Intelliden: A start-up to watch

Just two months out of stealth mode is Intelliden, a Colorado Springs maker of software for configuring and managing network routers and switches. Instead of manually configuring each device, Intelliden users run configuration templates and then replicate settings to targeted Cisco and Juniper Networks devices ÷ up to 5,000 per Intelliden server. Besides being a time saver, the process aims to improve accuracy ÷ as many as 60% of manually configured routers and LAN switches can contain at least one substantial error, Intelliden says. To reduce errors and oversights, user-defined rules establish who can implement configuration changes, which alterations require approval and when the work should be done, Intelliden says. And it's all done through a Web interface, instead of at a command line.

Intelliden's R10 package handles IP device configuration and service management, and the Intelliden R30 adds an XML-over-Java API for interfacing with back-office systems. The software is priced per device managed, starting in the "tens of thousands" of dollars range for a 50-router network. Support is now limited to Cisco and Juniper gear, but the company says it will add support for other vendors' devices as the market dictates.

The company has 15 patents pending for its technology and seven beta-version customers as of last month. Turning beta testers into customers could be a challenge though, given that service provider spending is weak, and large companies will need some convincing to add to their router-management arsenal.