Cisco Unveils Nexus & Catalyst Products for Data Centers

Cisco unveiled a number of additions to its Nexus family of switches along with several enhancements to its Catalyst product line. These include:

• The new Cisco Nexus 7018 joins the Nexus 7000 Series with an 18-Slot Chassis that provides up to 16 I/O module slots supporting up to 512 10Gigabit Ethernet ports to meet the demands of the largest data center deployments. The Cisco Nexus 7000 Series supports end-to-end data center connectivity, consolidating IP, storage, and interprocess communication (IPC) networks onto a single Ethernet fabric.
  
  
• A new 48-port Gigabit Ethernet fiber line card also joins the Nexus family to support mixed Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet environments. Virtual Port Channels (VPC) also enable higher availability, large-scale virtual machine mobility, and higher bandwidth.



• Improved data center energy efficiency - the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series uses power supplies with up to 90 percent efficiency. Fan modules in the chassis adjust to compensate for changing thermal characteristics, meaning less power is wasted as heat and more power is available for the system to use.



• The new Cisco Nexus 5010 28-port switch is a one rack unit (RU) switch supporting 10 Gigabit Ethernet, Cisco Data Center Ethernet (DCE), Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), and Fibre Channel, able to consolidate traffic from local area networks, storage area networks and server cluster onto a single unified fabric.



• The new Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender helps IT managers cope with two key data center factors: increasing numbers of servers and increased demand for bandwidth from each server. The Cisco Nexus 2148T Fabric Extenders connected to dual Cisco Nexus 5020 Switches can support up to 2,496 Gigabit Ethernet servers, greatly improving scalability of the access layer without increasing management points within the network. The Cisco Nexus 2000 switches can be combined with the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches provides as an access-layer strategy for Gigabit Ethernet and mixed Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet server environments.



• Cisco Catalyst 6500 enhancements enable customers to use the Catalyst 6500 as a virtualized service node together with a Nexus core to secure and accelerate applications cost effectively. Other software enhancements include an In-Service-Software-Upgrade and support for long range integrated 10GbE optics reduce the time needed for planned network maintenance and facilitate virtual machine mobility across data centers.

http://www.cisco.com

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ADC Supplies Broadcast Gear for Super Bowl

ADC's connectivity broadcast gear has been deployed in Corplex Inc.'s mobile HD production units, which will support the upcoming Super Bowl in Tampa Florida this week. Specifically, ADC's ProPatch Miniature (PPM) System is deployed in Corplex's Iridium and Zinc HD mobile production vehicles.


ADC also announced that its InterReach Fusion in-building cellular solution has been deployed at Tampa's 65,000-seat Raymond James Stadium to support mobile services for capacity crowds at football games and other events. The system will provide coverage throughout the stadium, including the inner bowl, all seating levels, luxury boxes, offices and locker rooms, and the stadium parking area.


"As the broadcast market changes and the demand for higher bandwidth gear increases, the space on our mobile production units is still limited to 53 feet and 80,000 pounds, so we are constantly looking for new advancements and products that can help us utilize this same space in better ways," said Dave Greany, vice president and partner at Corplex. "ADC's ProPatch Series frees up valuable space in the mobile unit by providing 30 percent more density. This translates into a third less space and half the weight of a normal patch bay so I can get more equipment in the truck. And ADC's PPM patching systems work the first time, every time."http://www.adc.com/broadcast

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Yankee Group Predicts $1 Trillion Global Connectivity Market by 2012

Despite the overall turmoil in the global economy, the Yankee Group predicts that consumer demand for broadband connectivity experiences will drive a $1 trillion market worldwide in the next five years. Specifically, Yankee Group analysts believe the emergence of the Anywhere Consumer -- a consumer who's able to connect to personalized, interactive content, communities and commerce at any time from anywhere -- will be among the most significant global trends in the next decade. Yankee Group data reveals:

• The 3.9 billion network connections worldwide generated almost $800 billion in revenue in 2008 for network operators.



• Connections will grow another 21 percent to nearly $1 trillion dollars by 2012.



• Globally, consumers will add broadband lines, both wired and wireless, at a compound annual growth rate of 23 percent. In China, the growth will be almost double, at 40 percent, while the U.S. mirrors the global rate at 23 percent. Broadband connections will grow to become nearly 2 billion of the 4.9 billion total consumer lines in 2012.

http://www.yankeegroup.com

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Barracuda Acquires Yosemite Technologies for Backup Software

Barracuda Networks, which supplies email and Web security appliances, has acquired Yosemite Technologies, a provider of data backup and disaster recovery solutions. Barracuda has incorporated the Yosemite Backup technology in its Barracuda Backup Service providing complete Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SQL, and Microsoft Windows state backup at no additional charge.


In addition to the immediate availability of Barracuda Backup Service with Yosemite Backup, Barracuda Networks has also acquired the full Yosemite Technologies product portfolio, including Yosemite Backup and Yosemite FileKeeper. Barracuda Networks will continue to sell and support the Yosemite products as part of its new BarracudaWare software group.
http://www.barracudanetworks.com

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France's RTE Deploys ECI Telecom's Broadgate Platform

RTE, the electrical transport utility in France, has selected ECI Telecom for a multi-million dollar project to transport mission-critical applications in the carrier's high-voltage power environment.

Specifically, ECI's BroadGate platform will contribute to support the RTE's nationwide utility network, Europe's largest, addressing the carrier's unique requirements for high quality of service and carrier-class capabilities in the provisioning of real-time and mission-critical services throughout the network. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.ecitele.com
http://www.rte-france.com

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BigBand Delivers 1 GHz Capabilities in BEQ6000 Edge QAM

BigBand Network introduced new capabilities for its BEQ 6000 Edge QAM platform for deep digital transport services delivery. The enhanced edge QAM supports the delivery of switched video (SDV), video on demand (VOD), and broadcast services and can be rapidly deployed in virtually any network frequency range.


The enhanced BEQ6000 RF Module covers the entire RF frequency range from 54 MHz to 1GHz, enabling service providers to quickly leverage their extended RF spectrum for SDV, VOD, and broadcast services. To ensure maximum flexibility, the enhanced RF module can be used in existing BEQ6000 chassis in parallel to other BigBand RF modules, thereby reducing capital expense when upgrading to 1 GHz.
http://www.bigbandnet.com

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PMC-Sierra Supplies 6Gb/s SAS RAID-on-Chip for HP Smart Array

PMC-Sierra is supplying its PM8011 SRC 8x6G 6Gb/s SAS RAID-on-Chip (RoC) for the new high-performance Smart Array RAID controller cards from HP. The PMC-Sierra's SRC RoC enables the next-generation 6Gb/s SAS RAID platform to more than double the performance of existing RAID solutions. The device's RoCstar architecture efficiently interconnects all device subsystems, eliminating internal bottlenecks and resource contentions.


PMC-Sierra said data center demands for higher computing power, networking bandwidth and support for virtualization applications are driving system requirements for improved host bus interface, input-output, and RAID performance.
http://www.pmc-sierra.com

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EMBARQ Selects Alcatel-Lucent for Multivendor Network Maintenance

EMBARQ has selected Alcatel-Lucent as the single point of contact for network maintenance, including Remote Technical Support (RTS) for most of EMBARQ's equipment across the company's 18-state serving area. Total implementation of the service should be completed in the first quarter of this year. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Alcatel-Lucent's Multivendor Maintenance solution provides streamlined operations associated with managing different network platforms and service levels, enabling EMBARQ to use its own resources more efficiently and reduce operating expenses.


"As we migrate toward newer technologies such as all-IP networks and voice-data integrated infrastructures, our support services also must evolve," said Jim Hansen, senior vice president of Network Services for EMBARQ. "Our goal is to be innovative in everything we do, and Alcatel-Lucent helps us achieve this by providing a comprehensive maintenance services portfolio, global delivery capability, and strong multivendor technical skills we need to help us deliver enhanced services more reliably to our customers."http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/http://www.embarq.com

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Aricent Develops User Interface for Sprint

Aricent's global innovation arm frog design, along with its communications applications and mobile device practice, partnered closely with Sprint to integrate strategic planning, front-end design, software development and engineering into one concurrent end-to-end process that brought One Click to market in less than 10 months.


The Brew-based interface provides a consistent user experience across a range of Sprint's consumer mobile phones.


The customizable carousel design enables one-touch access to commonly used functions, including text messages, Email, navigation, Web access Google, music, entertainment, etc.


One Click is available initially on the Samsung Rant, Samsung Highnote, LG Lotus and Sanyo Eclipse.
http://www.aricent.com

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CenturyTel and EMBARQ Shareholders Approve Merger

Shareholders of CenturyTel and EMBARQ approved all proposals related to the CenturyTel/EMBARQ merger.


Combined, CenturyTel and EMBARQ will have an operating presence in 33 states, nearly eight million access lines, approximately two million broadband customers and more than 400,000 video subscribers, based on data as of Sept. 30, 2008. The merger, announced Oct. 27, 2008, is expected to close during the second quarter of 2009 after federal and state regulatory approvals are received.


http://www.centurytelembarqmerger.com

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Nokia to Acquire bit-side GmbH for Mobile Map Developers

Nokia

has acquired bit-side GmbH, a privately owned Berlin-based professional services and software company with 39 employees. Nokia said the bit-side team will strengthen and accelerate its mobile development for Nokia Maps.
http://www.nokia.com

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Cisco and Dell to Partner on Data Center Solutions

Cisco and Dell have agreed to collaborate on next-generation data center infrastructure solutions. According to the agreement, Dell will add Cisco's Nexus 5020 switches that support both 10 Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) to its Dell Power Edge server and Dell EqualLogic, PowerVault, and Dell/EMC storage solutions. The Cisco and Dell combined solutions offers a unified networking fabric that consolidates LAN, SAN and server cluster network environments into a single high speed 10 Gigabit Ethernet fabric and supports protocols such as Fibre Channel, FCoE, and Internet Small Computer Storage Interface(iSCSI).


In addition, Dell has qualified the Catalyst 4900 Top-of-Rack Switches (ToR) for its EqualLogic Storage Area Networks (SAN) arrays. The Catalyst 4900 ToR switches are now a supported switching platform for the EqualLogic SAN arrays.
http://www.cisco.com
http://www.dell.com

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Tellabs Posts Q4 Revenue of $408 Million, Down 13%

Tellabs reported Q4 2008 revenue of $408 million, down 13% from $469 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. For the year 2008, Tellabs revenue totaled $1.7 billion, down 10% from $1.9 billion in 2007. On a GAAP basis, Tellabs earned 3 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2008, up from 1 cent per share in the fourth quarter of 2007. GAAP earnings in the fourth quarter of 2008 were $13 million, up 103% from $6 million in the year-ago quarter. Fourth-quarter 2008 earnings were positively impacted by a tax benefit.

"Customers continued to choose Tellabs this quarter. BT placed orders for the Tellabs 8600 system, marking our 96th customer for this product. A new cable TV multiple system operator (MSO) customer selected Tellabs 7100 system for optical networking," said Rob Pullen, Tellabs president and chief executive officer. "In these tough times, Tellabs is focused on improving profitability -- both for our customers and for our company -- and investing for the future to emerge stronger after the downturn. We help customers succeed by enabling new service revenue, reducing capital expenses and cutting operating expenses."


Broadband -- Fourth-quarter 2008 revenue from the broadband segment totaled $227 million, down 17% from $274 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. Full-year 2008 revenue from the broadband segment was $920 million, down 10% from $1,018 million in 2007. Within the broadband segment, for the fourth quarter of 2008:

• Data revenue was $60 million, up 49% from $40 million in the year-ago quarter.


• Access revenue was $98 million, down 36% from $154 million in the year-ago quarter.


• Managed access revenue was $69 million, down 14% from $80 million in the year-ago quarter.

Transport -- Fourth-quarter 2008 revenue from the transport segment totaled $124 million, down 9% from $136 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. Full-year 2008 revenue from the transport segment was $580 million, down 14% from $673 million in 2007.


Services -- Fourth-quarter 2008 services revenue was $57 million, down 3% from $59 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. Full-year 2008 revenue from the services segment was $229 million, up 3% from $222 million in 2007.
http://www.tellabs.com

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Cisco Debuts EnergyWise for Catalyst Switches

Cisco unveiled its EnergyWise technology for enabling Cisco Catalyst switches to play a key role in measuring, reporting and reducing electricity consumption across an entire organization, including IP-enabled devices such as phones, laptops and access points along with entire building systems such as lights, elevators, and air conditioning and heating.


Cisco EnergyWise will roll out in three phases to improve IT and building system energy utilization:

• In the first phase (February 2009), Network Control, Cisco EnergyWise will be supported on Catalyst switches and manage the energy consumption of IP devices such as phones, video surveillance cameras and wireless access points. Initially, this includes devices connected by Power-over-Ethernet



• In the next phase (Summer 2009), IT Control, there will be expanded industry support of EnergyWise on devices such as personal computers (PCs), laptops and printers.



• In the final phase (Early 2010), Building Control, Cisco EnergyWise will be extended to the management of building system assets such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), elevators, lights, employee badge access systems, fire alarm systems and security systems.

To enable interoperability and integration between building infrastructure, IT applications and Cisco EnergyWise, Cisco has acquired a middleware platform from Richards-Zeta, a privately-held company based in Santa Barbara, California.


Cisco also introduced adaptive power management functionality in the Cisco Wireless Control System to save power by enabling customers to turn off redundant radios during off hours.


Cisco is working with Schneider Electric for building utility management, SolarWinds for network monitoring, and Verdiem for monitoring PC power in order to extend EnergyWise as a platform for power management across IT and the building systems of an organization by early 2010.


"Cisco believes that information technology has the power to transform the way the world manages its environmental and energy challenges. With EnergyWise, Cisco is uniquely positioned to help our customers gain a network wide view of energy consumption that encompasses not only device-level power, but in the future entire network efficiency, building operations and business practices across an entire organization," said Judy Lin, senior vice president of the Ethernet Switching technology group for Cisco.
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10195/index.html

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Bookham and Avanex to Merge

Bookham and Avanex, both leading suppliers of optical networking components, agreed to merge in an all- stock transaction. Avanex shareholders will receive 5.426 shares of Bookham common stock for every share of Avanex common stock and will own approximately 46.75% of the combined company.


The combined company, which will offer an extensive portfolio of terminal and line products for the metro and long haul markets, will be led by Alain Couder who will serve as President and CEO. The company is expected to have two telecom divisions and one non-telecom division. The board of directors will be composed of Alain Couder and three additional directors from the Bookham board, and Giovanni Barbarossa and two additional directors from the Avanex board.


A new name for the combined company will be announced at closing. Together, the new company will have annualized revenue of about $447 million ($181 million for Avanex and $226 million for Bookham).

"The combination of Bookham and Avanex creates synergies that we expect will significantly improve financial performance faster than either of the two companies could accomplish on a stand-alone basis," said Alain Couder, president and CEO of Bookham. "There is minimal product overlap between our businesses allowing us to quickly expand sales opportunities and improve service to our customers. In addition, both companies have strong technology platforms and the best engineering teams that we expect will allow us to drive innovation and expansion for both existing and new growth areas."

Separately, Bookham reported revenue for its second quarter of fiscal 2009 (ended 27-Dec-09) was $50.2 million, compared with $66.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2009, and $59.0 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2008. Revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 excluded (i) $4.1 million for products that were shipped to Nortel Networks, a major customer, but for which
payment was not received prior to its bankruptcy filing on January 14, 2009, and (ii) $1.3 million for products that were shipped to a contract manufacturer for which payment may not be received as a result of the Nortel Networks bankruptcy filing.
http://www.bookham.com
http://www.avanex.com

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Verizon Posts Strong Results, Q4 Revenue up 3.4%

Defying the general economic trends, Verizon Communications reported growing sales of broadband, wireless and strategic business services in the fourth quarter 2008. Strong customer and revenue growth contributed to 43 cents in diluted earnings per share (EPS) in the quarter, compared with 37 cents per share in the fourth quarter 2007. On an adjusted basis (non-GAAP), fourth-quarter 2008 EPS was 61 cents, compared with 62 cents in the fourth quarter 2007. On an annual basis, Verizon reported $2.26 in 2008 EPS from continuing operations, compared with $1.90 in 2007. On an adjusted annual basis, 2008 EPS from continuing operations was $2.54, a 7.6 percent increase, compared with 2007 EPS of $2.36.


Verizon's total operating revenues grew 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter 2008, increasing to $24.6 billion from $23.8 billion in the fourth quarter 2007. After adjusting for the spinoff of non-strategic local exchange and related Wireline business assets early in 2008 (non-GAAP), this represents an increase of 4.6 percent.


"Verizon has shown that it is able to compete effectively in this economic environment," said Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg. "We grew profits and maintained strong cash flows throughout 2008. In the fourth quarter, we continued to produce top-line growth, fueled by strong sales volumes for broadband, wireless and strategic business services."


Some highlights:

Wireless

• 1.4 million organic (non-acquisition-related) net customer additions, almost all retail; 1.2 million total net customer additions, including a net customer loss under a previously announced exchange agreement related to the 3Q 2008 acquisition of Rural Cellular.



• 72.1 million total customers; 70.0 million retail customers, up 9.9 percent, not including customers added with the Jan. 9, 2009, acquisition of Alltel.



• 12.3 percent increase in total revenues; data revenues up 41.4 percent; ARPU growth for 11th consecutive quarter; strong 47.2 percent EBITDA margin on service revenues (non-GAAP).



• Verizon Wireless continued to have low churn -- 1.35 percent churn among all customers, and 1.05 percent among the company's retail post-paid customers.



• Verizon Wireless continued its double-digit revenue growth, with total quarterly revenues of $12.8 billion, up 12.3 percent year over year. Full-year revenues were $49.3 billion, up 12.4 percent. Service revenues in the fourth quarter were $11.1 billion, up 12.0 percent year over year, and $42.6 billion for the full year, up 12.2 percent.



• Revenue growth was driven by accretion in ARPU (average monthly revenue per customer), which increased year over year for the 11th consecutive quarter. Total service ARPU of $51.72 was up 1.4 percent year over year, reflecting strong growth in total data ARPU, which was up 27.9 percent over the same period.



• Wireless operating income margin reached 29.7 percent, up 350 basis points on a year- over-year basis. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margin on service revenues reached 47.2 percent.

Wireline

• Wireline total operating revenues were $11.9 billion. Verizon Telecom, which serves domestic consumer and small-business customers, and Verizon Business, which serves large-business and government customers worldwide, each had 2.3 percent year-over-year quarterly revenue declines. At Verizon Telecom, this was the smallest decrease in 12 quarters. Wireline total operating expenses were $11.2 billion, a 1.3 percent increase compared with the fourth quarter 2007.
  
  
• Broadband and TV products now account for more than 31 percent of consumer ARPU in legacy markets, compared with 22.7 percent in the fourth quarter 2007. The ARPU among FiOS customers continues to grow and is more than $133 per month.



• Verizon added 303,000 net new FiOS TV customers, compared with 226,000 in the fourth quarter 2007. The company had 1.9 million FiOS TV customers at year-end 2008, adding nearly 1 million FiOS TV customers since year-end 2007.



• FiOS TV sales penetration (sales as a percentage of potential customers) increased to 20.8 percent, compared with 16.0 percent in the fourth quarter 2007. FiOS TV service was available for sale to 9.2 million premises by year-end 2008. This represented a 57 percent increase in the availability of FiOS TV -- and, by extension, of "triple play" bundles of FiOS TV, Internet and voice services -- since year-end 2007.



• Verizon added 282,000 net new FiOS Internet customers, compared with 244,000 in the fourth quarter 2007. The company had nearly 2.5 million FiOS Internet customers at year-end 2008, adding nearly 1 million FiOS Internet customers since year-end 2007.



• FiOS Internet sales penetration increased to 24.9 percent, compared with 20.7 percent in the fourth quarter 2007. FiOS Internet was available for sale to nearly 10 million premises by year-end 2008.



• Broadband and video revenues from consumer customers totaled nearly $1.2 billion in the fourth quarter 2008 -- representing year-over-year quarterly growth of 42.0 percent. Total broadband connections were 8.7 million, a net increase of 214,000 over the third quarter 2008. This includes a decrease of 68,000 DSL-based Verizon High Speed Internet connections, which was more than offset by the increase in FiOS Internet customers. The 8.7 million is an increase of 8.2 percent year over year.



• Growing revenue from broadband and video services drove consumer ARPU in legacy Verizon wireline markets (which excludes consumer markets served by the former MCI) to $68.46 for the fourth quarter 2008, a 14.3 percent increase compared with the fourth quarter 2007.



• Sales of strategic business services -- such as IP, managed services, Ethernet and optical ring services -- generated $1.5 billion in revenue in the quarter, up 8.4 percent from the fourth quarter 2007.



• Verizon Business continued to expand its global network reach and capabilities, announcing the installation of 26 Private IP (PIP) edge switches, including new nodes in Morocco and Pakistan. The company now has edge switches deployed in 59 countries and supports PIP services in more than 120 countries. Additional network enhancements included installation of eight Converged Packet Access nodes and further mesh network expansion in Asia-Pacific and North America, including the deployment of nodes in Singapore, Toronto, Montreal and several U.S. cities. In an additional seven U.S. markets, the company deployed multiplexers that enable remote provisioning and trouble isolation while providing reduced latency.

http://www.verizon.com

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