Using standard USB card readers Contact us for details

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Brackets

Standard 19” rack brackets available DDS can be attached to protect against

seismic activity Rubber feet option also available