NETWORK MANAGEMENT IS A NIGHTMARE AS IP HAS a mind of its own,” says Raju Rajan, co-founder and CTO of Ipsum Networks. Ipsum’s Route Dynamics is an Internet Protocol (IP) management solution that listens to routing updates and reconstructs the topology and routing state of the network. It has an intelligent management layer that allows network administrators to visualize how applications traverse the infrastructure, to be notified when paths change due to failure or mis-configuration, and to deduce the root cause of any path affecting issue.

“IP routing has been a long neglected void in the network management space. Problems such as route flapping, black holes, convergence delays and route leaks go unobserved until they bring the network to its knees, and then it becomes an arduous process to fix them,” says Rajan, who is excited about Ipsum’s solution, which faces competition from other startups. However Rajan isn't worried about it. “Right now, our biggest challenge is not competition but customer awareness about the availability of solutions,” he says.

Founded in October 2001, this Philadelphia, PA-based company recently closed series B funding of $6 million. “It is a very grueling environment for raising capital, especially for early stage companies that need a leap of faith from a far-sighted VC,” says Rajan. Ipsum will use this funding to expand sales, marketing and business development initiatives as well as to further accelerate production and development efforts. With backing from top-tier firms like Rho Ventures and Sevin Rosen, Ipsum is all set to bring actionable visibility to the IP-routed infrastructure.