Mahi Networks
Mahi Networks was a Petaluma, California-based venture-funded network equipment startup company. It was founded in 1999 and focused on developing carrier-class multiservice switching platforms for metro and regional networks.
Mahi's flagship product, the Mi7 Metro Core Aggregation System, was a 320 Gbit/s multi-service switching system supporting SONET/SDH TDM switching, MPLS/Ethernet switching, and IP routing. Its multi-service capability was achieved using a switching fabric based on the Tiny Tera architecture.{{Cite journal |last1=McKeown |first1=Nick |last2=Izzard |first2=Martin |last3=Mekkittikul |first3=Adisak |last4=Ellersick |first4=William |last5=Horowitz |first5=Mark |title=The Tiny Tera: A Packet Switch Core |journal=IEEE Micro |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=26–33 |date=January–February 1997 |doi=10.1109/40.566194|arxiv=cs/9810006 }}{{Cite web |last=Rust |first=Chris |title=Future Opportunity Areas in Optical Networking |date=April 2, 2003 |website=IEEE INFOCOM 2003 Workshop |url=https://networks.cs.ucdavis.edu/docs/workshops/info03/Infocomm_Rust_Mahi_4-2-03.pdf |access-date=2025-03-29}}
Technology
At the core of Mahi’s product line was the Mi7 Metro Core Aggregation System (MCAS) — a converged platform combining SONET/SDH add/drop multiplexing, Layer 2 Ethernet switching, and a GMPLS-based control plane. The system was designed to simplify metro and regional central office architectures by replacing stacked MSPPs, DSX panels, and manual cross-connects with software-configurable, high-density optical and electrical interconnects.
The Mi7 system integrated multiple subsystems, including:
- Optical Node Interconnection (ONX): Eliminated coax and DS3 cabling, enabling software-controlled cross-connects and reducing points of failure.
- SONET Ring Aggregation (SRA): Consolidated SONET/SDH ADM functionality to reduce space, power, and operational overhead.
- Metro Ethernet Transport (MET): Enabled carrier-class Ethernet services by integrating Layer 1 transport with Layer 2 statistical multiplexing and VLAN processing.
- Automated Transport Network (ATN): Used a GMPLS mesh architecture for automated A-to-Z provisioning across a dynamic, multi-vendor optical topology.
The system supported interface options ranging from DS3 to OC-192 and Gigabit Ethernet, with scalability features like tributary expansion shelves and pay-as-you-grow pricing. Mahi positioned the Mi7 as an enabler for converged service delivery—supporting legacy TDM, IP VPNs, and video over packet—with lower capital and operational costs.{{Cite web |last=Rust |first=Chris |title=Future Opportunity Areas in Optical Networking |date=April 2, 2003 |website=IEEE INFOCOM 2003 Workshop |url=https://networks.cs.ucdavis.edu/docs/workshops/info03/Infocomm_Rust_Mahi_4-2-03.pdf |access-date=2025-03-29}}
= Switching Fabric =
The Mi7 system’s switching fabric was based on the Tiny Tera architecture, a 320 Gbit/s input-queued packet switch developed at Stanford University.{{Cite journal |last1=McKeown |first1=Nick |last2=Izzard |first2=Martin |last3=Mekkittikul |first3=Adisak |last4=Ellersick |first4=William |last5=Horowitz |first5=Mark |title=The Tiny Tera: A Packet Switch Core |journal=IEEE Micro |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=26–33 |date=January–February 1997 |doi=10.1109/40.566194|arxiv=cs/9810006 }} The Tiny Tera design used a sliced crossbar architecture with centralized scheduling and high-speed serial links, allowing extremely high throughput using commercially available CMOS technology.
Mahi Networks adapted this architecture to support a combination of TDM (SONET/SDH) and packet (Ethernet/MPLS/IP) services in metro and regional networks. Key features included:
- Input-queued architecture with virtual output queuing to eliminate head-of-line blocking
- A centralized scheduler implementing fast arbitration algorithms such as iSLIP for near-100% throughput
- Use of high-speed chip-to-chip serial links to simplify the switch's physical interconnect and reduce power and board complexity
- Support for multicast scheduling and fanout-splitting, allowing efficient packet duplication across multiple destinations
- A modular, scalable fabric composed of crossbar slices and port processors, enabling pay-as-you-grow deployment
This approach enabled Mahi to build a cost-effective, high-performance switching core suitable for converged transport across telecom central offices.
Acquisition
In 2005, Mahi Networks was acquired by Meriton Networks, a Canadian optical networking company seeking to enhance its product portfolio with metro switching technologies.{{Cite web |title=Meriton completes Mahi acquisition |url=https://www.lightwaveonline.com/business/mergers-acquisitions/article/16650376/meriton-completes-mahi-acquisition |access-date=2021-02-12 |website=Lightwave Online}}{{Cite web |title=Meriton Acquires Mahi |website=Light Reading |date=October 6, 2005 |url=https://www.lightreading.com/optical/meriton-acquires-mahi/d/d-id/627779 |access-date=2025-03-29}} Meriton was subsequently acquired by Xtera Communications in 2008,{{Cite web |title=Xtera buys Meriton Networks |url=https://www.lightwaveonline.com/business/mergers-acquisitions/article/16663527/xtera-buys-meriton-networks |access-date=2021-02-12 |website=Lightwave Online}}{{Cite web |title=Xtera acquires Meriton in optical match |url=https://www.fiercetelecom.com/telecom/xtera-acquires-meriton-optical-match |access-date=2021-02-12 |website=FierceTelecom |date=7 April 2008 |language=en}} placing Mahi’s technology in the lineage of metro optical innovations adopted by Tier 1 carriers.
Legacy
Mahi Networks was among the early innovators of packet-optical convergence, with its Mi7 platform targeting challenges in scalability, automation, and service flexibility. Its architecture—focused on collapsing network layers and reducing manual provisioning—foreshadowed broader industry shifts toward software-defined networking (SDN) and carrier-class Ethernet transport in metropolitan networks.
The company was also part of the broader Telecom Valley, a cluster of telecommunications startups and technology firms centered in Petaluma’s Redwood Business Park in Sonoma County, California. Mahi contributed to the area's reputation as a hub of telecom innovation during the late 1990s and early 2000s.{{Cite news |last=Schmitt |first=Jerry |title=Turning back the clock to Sonoma County’s Telecom Valley, a high-tech hotbed |url=https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/business/turning-back-the-clock-to-sonoma-countys-telecom-valley-a-high-tech-hotbe/ |newspaper=The Press Democrat |date=March 17, 2023 |access-date=2025-03-29}}
Other notable companies that emerged from Telecom Valley include Cerent Corporation, a startup acquired by Cisco Systems in 1999 for $6.9 billion,{{Cite web |title=Cisco Systems to Acquire Cerent Corporation and Monterey Networks |url=https://newsroom.cisco.com/c/r/newsroom/en/us/a/y1999/m08/cisco-systems-to-acquire-cerent-corporation-and-monterey-networks-for-combined-7-4-billion.html |website=Cisco Newsroom |date=August 26, 1999 |access-date=2025-03-29}} and AFC, a Petaluma-based fiber access company that was sold for $1.9 billion in 2004.{{Cite news |title=AFC sold for $1.9 billion |url=https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/afc-sold-for-1-9-billion/ |newspaper=The Press Democrat |date=July 12, 2004 |access-date=2025-03-29}}