Ascend buys Net tools

High-end remote access giant Ascend Communications (ASND) announced the acquisition of network management tool vendor StonyBrook Services today for approximately $29 million in stock.

StonyBrook, based in Bohemia, New York, was founded in 1992. The company's focus has been building management and network analysis software tools for wide area networks (WAN). The addition of StonyBrook as a Ascend subsidiary fills an important hole in Ascend's product lineup.

The Alameda, California-based networking vendor has a series of WAN switches and routers, but until now has not had a comprehensive management story to tell. The deal is also expected to give Ascend some quality-of-service (QoS) capabilities that are a must for any vendor playing in the carrier or Internet service provider markets.

Since StonyBrook's products are largely based on the Simple Network Management Protocol, the tools will snap into most existing SNMP-based platforms such as SunSoft's SunNet Manager or Hewlett-Packard's OpenView, for example.

"Now we will be delivering a network management platform that allows customers to manage their entire network as a single entity," said Bernie Schneider, Ascend's vice president of strategic business development, in a statement.