Monday, December 9, 2013

NTT Develops 10G SDN Software Switch for Carriers

NTT outlined details of a prototype, 10 Gbps high-performance SDN software switch that it developed as part of the "Research and Development of Network Virtualization Technology" program commissioned by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

NTT, which is already using SDN in its data centers for cloud services, said it developed this prototype SDN software switch to handle the large scale flow entries that will be required in wide area networks, such as those of telecommunications carriers and Internet providers.

The prototype switch still transfers large packets at a 10 Gbps wire rate even when 100K entries are in its flow tables and each packet header must be rewritten.  This makes it one of the highest performance SDN software switches to date, according to NTT.

The work was carried out by NTT Network Innovation Laboratories (Yokosuka, Kanagawa) as part of reseach for SDN software nodes in the "O3 Project".

The switch features a "Flexible parallel Flow processing Framework."

http://www.ntt.co.jp/news2013/1312e/131209a.html



Earlier this year, leading Japanese companies, including Fujitsu, Hitachi, NEC, NTT Communications and NTT, launched the "Open Innovation over Network Platforms" research and development (R&D) project, also known as the "O3 Project".

The project, which is supported by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, aims to develop network virtualization technology that enables multiple telecommunications carriers and service providers who share network resources to design and construct networks and manage their operations freely to suit their needs.

Specifically, a common SDN layer will be developed to integrate a multilayer infrastructure consisting of optical, wireless and packet communications platforms. Compared to existing SDN architectures, the O3 Project targets a common, multi-carrier framework that would enable any Service Providers to share resources.

In September 2013, NTT Com's Nationwide SDN for Uncompressed HDTV received the Innovation Award in Content Delivery at IBC 2013.  The service provides stable transmission of uncompressed high-definition video images between the 128 members of the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association via a large-capacity and highly reliable network.

NTT Com said the value of SDN in this application is that it enables simplified functionality for broadcasters, such as adjusting the bandwidth requirements of each station according to their program schedule. By centrally managing the network, the technology flexibly and efficiently manages traffic to ensure the flawless and timely transmission of vast amounts of data between stations.


In June 2013, NTT showcased its Versatile Openflow vaLidaTor (VOLT) resource control system for software defined networking (SDN) at Interop Tokyo 2013.

NTT said VOLT, which was developed in partnership with Fujitsu, is able to duplicate the entire route information and configuration of OpenFlow.  This can be used to test a new network under the same conditions as the real environment.

The system consists of an MPLS edge router and controller.


Blueprint Tutorial: SDN and NFV for Optimizing Carrier Networks




This article provides some examples of how SDN and NFV can be applied to various segments of a carrier network, and how the functions of a traditional carrier network can be offloaded to a virtualized datacenter to improve end-to-end performance.


Internet Companies Call for Reform of Government Surveillance

Seven leading Internet companies issued a joint call to reform current laws and practices covering online surveillance by government agencies and law enforcement in the United States.

In an open letter to President Obama and members of Congress, the companies urge the U.S. to take the lead and "make reforms that ensure that government surveillance efforts are clearly restricted by law, proportionate to the risks, transparent and subject to independent oversight."  

The companies said they believe this reform should be based on five principles:

  1. Limiting governments' authority to collect users' information
  2. Oversight and accountability
  3. Transparency about government demands
  4. Respecting the free flow of information
  5. Avoiding conflicts among governments.

Signatories are Aol, Apple, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo!.

http://reformgovernmentsurveillance.com/

Verizon to Acquire Edgecast for its Global CDN

Verizon agreed to acquire EdgeCast, a content delivery network company based in Santa Monica, California. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Edgecast operates a series of CDN "SuperPOPS" in over 30 locations around the world.  Unlike earlier CDNs, which placed a small number of servers in thousands of locations, Edgecast focused on a smaller number of strategic global locations near primary Internet Exchange Points. These caching servers are located in data centers where major backbone providers operates Internet exchanges.

EdgeCast claims more than 6,000 accounts, including some of the world’s leading Web brands for global media delivery and acceleration services.

Verizon Digital Media Services plans to integrate EdgeCast capabilities in its own network.

“The combination of EdgeCast and Verizon Digital Media Services will allow us to fully exploit and accelerate growth in Internet media consumption and online business performance,” said Bob Toohey, president of Verizon Digital Media Services. “EdgeCast’s industry-leading technology and strategically placed assets, combined with Verizon Digital Media Services’ video solutions, improves our ability to deliver the rich, reliable and quality digital media services that our customers have come to expect.”

Earlier this year, Verizon Digital Media Services announced the acquisition of upLynk assets, with their exclusive technology that streamlines the process of uploading and encoding of video for live, linear and video-on-demand content.

http://www.verizondigitalmedia.com
http://newscenter.verizon.com
http://www.edgecast.com/

  • In July 2013, EdgeCast Networks announced $54 million in new financing for its content delivery network.
    At the time, the company said it has added more than 2,000 accounts in the past year and now has more than 6,000 accounts, including such well-know brands as Twitter, Pinterest, Sony, and Hulu. Its network includes more than 30 POPs in the major data centers where primary carriers exchange traffic.

    "Millions of people use EdgeCast every day – when they use Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Hulu, or any other of the thousands of sites we accelerate worldwide. We deliver more than 4 trillion digital items a month to almost every Internet user in the world,” said Alex Kazerani, EdgeCast Chairman and CEO. “We are proud that our investment partners recognize our incredible performance and share our enthusiasm about our continued growth."

    The Series D funding round was led by Performance Equity Management (PEM), with follow-on participation from the company’s existing investors Menlo Ventures and Steamboat Ventures. The equity portion of the financing was augmented with a debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank.

Infonetics: Data Center and Enterprise SDN will Top $3 billion by 2017

"SDN is going through a classic market adoption cycle, with many new entrants looking to gain a toe-hold, and the majority of enterprises still kicking the tires," according to a new Data Center and Enterprise SDN Hardware and Software report from Infonetics.

“The important question that everyone wants answered is, ‘What’s the real market for SDN?’,” says Cliff Grossner, Ph.D., directing analyst for data center and cloud at Infonetics Research. “It’s still early days, but our research over the last two years confirms that SDN controllers and Ethernet switches in-use for SDN will play a role in enterprise and data center networks, growing to a $3.1 billion market by 2017.”

The report tracks and forecasts SDN controllers and Ethernet switches in-use for SDN — the ‘real’ market for SDN — separately from SDN-capable Ethernet switches. Some highlights:

  • Vendors shipping SDN products in 2013 include Alcatel-Lucent, Big Switch, Brocade, Cisco, Cumulus, Dell, Extreme, HP, Huawei, IBM, Juniper, Midokura, NEC, Pica8, Plexxi, Plumgrid, VMware and others
  • The few early deployments for SDN—Google, NTT, AT&T, Verizon, DT, BT, and China Mobile—are in large data centers of cloud service providers and large enterprises
  • 10% of Ethernet switches will be in-use for SDN by 2017
  • North America is where SDN got its start, and the region will claim nearly 50% SDN revenue market share through 2017.

http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2013/Data-Center-and-SDN-Market-Highlights.asp



Qualcomm's Low-Cost Snapdragon 410 Integrates 4G LTE World Mode

Qualcomm introduced Snapdragon 410 chipset featuring integrated 4G LTE World Mode.

The new Snapdragon 410 chipsets are manufactured using 28nm process technology. They feature processors that are 64-bit capable along with graphics driven by an Adreno 306 GPU, 1080p video playback and up to a 13 Megapixel camera.

Snapdragon 410 chipsets integrate 4G LTE and 3G cellular connectivity for all major modes and frequency bands across the globe and include support for Dual and Triple SIM. Together with Qualcomm RF360 Front End Solution, Snapdragon 410 chipsets will have multiband and multimode support. Snapdragon 410 chipsets also feature Qualcomm's Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM and NFC functionality, and support all major navigation constellations: GPS, GLONASS, and China's new BeiDou, which helps deliver enhanced accuracy and speed of Location data to Snapdragon-enabled handsets.

The chipset also supports all major operating systems, including the Android, Windows Phone and Firefox operating systems.

Qualcomm Technologies also announced for the first time the intention to make 4G LTE available across all of the Snapdragon product tiers. The Snapdragon 410 processor gives the 400 product tier several 4G LTE options for high-volume mobile devices, as the third LTE-enabled solution in the product tier.

"We are excited to bring 4G LTE to highly affordable smartphones at a sub $150 ( ~ 1,000 RMB) price point with the introduction of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor," said Jeff Lorbeck, senior vice president and chief operating officer, Qualcomm Technologies, China. "The Snapdragon 410 chipset will also be the first of many 64-bit capable processors as Qualcomm Technologies helps lead the transition of the mobile ecosystem to 64-bit processing."

http://www.qualcomm.com/media/releases/2013/12/09/qualcomm-technologies-introduces-snapdragon-410-chipset-integrated-4g-lte

DragonWave Teams with Saab for National Security Network in Sweden

DragonWave is working with Saab on the expansion and enhancement of national security communication networks in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland. As a first step, the two companies will deploy up to 1500 DragonWave Harmony Radio links and a supportive number of Hub 800 adaptable, multi-service nodal switches to build an extensive, mission critical network covering all of Sweden, including remote locations.

DragonWave’s Harmony Radio offers the industry’s only software-selectable evolution from hybrid to all-IP packet networks, enabling a simple migration path from TDM to all-IP backhaul with true “zero-touch” on the existing hardware. The Harmony Hub 800 is a compact indoor unit that provides maximum flexibility for 2G, 3G and LTE traffic aggregation, incorporating 16 Gbps switching capacity and support for up to 12 radio directions in a single unit.

“Our agreement with Saab is based on a shared vision about how best to serve mission critical communication needs in this all-important vertical market in order to build national security networks that can support the next generation of applications and services,” said Peter Allen, DragonWave President and CEO.

http://www.dragonwaveinc.com/

CoreSite Opens Huge Data Center in New Jersey

CoreSite Realty Corp. opened a 280,000 square-foot (26,000m2) data center in Secaucus, New Jersey.

The new facility, which is termed "NY2", is connected to CoreSite's NY1 facility located at a network dense point of interconnection in Manhattan. NY2 offers 21 MW of UPS electrical capacity with up to 2N UPS and N+1 generators.

Some of the network and fiber providers committed to deploy in CoreSite's NY2 facility include:

  • Cogent Communications
  • Comcast Business
  • Cross River Fiber, a New Jersey-based dark fiber optic and telecommunications solutions provider 
  • Hudson Fiber Network (HFN)
  • Lightower, the premier, all-fiber provider of custom, high-capacity network services that ensure optimal application and business performance.
  • Seaborn Networks, an independent developer and operator of submarine fiber optic cable systems.
  • Sunesys, a telecommunications company that provides dedicated dark fiber and e-rate wide area networks to healthcare companies.
  • tw telecom
  • United Fiber and Data
  • Zayo Group


http://www.coresite.com/secaucus-data-center.php

Interxion Plans 7th Data Center in Amsterdam

Interxion announced plans to build a seventh data center in Amsterdam.

AMS 7 will be built in six phases, with the first four phases providing approximately 4,600m2 square meters (49,000 square feet) of equipped space and approximately 8.2 MW of customer available power.

David Ruberg, Interxion’s Chief Executive Officer said: “The continued demand for carrier-neutral data centre space that Interxion is experiencing in Amsterdam is largely driven by cloud service providers looking to serve the developing European cloud market by utilising the international connectivity present in the Amsterdam area. AMS7 is being built in response to clearly defined specific customer demand that has resulted from our focus on acquiring magnetic applications and then working to develop the communities of interest around them.”

http://www.interxion.com/