Ciena expands packet networking portfolio

Ciena® Corporation has announced new packet networking solutions designed to help network operators accelerate the adoption of 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) services by changing the economics of metro packet aggregation. Driven by increased capacity requirements to provide everything from mobile data services and backhaul to enterprise data and cloud services – including dynamic bandwidth on-demand – today’s operators are seeking scalable, cost-effective aggregation and service delivery at the network edge. With Ciena’s new 5160 and 5142 Service Aggregation Switches, operators and large enterprises can now deploy robust, small form-factor platforms that enable efficient delivery and aggregation of large quantities of data at speeds of 1GbE to 10GbE while meeting increasingly stringent SLAs.

Delivering on Ciena’s OPn architecture approach for creating programmable network infrastructures that deliver much lower cost-at-scale and allow network operators to better monetize their networks, the 5160 and 5142 enable rapid service delivery, agility and assurance while providing distinct operational benefits. These benefits include 10GbE service activation testing, extended temperature range support, full synchronization support, and greatly reduced power and space footprint – all critical aspects of improving customer satisfaction and overall deployment lifecycle costs. These new E-Suite platforms are seamlessly integrated with the latest packet capabilities on the widely deployed 6500 Packet-Optical Platform and leverage the field-proven, full-featured Service-Aware Operating System (SAOS) provided by Ciena’s existing portfolio of packet networking and converged packet optical solutions.

10GbE and higher speed installations are the fastest growing Carrier Ethernet services in the market today, according to Vertical Systems Group’s Enterprise Ethernet Service Ports by Speed 2012-2017 report, published June 2013.

Ciena’s 5160 Service Aggregation Switch (SAS) changes the economics of 10GbE service delivery and aggregation by providing carriers industry-leading 10GbE density with 24 ports in a compact, single rack unit (1RU) form factor. The 5160 provides more than 50 percent reduction in carrier aggregation cost per 10GE port while also supporting a wide range of robust and field-proven packet features. With less equipment to install and manage, operators can reap the benefits of new cost dynamics while accelerating deployment of 10GbE aggregation and services with a differentiated Ethernet feature set.

Ciena’s 5142 Service Aggregation Switch (SAS) is a compact edge platform that provides customers efficient 1GbE to 10GbE aggregation density in a 1RU, fixed chassis configuration. The 5142 features four ports of 10GbE and 20 ports of 1GbE, offering network operators significant flexibility to address a middle tier of service applications, networking models, and deployment environments without sacrificing service capabilities.

The latest additions to Ciena’s E-Suite family, these new platforms provide an extensive range of operational benefits to enable rapid service delivery, agility, and assurance. Features include Ethernet, Carrier Ethernet 2.0 and MPLS OAM support, service activation testing at line rate, and a complete synchronization solution. The solutions leverage Ciena’s SAOS and OneControl Unified Management System, which allow service providers to improve operational efficiency and seamlessly manage an entire portfolio of Ciena solutions – from edge to core – to quickly address surging demand for Ethernet services and connectivity. With the addition of the SLA Portal, service providers can also enhance their current advanced service offerings by providing transparent SLA visualization to end-users via a secure web portal.

Ciena-based packet networks can be deployed in conjunction with the company’s V-WAN Network Services Module, a network virtualization solution that automates the allocation of shared network resources among data centers to create a performance on-demand cloud service environment.