Sunday, March 7, 2010

Tilera Raises $25 Million for Multicore Processors

Tilera, a start-up based in San Jose, California, closed a $25 million series-C round of investment financing for its multicore silicon. The round was oversubscribed and included funds from three new strategic investors: Broadcom, Quanta Computer and NTT Financing Corp. This brings the total venture capital investment in Tilera to $64 million.


Tilera's processors are based on its "iMesh" architecture that scales to hundreds of RISC-based cores on a single chip. Tilera has two product families, the TILE and TILEPro, currently shipping to customers in networking, wireless infrastructure, communications and cloud computing markets. In October 2009 Tilera announced its TILE-Gx family, which includes the world's first 100-core processor. This line will begin sampling later this year.


Tilera also announced the appointment of Nariman Yousefi, Senior Vice President of Infrastructure Technologies at Broadcom, to the Tilera Board of Directors.
http://www.tilera.com
  • Tilera was founded in 2004 to bring to market the MIT research of Dr. Anant Agarwal who first created the mesh-based multicore architecture in 1996. The "Raw" project received multi-million dollar DARPA and National Science Foundation grants and spawned the development of the first tiled multicore processor prototype and associated multicore software in 2002.


  • In 2007, Tilera launched its first "TILE64" processor containing 64 full-featured, programmable cores, each capable of running Linux. The on-chip architecture is designed to scale to hundreds and even thousands of cores. Tilera claims 10X the performance and 30X the performance-per-watt of the Intel dual-core Xeon, and 40X the performance of the leading Texas Instruments DSP. At the time, the company said its initial target markets for the TILE64 processor included the embedded networking and digital multimedia markets. This could include switches and security appliances with the performance of up to 20 Gbps for L4-L7 services.

GlobeNet Upgrades Undersea Cable to Brazil

GlobeNet, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oi (formerly Brasil Telecom),
completed the upgrade of the 22,000 kilometer submarine cable system linking the United States with Latin America. In addition to the submarine sections, Alcatel-Lucent upgraded the landing points in Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza (Brazil), Maiquet�a (Venezuela), St.David's (Bermuda), Boca Raton and Tuckerton, Fla. In Rio de Janeiro, the submarine network integrates with the terrestrial optical infrastructure of GlobeNet's parent company, Oi. Alcatel-Lucent also managed the installation, deployment and commissioning of the system.

This project, the second upgrade in approximately 18 months, enables GlobeNet to deliver more than 110 Gbps of capacity, enabling GlobeNet to expand its wholesale service offering to include broadband, carrier Ethernet, fixed and mobile IP-based and traditional voice services as well as applications such as hosting, video conferencing and international private line services.
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com
http://www.globenet.net

Navajo Tribal Utility Plans LTE Trial

The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) is planning an LTE trial using 700 MHz spectrum to bring broadband services to population centers throughout the 27,000 square miles of the Navajo nation.


NTUA is pursuing funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for a $46M grant that includes a 530 mile of fiber optic deployment and a 57-site LTE deployment.


NTUA has selected ZTE to supply LTE equipment and DragonWave to supply wireless backhaul systems.


To support NTUA's application, DragonWave is installing a commercial pilot network near Fort Defiance, Arizona, in which the Horizon Quantum is backhauling 700 MHZ LTE base stations.
http://www.dragonwaveinc.com
http://www.ntua.com

KDDI Selects ADVA FSP 3000 Optical Platform

Japan's KDDI has deployed the ADVA Optical Networking's FSP 3000 Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) platform for delivery of its high-availability enterprise "Managed WDM Service". KDDI's "Managed WDM Service", which is being offered in the Kanto area in Japan, provides 1- and 10 Gbps Ethernet and 1- and 2 Gbps Fibre Channel interfaces. Several enterprises have already selected this service, and the services have been deployed and implemented.
http://www.advaoptical.com

Verizon Completes 100G Field Trial with Juniper, NEC, Finisar

Verizon completed a field trial of 100 Gbps optical transmission technology in partnership with Juniper Networks, NEC and Finisar.


The test, which occurred on February 25, transmitted data over a 1,520-kilometer optically amplified section of the Verizon network in the north Dallas area. The trial demonstrated end-to-end traffic flow, including live video traffic, through a 100G interface on the Juniper T1600 Core Router to the NEC SpectralWave DWDM system, which was equipped with 100G real-time coherent transponders. The connection between the router and the DWDM system was achieved through an IEEE standard-compliant 100GBASE-LR4 client interface, using 100G CFP optical transceiver modules from Finisar Corp.


Verizon said the multivendor demonstration validates the maturity of the standard supporting 100G transfer rates, which is scheduled to be ratified by the IEEE and ITU-T in June.


"With IP traffic on the Verizon network growing year over year, 100G is critical to continuing to satisfy customers' demands, which drive the capacity requirements of our core network," said Mark Wegleitner, senior vice president of technology at Verizon. "Verizon has already deployed 100G on a segment of our European network, and trials such as this allow us to refine relevant technologies and push 100G closer to widespread deployment."http://www.verizon.com

Tokyo Stock Exchange's arrownet Deploys Juniper

The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has deployed low-latency, ultra-reliable, high-capacity network powered by Juniper Networks' M Series Multiservice Edge Routers and Junos operating system. Project "arrownet" is TSE's next-generation securities trading system, paving its way to becoming a Universal Exchange for securities, options and derivatives trading. Financial terms were not disclosed.


TSE selected Juniper Networks M320 and M120 Multiservice Edge Routers to form the core and access layers of the new network. The arrownet MPLS network is designed for fast, high-volume data communications with latency of less than two milliseconds (measured value is less than one millisecond) from the access point to the data center. The network is configured as a ring using Juniper Networks M Series routers placed with dual redundancy, making arrownet infrastructure highly fault tolerant. The configuration also allows for fail-over from TSE's primary data center to its backup center without intervention on the part of the securities firms, reducing their burden.
http://www.juniper.nethttp://

IEEE Marks 30th Anniversary of 802 Standards Committee

The IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee (LMSC) is celebrating its 30th anniversary as an active standards development organization. The IEEE 802 LMSC was created in March of 1980 to bring together forward thinking technology leaders to develop interoperable network standards for computers and office equipment. The IEEE 802 committee has continued to develop leading innovations for local and metropolitan area networks for copper, fiber optic media, and wireless technologies for local, regional, and personal network applications. The IEEE 802 is celebrating its 30 year history as an advanced technology driver for global wired and wireless computer communication networks, as well as looking forward to its continuing innovations.


"The work done by IEEE 802 represents one of those great evolutionary leaps that we rely upon without recognizing the truly significant and meaningful impact it has on our daily lives," said Patricia Thaler, Vice-Chair, IEEE 802. "For example, it is estimated that greater than 98% of all Internet traffic crosses one or more IEEE 802 networks during its transmission. Without IEEE 802 standards to build upon computer-to-computer connections, simple email, Internet access, World Wide Web, and mobile broadband would not have been possible to the extent we see today. IEEE 802 standards are undeniably an essential foundation of today's networked world."http://standards.ieee.org/announcements/802_anniversary.htmlhttp://

Magor Debuts Single Screen, Single Camera 1080p Video Collaboration

Magor Communications, a start-up based in Ottawa, introduced a single screen, single camera high definition (HD) 1080p video conferencing and collaboration system that forms part its Magor TeleCollaboration HDWorkPlace family.



Magor's system offers advanced data collaboration capabilities in a peer-to-peer 1080p high definition video conferencing experience. Its technology leverages video scaling principles based on segmentation and adaptation to deliver 1080p over best-effort, peer-to-peer IP connections at bit rates as low as 2.2 Mbps. The codec-agnostic system can adapt the video encoding in real time to match changing network loads. Because it is peer-to-peer that is not a single point-of-failure, unlike MCU-based video conferencing architectures. Magor's segmentation process partitions the video into a set of regions or segments based on the characteristics of the video content. It then applies a separate codec to each segment with appropriate encoding for motion and detail. When bandwidth becomes constrained due to congestion, or expands as congestion dissipates, the video stream is dynamically scaled in real time to seamlessly optimize the key areas of the picture.


The new HDSolo incorporates the full functionality of Release 3 of Magor's HDWorkPlace family, including a unique MyView filmstrip capability. Users of HDSolo can customize their screen view, moving and sizing windows for various call participants and collaboration materials in real time. They can also -- without the distraction of PTZ cameras -- pan and zoom in on images as well as non-computer-based materials such as whiteboards, flip charts and physical objects, to best meet their individual preferences and work needs.
http://www.magorcorp.comhttp://

Mindspeed Debuts Optical Chipsets for Linking Base Stations to Radio Heads

Mindspeed Technologies announced a high-performance, low-power physical media device (PMD) chipset that includes all necessary components required for CPRI-based optical transceivers for connecting 3G/4G wireless base station servers to one or more remote radio heads (RRHs) over optical fiber.


Mindspeed said its new PMD chipsets support the latest CPRI V4.1 2009-02-18 specification and are optimized for 4.915 Gbps and 6.144 Gbps operation with lower power consumption compared to the traditional 10 Gbps PMD chipsets. They support data rates from 614.4 Mbps to 6144 Mbps over 20km Single-Mode-Fiber (SMF) and 500m Multi-Mode-Fiber (MMF). The receiver solution includes the M02020 transimpedance amplifier (TIA) combined with the M02049 limiting amplifier, optimized for 4.915 Gbps or the M02129 TIA, combined with the M02142 limiting amplifier for 6.144Gbps. The limiting amplifiers each feature selectable band-width for optimal receiver sensitivity across CPRI rates. On the transmit side, solutions include the M02061 laser driver for long-wave laser diodes and the M02069 driver for short-wave vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs).


Mindspeed has also collaborated with EMCORE'S Fiber Optics Division to develop a family of transmit and receive optical subassembly solutions based on Mindspeed's PMD devices. This family of products will allow base station servers to transmit over longer distances and at significantly higher data rates than can be supported with copper links.
http://www.mindspeed.com
http://www.emcore.com

Ciena to Sell $250 Million in Convertible Senior Notes Due 2015

Ciena intends to sell approximately $250 million in aggregate principal amount of Convertible Senior Notes due 2015 in a private offering to qualified institutional buyers. Ciena intends to use approximately $243.8 million of the net proceeds of this offering to replace its existing contractual obligation to issue $239 million in 6% senior convertible notes due 2017 as part of the aggregate purchase price for its pending acquisition of the optical networking and carrier Ethernet assets of Nortel's Metro Ethernet Networks (MEN) business.
http://www.ciena.com

Savvis Appoints New CEO

SAVVIS has appointed company board chair and interim CEO James E. Ousley to serve as its permanent CEO.
Prior to assuming the role of interim CEO in January 2010, Jim Ousley had served as non-executive chairman of Savvis since May 2006 and as a director since April 2002. In 2001, he was a founder of Vytek Wireless Corporation and was president, CEO and a director until 2004. In addition, Ousley previously served as CEO and president of Syntegra, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group. He also served as president and CEO of Control Data Systems, prior to its acquisition by Syntegra.
http://www.savvis.nethttp://

Verizon Wireless' LTE Trials Show Peak Speeds of 40-50Mbps, Average of 5-12 Mbps

Verizon Wireless' LTE network field trials, which are currently running in Boston and Seattle, indicate the network is capable of peak download speeds of 40 to 50 Mbps and peak upload speeds of 20 to 25 Mbps. These speeds are significantly faster than Verizon Wireless and other wireless providers' current or promised 3G network speeds.


The trials in Boston and Seattle have been running since August 2009. Successful data calls involved streaming video, file uploads and downloads, and Web browsing, as well as calls with VoIP to enable voice transmissions over the LTE network. Verizon Wireless engineers report LTE average data rates of 5-12 Mbps on the downlink and 2-5 Mbps on the uplink in real-world environments and will offer Verizon Wireless customers mobile browsing speeds comparable to customers' current, typical online Internet experience.


"Our LTE rollout plan positions Verizon Wireless to be a global leader in 4G LTE deployment. We are on track to deliver an outstanding wireless data experience to customers in 25 to 30 markets covering roughly 100 million people by year's end, said Tony Melone, senior vice president and chief technical officer at Verizon Wireless."As device makers, manufacturers and others around the world begin to introduce newer and faster products to take advantage of these incredible new speeds, Verizon Wireless will be positioned to offer our customers new and exciting products on the nation's first 4G LTE network."http://www.verizonwireless.com/lte