Next Steps for Big Switch and SDN

Doug Murray, Big Switch's new CEO, explains why he joined the company, its strategic direction, the importance of partnerships, the current status of SDN in the market, the open networking initative, and the balance of hardware vs. software for the industry going forward. ...

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What's new on the agenda for this year's Open Networking Summit?

Guru Parulkar, Chair of the Open Networking Summit, previews some of the highlights of this year's ONS agenda. Date: March 3-5, 2014 Venue: Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, California Keynotes include: Vinod Khosla (Khosla Ventures, John Donovan (AT&T), Albert Greenberg (Microsoft), Amin Vahdat (Google) and others. Got a story to tell at ONS 2014?  Let me know... jc@convergedigest.com ...

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Metaswitch Unveils Cloud-based, "Clearwater" IMS Core

Metaswitch Networks introduced Clearwater Core, a software subscription service capable of delivering voice, video and messaging services to millions of users. The company said its Clearwater Core provides a foundation for complete wireline and wireless IP communications while effectively removing the typical cost barriers to deploying IMS-centric Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and Rich Communications Services (RCS). This enables network operators to...

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Windows Azure Media Services Provides NBC Streaming for 2014 Sochi Winter Games

Microsoft's Windows Azure Media Services is being used to publish and stream all 98 events of the 2014 Sochi Winter Games for NBC Olympics in the United States. The project is expected to include over 50 live high-definition streams  and over 1,000 hours of on-demand streaming coverage for millions of viewers with different devices and operating systems. Viewers will be able to access live and on-demand content via the NBC Sports Live Extra...

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Google Chromebox Offers Hangouts Video Conferencing

Google is launching a cloud-based service for business that combines Google+ Hangouts and Google Apps in an easy-to-manage, $999 pre-packaged hardware solution. "Chromebox for meetings" runs on an Intel Core i7-based box from Asus that is powered by Chrome OS.  The kit includes a 1080p video camera and an omnidirectional conference table microphone with built-in DSP for speech clarity.  A Google account is used to log-in to online meetings....

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NSN's Predictive Operations Forecasts Network Problems

Nokia Solutions and Networks is introducing a managed service for predicting mobile broadband service degradations up to two days in advance. NSN's Predictive Operations service uses a self-learning analysis engine proven in other industry sectors and further developed and customized by NSN for a telecom operations environment. The engine evaluates a vast range of data that can include service quality, customer experience and other key performance...

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Ericsson Acquires Azuki Systems for OTT Adaptive Bit Rate Streaming

Ericsson agreed to acquire Azuki Systems, a provider of TV Anywhere delivery platforms for service providers, content owners and broadcasters, for an undisclosed sum. Azuki, which is based in Acton, Ma., developed a TV Anywhere platform that combines the power of over-the-top video with personalization, content protection, scalability and reliability features. It also enables multiple monetization options, beyond portals and authentication services....

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Alcatel-Lucent Reports Operational Improvements, Sale of Enterprise Division

Alcatel-Lucent reported Q4 2013 revenues of Euro 3,930 million, flat year-on-year at constant exchange rate, along with a significant improvement in operating profitability and segment operating cash flow in Q4 and for 2013 as a whole.  The company cited a drop in its fixed costs, renegotiated managed services contracts and portfolio rationalization as contributing factors to the improved performance. Revenues for the Core Networking and...

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Interoute Opens Madrid Data Center

Interoute opened a state-of-the-art data center in Madrid, Spain that is tied into its pan-European network, adding a new physical location to Interoute’s unified ICT platform. Interoute is promoting the ability for customers to build or buy as-a-service data center architectures – be they physical, virtual or hybrid. These can be distributed and connected across countries via fiber. The new facility in Madrid is integrated with Interoute’s other...

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Huawei Signs ASI for North America Channel Distribution

Huawei announced a major distribution agreement with ASI, a leading distributor of IT products and services in North America. ASI will work through its resellers to bring Huawei Enterprise’s extensive portfolio of IP network infrastructure, unified communications and collaboration, and storage solutions to enterprise and SMB customers throughout the United States. The deal covers Huawei Enterprise’s portfolio, including networking, server, storage,...

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Citrix and Palo Alto Networks Team on Multi-tenant Network Security

Palo Alto Networks' VM-Series next-gen virtualized firewall and threat prevention offering is now available on the Citrix NetScaler SDX service delivery networking platform. The Citrix NetScaler SDX ADC cloud service platform is a multi-tenant appliance providing application availability, application acceleration and application security needed in the mobile and cloud world. Palo Alto Networks VM-Series runs the same PAN-OSTM software as Palo Alto...

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