With a frame relay network, such changes would take weeks or even months to implement. Both companies say that for now they are testing the SmartPipes service with WorldCom's, and that they are seeking beta customers. Neither would say when WorldCom will decide whether to add SmartPipes to its service. Such individual configuration can amount to a half hour per device, says Dennis Brouwer, a SmartPipes vice president. Because the Policy Engine interface is graphical, it also requires less-skilled technicians than the alternative, he says.
Customers access the engine via a secure Web site and set policies using a browser.
So far, the Policy Engine supports only Cisco Systems Inc. routers and Microsoft Corp. Windows 2000 servers. SmartPipes says about 80 percent of firms have sites equipped with one or the other. WorldCom's current IP VPN Total Access service calls for Lucent Technologies Inc.'s Access Point routers at each corporate site, so a WorldCom service would require Cisco or Microsoft gear, or SmartPipes would have to extend support to Lucent boxes. SmartPipes plans eventually to expand its support to gear made by Lucent and Nortel, but has no target date, Brouwer says. The company also plans to produce a developer's kit for equipment makers so they can customize their VPN equipment to be configured by SmartPipes Policy Engine, he says.