01/30/12 ~ Converge! Network Digest

Monday, January 30, 2012

Riverbed Deepens its Cascade Network Performance Monitoring

Monday, January 30, 2012 Packet Systems

Riverbed Technology has enhanced its Cascade application-aware network performance management (NPM) solution by extending its performance monitoring and troubleshooting capabilities deeper into the data center. The goal is to provide visibility into virtualized data centers and data centers that use load balancing application delivery controllers (ADCs).

The new release, Cascade 9.5,features a wizard-based "Profiler" for mapping service monitoring across ADCs. A Virtual Cascade Shark provides continuous packet capture and performance analysis in virtual environments.

Cascade has added new multi-segment analysis capabilities that simplify the task of correlating and analyzing related traffic streams captured from multiple locations or sources to quickly identify where on the network performance issues are occurring.

In addition, Cascade 9.5 automates the discovery and monitoring of load balanced applications. By integrating with ADCs—F5 Local Traffic Manager, Riverbed Stingray Traffic Manager, and others—Cascade bridges the visibility gap between the client-side and server-side connections of load balancers, providing IT operations with a view of application performance.
http://www.riverbed.com

RadiSys Posts Q4 Revenue of $79.5 million

Monday, January 30, 2012 Service Providers

RadiSys reported Q4 2011 revenue of $79.5 million and non-GAAP revenue of $80.2 million, up $13.3 million or 20% on a non-GAAP basis when compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. Fourth quarter GAAP net loss was $6.7 million or $0.25 per share and non-GAAP net income was $1.4 million or $0.05 per diluted share.

“Our fourth quarter revenue came in as we expected, and we exceeded our non-GAAP gross margin and EPS expectations with a higher mix of media server revenue. Our growing Next Generation Communications revenue is now on an annualized run-rate of over $200 million going into 2012 and represents nearly two thirds of total revenue. We also have significantly improved our customer diversification and our top customer comprised only 19% of total revenue in the fourth quarter. We had another fantastic design win quarter totaling approximately $95 million of expected revenue over the next five years, bringing our second half total to almost $200 million," stated Mike Dagenais, Radisys’ Chief Executive Officer.
http://www.radisys.com

OIF Focuses on Next Generation Interconnects

Monday, January 30, 2012 Optical

The OIF is planning to develop a Next Generation Interconnect Framework Document in 2012 that looks 5-8 years forward and identifies application spaces that may require industry consensus. A workshop, which was held last week in Cupertino, California, was attended and featured presentations by Brocade, Cisco, Ericsson, Finisar, Hewlett Packard, Infinera, Luxtera, Molex, TE Connectivity, Tellabs and Xilinx.

Members of the Physical and Link Layer Working Group proposed a 28G Medium Reach (MR) Common Electrical Interface (CEI) project to support chip-to-chip interfaces. It will build on the previous 28G CEI projects, including short reach and very short reach distances, all of which enable 100G applications. A low power medium reach chip-to-chip interface is needed to enable high density and lower power line-card designs. This project will facilitate increased channel density in carrier equipment and will specify operation of 1 to n lanes of data operating at up to 28Gbps over 0 to 500mm using one connector.

A second new project titled Generation 2.0 100G long-haul DWDM Transmission Module MSA was also started in the PLL Working Group. This project will be based on technical feasibility of smaller module size with reduced power consumption for the next generation 100G MSA. Shrinking the size of the current generation 1.0 100G MSA module and lowering the power dissipation will open the possibility of having multiple modules or cards in a system rack slot, leading to higher overall capacity of the system at a lower overall cost and will enable new applications.
http://www.oiforum.com

Cyan Shortens Name

Monday, January 30, 2012 Service Providers

Cyan, which develops multi-layer, packet-optical transport platforms, has changed its legal name to “Cyan�? from “Cyan Optics.�?

“This name change reflects Cyan’s ongoing focus on delivering a family of innovative packet-optical transport solutions with a broadening range of software and software-as-a-service (SaaS) systems, and comprehensive professional services," said Frank Wiener, Cyan’s vice president of marketing.http://cyaninc.com

Solera Raises $20 Million for Network Analytics Recorder

Monday, January 30, 2012 Start-ups

Solera Networks, a start-up based in Salt Lake City, raised $20 million in Series D financing for its Network Security Analytics.

Solera leverages its patented DeepSee platform to collect, index and classify all network traffic (including cloud and mobile) in real-time, delivering a complete picture of what’s happening for any security event, including advanced persistent threats (APTs). Solera gives CISOs answers to the most important questions, such as: “What, precisely, is going on and where? What has been affected or lost? Does a problem still exist somewhere else within the network?�? Solera tells security professionals

The new funding was led by Intel Capital. Intel Capital and joined by existing investors Allegis Capital, Signal Peak Ventures and Trident Capital.
http://www.soleranetworks.com/

Tellabs Drops 9100 LTE Platform in Restructuring

Monday, January 30, 2012 Packet Systems

Tellabs reported Q4 2011 revenue of $317 million, compared with $410 million in the year-ago quarter. There was a GAAP net loss of $5 million or 1 cent per share, compared with a net loss of $11 million or 3 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2010. On a non-GAAP basis, Tellabs recorded net earnings of $4 million or 1 cent per share in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared with net earnings of $6 million or 2 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. Broadband segment revenue was $166 million, Transport segment revenue was $92 million and Services segment revenue was $59 million.

Tellabs announced a major restructuring which will see it drop development of its SmartCore 9100 LTE platform, although the company will continue to support its SmartCore 9100 WiMAX products. R&D will be consolidated into fewer location and as a result Tellabs will close facilities in Petaluma (California), Vancouver (Canada), Bangalore (India) and Karachi (Pakistan). The move will eliminate about 530 jobs. Tellabs will incur about $107 million in restructuring charges in Q1 2012.

�?In a climate of economic uncertainty, Tellabs needs to align expenses with revenue,�? said Rob Pullen, Tellabs CEO and president. “Unfortunately, our restructuring will affect about 530 people. We will reduce expense and stop new development work on the Tellabs SmartCore 9100 LTE product, while continuing to support Tellabs SmartCore 9100 WiMax customers. “We’ll address customers’ needs through our next-generation portfolio of products and services for the smart mobile Internet, including Tellabs Mobile Backhaul Solution, Tellabs Packet Optical Solution and
professional services such as Tellabs Insight Analytics Services.�?

Revenue for Q1 is expected to be in a range from $260 million to $290 million.

During Q4, Tellabs saw revenue from 11 new customers for its Packet Optical Solution, including its Optical 7100 and 7300 systems. In the fourth quarter, there was revenue from 2 new customers for the Tellabs Mobile Backhaul Solution, including the Tellabs 8600 and 8800 systems. The company continues to shift to new Tellabs 8609 and Ethernet-optimized mobile backhaul platform for LTE networks. Tellabs now reports two 8600 LTE networks running and LTE trials underway with 3 customers.

At the end of Q4, Tellabs had 3,250 employees compared with about 3,300 employees at the end of 3Q.

Revenue outside of North America grew 27% year-over-year to $636 million in 2011. Tellabs' revenue outside of North America was 49% of overall 2011 revenue, the highest percentage ever.
http://www.tellabs.com

The Tellabs Smartcore 9100 series is a mobile packet core platform for WiMAX networks. The platform was originally developed by WiChorus, a start-up based in San Jose that Tellabs acquired in 2009 for $165 million in cash. The system provides subscriber management on a per application, per subscriber, per flow basis at line rate. Its functionality included serving as an ASN gateway and Home agent. Clearwire was an early customer.

In September 2011, Tellabs unveiled a new family of content-aware SmartCore 9200 edge routers featuring a massive 1 terabit per slot capacity for up to 11.2 Tbps per chassis. The new platforms, which build on the Tellabs 8800 MSR series as a carrier-class edge routing platform for IP/MPLS and Ethernet, leverage a "SmartCard" architecture where the service intelligence is placed on each interface card, providing fine grained visibility and DPI-based traffic management on the card, instead of requiring separate Ethernet cards, Mobile Packet Core cards and DPI cards in each chassis.

Tellabs said its goal in developing its next generation edge routers was to enable traffic engineering optimization where application flows can be identified and policies enforced based on the fluctuating loads on the network. A central feature of the platform is the new Tellabs "GeniOS" Operating System, an open system that enables the operator to manage traffic on an application basis. Tellabs "GeniOS" can provide distributed and virtualized capabilities for the Layer 3-7 infrastructure as well as subscriber management and other third-party applications, such as security and malware programs. A single services control layer enables control of IP/Ethernet, Mobile Packet Core, Analytics and PCEF, Video Services and Security.
Tellabs said its new platform uses a combination of merchant silicon and its own programmable logic devices. Telstra is a trial site.

FCC Updates Lifeline Program for Low-Income Americans

Monday, January 30, 2012 Regulatory

The three current commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission voted to approve a comprehensive overhaul of the Lifeline universal service program, which helps tens of millions of low-income Americans afford basic phone service. The current Lifeline program, which was put in place in 1985, predated the rise of mobile phone service and gradually enabled perverse incentives for some carriers to continue an entrenched cost to the government.

The FCC estimates that its reforms will save the government $2 billion over the next three years. Key elements of the reforms include:

Setting a savings target of $200 million for 2012, and putting the Commission in a position to adopt an appropriate budget for the program in early 2013 after review of a six-month report and one-year report on the effects of the Order.

Creation of a National Lifeline Accountability Database to prevent multiple carriers from receiving support for the same subscriber. The database will build on FCC efforts in 2011 that eliminated nearly 270,000 duplicate subscriptions in 12 states following review of over
3.6 million subscriber records, saving $33 million.

Creation of eligibility databases from governmental data sources, enabling fully automated verification of consumers’ initial and ongoing Lifeline eligibility. This would reduce the potential for fraud while cutting red tape for consumers and providers. A database based on
the three most common federal benefit programs through which consumers qualify for Lifeline will be created no later than the end of 2013.

Establishing a one-per-household rule applicable to all providers in the program, defining household as an “economic unit�? so that separate low-income families living at the same address can get connected.

Establishing clear goals and metrics to measure program performance and effectiveness.

Phasing out support for services such as Toll Limitation – subsidies to carriers for blocking or restricting long-distance service—and ending Link Up – subsidies to carriers for initial connection charges. Link Up will continue in Tribal lands.

Reducing burdens on carriers by establishing a uniform, interim flat rate of reimbursement, allowing carriers to obtain a subscriber’s signature electronically, and streamlining enrollment through uniform, nationwide eligibility criteria.

Adopting an express goal for the program of ensuring availability of broadband for all low-income Americans.

Establish a Broadband Adoption Pilot Program using up to $25 million in savings from other reforms to test and determine how Lifeline can best be used to increase broadband adoption among Lifeline-eligible consumers. Starting this year, the program will solicit applications from broadband providers and will select a number of projects to fund. Lifeline will help reduce the monthly cost of broadband service, but applicants will be expected to help address other challenges to broadband adoption, including the cost of devices and digital literacy.

Proposes increasing digital literacy training at libraries and schools.

http://www.fcc.gov

Ericsson Announces 2nd Gen DC/DC Telecom Power Modules

Monday, January 30, 2012 Service Providers

Ericsson unveiled its second digital-power Advanced Bus Converter platform for use with board-mounted DC/DC power modules in telecom and datacom applications.

The new FRIDA II DC/DC power modules are designed for lower power dissipation in end-customer systems – decreasing the requirement for hard cooling and delivering higher reliability, lower CO2 emissions and lower Total Cost Of Ownership (TCO2). The first generation FRIDA modules were introduced in 2008.

Ericsson said the new design leverages a 32-bit ARM7TDMI-S microprocessor core, offers a tightly regulated output voltage (2%) across the entire operation, and includes proprietary firmware to manage complex scenarios and the challenges faced by DC/DC board-mounted power supplies in telecom and datacom applications,http://www.ericsson.com

Ericsson Wins Mobile Backhaul Contracts in Germany, Belgium

Monday, January 30, 2012 Service Providers

Ericsson announced contracts to upgrade the mobile backhaul networks for KPN International subsidiaries E-Plus Group in Germany and KPN Group Belgium. Ericsson will install more than 15,000 MINI-LINK transmission node links in these countries before the end of 2013. Work is already underway. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.ericsson.com