Friday, February 21, 2014

TE Connectivity Unveils New Active Optics Platform Technology to Drive 100G, 300G and 400G

TE Connectivity (TE) introduced  "Coolbit optical engines" - new, active 25Gmdevices that convert data from electrical signals to optical signals for 100G, 300G and 400Gs.

In 2014, TE will bring to market four active optics products that include Coolbit optical engine platform:

  • 100G QSFP28 active optical cables (AOCs)
  • 100G QSFP28 transceivers
  • 300G Mid board optical modules
  • 400G CDFP AOCs

The QSFP28 modules perform at less than 1.5 Watts per transceiver. representing up to 60 percent more power savings than existing solutions.

Each Coolbit optical engine, developed in TE's fabrication facility in Jarfalla, Sweden, uses 25G VCSEL and PIN devices, a TIA amplifier and a driver IC. From research to distribution, TE controls the entire manufacturing process of the Coolbit optical engines and active optic end products. This integrated approach allows TE to transfer cost savings to the customer, while helping to ensure the quality and reliability of its products.

"TE is a technology engineering company that operates with the agility of a start-up. Creating 100G to 400G high-speed active optics will enable the industry to create breakthrough platforms and products," said Philip Gilchrist, chief technology officer and vice president of TE Data Communications. "TE makes the hard stuff first. Our long trusted legacy in connectivity, coupled with a dedication to developing the next impossible technology, we've driven active optics to new levels of performance in terms of higher speeds at incredibly lower power consumption. We can't wait to see what radical new products our partners will create with our Coolbit engine-based products."

http://www.te.com/coolbitgo

Violin Memory Cuts Jobs and Restructures its Focus on Flash

Violin Memory implemented a workforce reduction that brings its current employment level to approximately 380 positions, which compares to 483 positions as of October 31, 2013.
The company announced a strategic restructuring plan that includes a global reorganization of its sales, marketing and engineering functions designed to sharpen its focus on core segments of the flash-based storage market, drive greater efficiency and grow revenues by strengthening engagement of indirect channels.

http://www.violin-memory.com

Earlier this month, Violin Memory named Kevin A. DeNuccio as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately, replacing interim CEO Howard A. Bain III.  DeNuccio most recently managed Wild West Capital LLC, an angel investing, management and technology consulting firm he co-founded in 2012. From 2010 to 2012, he served as the chief executive of Metaswitch Networks, and before that he served as President and CEO of Redback Networks, a publicly-traded provider of edge routers that was acquired by Ericsson.

In December, Violin Memory fired CEO Don Basile, three months after the company raised $162 million in an IPO in September.  Since then, the price of shares declined significantly.

Mavenir Posts Stronger Q4

Mavenir Systems reported revenue $27.1 million for Q4 2013, an increase of 62% year-over-year. GAAP operating loss for the fourth quarter of 2013 was $(1.7) million, compared with $(5.6) million in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The company notes fifteen customer wins for next generation products, and four major expansions, including VoLTE and RCS, in 2013.

"Mavenir delivered a strong year with solid financial results, setting new quarterly and annual revenue records attributed in part, to the adoption of 4G LTE becoming more broad-based in 2013," said Pardeep Kohli, president and chief executive officer, Mavenir Systems. “We are well positioned to capitalize on 4G LTE adoption and virtualization, two trends which will be key growth drivers for our business in 2014."


Alcatel-Lucent Leverages Red Hat for CloudBand NFV

Alcatel-Lucent is using the Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM), as the common platform for its CloudBand Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) solution.

Specifically, Alcatel-Lucent chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform for use in managing CloudBand Nodes, the turn-key, all-in-one compute, storage and network node system that interfaces with the CloudBand Management System, along with any other OpenStack-enabled nodes.

Additionally, Red Hat was selected for its ability to enable faster, open innovation through contribution in new upstream OpenStack projects. This collaboration is a product of Alcatel-Lucent’s successful CloudBand Ecosystem Program and Red Hat’s ISV Partner Program in which Alcatel-Lucent holds Premier status.

The Alcatel-Lucent CloudBand node also leverages the previously announced partnership between Red Hat and Alcatel-Lucent’s software-defined networking (SDN) venture, Nuage Networks, to provide a single automatically deployable stack that includes Nuage SDN, Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform, virtual storage and management tools.

http://www.alcatel-lucent.com
http://www.redhat.com

Vitesse Unveils Energy Efficient Gigabit Ethernet PHYs

Vitesse Semiconductor introduced the latest generation of its SimpliPHY Gigabit Ethernet (GE) PHYs based on its Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) EcoEthernet 2.0 technology, which offer IEEE 802.3az idle power savings up to 85 percent compared to 1000BASE-T full data rate.

The new physical layer transceivers are designed for a variety of low-power, small-form factor IoT devices, such as digital signage and IP cameras.

“Vitesse is already experiencing strong demand for network infrastructure equipment designs that will support IoT traffic,” said David Grant, senior product marketing manager at Vitesse. “With the VSC8501, VSC8502 and VSC8514, we broaden our market reach into industrial IoT applications using low-power, small-form factor end-point devices connected via Gigabit Ethernet.”

Key features:

• The VSC8502 is the industry’s smallest form factor dual 10/100/1000BASE-T GE PHY with a GMII interface, while the VSC8514 employs the smallest form factor package used in the industry for a quad GE PHY. The small packaging enables a reduction in design form factor, reducing system BOM costs, and delivers  industrial temperature support from -40 ˚C to 125 ˚C;
• The VSC8501 and VSC8502 are pin-compatible, allowing system flexibility within the same footprint. They also are Vitesse’s first to feature Wake-on-LAN (WoL) support, allowing remote wakeup of target host systems from a power-savings
sleep state;
• The GE PHYs incorporate Vitesse's EcoEthernet 2.0,
• Synchronous Ethernet support: All the devices feature recovered clock output to support timing synchronization in accordance with ITU-T Recommendation G.8261/Y.1361; and
• Robust features meeting SONET-grade requirements: Fast link failover and ring resiliency features enable OEMs to design to meet carrier grade resiliency.