Alteon WebSystems
| Company type | Business unit |
|---|---|
| Industry | Networking hardware |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Founder | Mark Bryers, John Hayes, Ted Schroeder, Wayne Hathaway |
| Fate | Acquired by Nortel Networks (2000); application switching division sold to Radware (2009) |
Key people | Dominic Orr (CEO from October 1996) |
| Products | Application delivery controllers, network switches, network interface controllers |
| Parent | Radware |
Alteon WebSystems—initially known as Alteon Networks, Inc.—operates as a business unit under Radware, specializing in the development of application delivery controller devices.
The company was acquired by Nortel Networks on October 4, 2000. Subsequently, on February 22, 2009, Nortel divested the Alteon application switching division to Radware.
History
Established in 1996 by founders Mark Bryers, John Hayes, Ted Schroeder, and Wayne Hathaway, Alteon Networks secured early funding from venture capital firms such as Matrix Partners and Sutter Hill Ventures. Dominic Orr assumed the role of CEO in October 1996.
Among Alteon's technological breakthroughs was the ACEswitch 180, recognized as the inaugural network switch featuring autonegotiation-enabled selectable Ethernet speeds (10/100/1000 Mbit/s) on each port. Their ACEdirector Layer 4-7 switch uniquely integrated services front-end capabilities with server load balancer functionality. Additionally, they pioneered support for Jumbo Frames (up to 9,000 bytes) through their ACEnic adapters and switches.
In 1997, Alteon introduced the first Gigabit Ethernet network interface controller (NIC), which was initially showcased at the 1996 Networld + Interop exhibition. Their third-generation Gigabit Ethernet NIC, dubbed "Tigon," served as the basis for Broadcom's BCM570x Ethernet controllers. These controllers have shipped over 60 million units and are utilized in cost-effective adapters produced by manufacturers such as 3Com.
In July 2000, Nortel Networks declared its intention to acquire Alteon for $6 billion in stock—a reduction from an earlier $7.8 billion valuation due to market downturns prior to deal completion in October. Following acquisition, Nortel incorporated ACEDirector and ACESwitch products into its Personal Internet portfolio; nonetheless, sales momentum declined within a year.
On February 22, 2009, Nortel transferred ownership of the Alteon application switching segment to Radware for $17.65 million.
November 2013 saw Radware unveil the Alteon NG, promoted as a next-generation application delivery controller.