Ellacoya Networks

About Ellacoya Networks

Ellacoya Networks was a network equipment company established in 1999 by Kurt Dobbins and Dan Hullette, both former executives from Cabletron Systems. Dobbins, previously the chief technology architect at Cabletron, co-founded the company to have end-to-end control over the innovation process, a challenge in a larger corporate structure. The Merrimack, New Hampshire-based firm focused on developing hardware and software to add intelligence to high-speed networks for telecommunications service providers.

The company's primary offering was a suite of broadband service optimization solutions centered around deep packet inspection (DPI) technology. This technology allowed internet service providers (ISPs) and other carriers to analyze, manage, and prioritize network traffic on a per-subscriber and per-application basis. By identifying the type of traffic—such as video streaming, voice over IP (VoIP), or peer-to-peer file sharing—Ellacoya's products enabled providers to tailor service levels, manage bandwidth effectively, and offer differentiated, revenue-generating IP services. The business model involved selling its network switch hardware and software, including the E100 and E30 product lines, to these service providers.

Ellacoya successfully secured significant venture capital, raising $34 million in an initial funding round and a total of $171 million over its lifetime from investors like Bessemer Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. A significant milestone was its acquisition by Arbor Networks in January 2008. The acquisition combined Arbor's expertise in network security against DDoS attacks with Ellacoya's DPI and traffic-shaping capabilities. This merger aimed to create a comprehensive "Secure Service Control" suite, addressing a market opportunity for combined security and service management that was estimated to reach $1.5 billion by 2010.