Metaswitch Aims Project Calico's Layer 3 Routing at Cloud Data Centers

Metaswitch Networks announced Project Calico -  an open source solution for virtual networking in hyper-scale, cloud data centers.

Unlike networking alternatives such as VXLAN, GRE and SDN-controlled flows, Project Calico aims to leverage Internet core routing and route discovery techniques, namely the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), to scale data center networks. Calico promises tight integration with cloud operating systems, such as OpenStack, thereby providing the framework for orchestrated IP routing in between virtual machines (VMs) and host machines, along with intra and inter-data center interconnects.

Metaswitch is contributing the initial code base for Project Calico. Technology partners include 6Wind, Canonical and Flynn.

“The largest Internet-based companies in the world are building hyper-scale data centers that are virtualizing at Layer 3, and that approach makes a lot of sense,” says Martin Taylor, Metaswitch’s chief technical officer. “With Project Calico, we’ve made it possible to build cloud connectivity so that it looks a lot like Internet connectivity. Project Calico integrates seamlessly with the cloud orchestration system, such as OpenStack, to enable secure IP communication between virtual machines and, in doing so, it provides an approach to virtual networking that is scalable, efficient and simple.”

“While we focus on data plane acceleration to enable NFV, the scalability of virtual network control plane solutions must also be addressed. Project Calico appears to address this scalability, enabling [virtualized network functions] VNFs to communicate without the complexity and limitations of VLANs or overlay schemes,” says Eric Carmès, founder and CEO of 6WIND. "Our 6WINDGate packet processing software complements Project Calico by accelerating Layer 3 forwarding so as to deliver the highest data plane performance, adding another dimension of scalability to the solution."

http://www.metaswitch.com/news/press-releases/2014/metaswitch-networks-announces-project-calico
http://projectcalico.org

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Open Interconnect Consortium Promises Open Source IoT

A new Open Interconnect Consortium backed by Atmel, Broadcom, Dell, Intel, Samsung and Wind River is promising to deliver a specification, an open source implementation, and a certification program for wirelessly connecting devices. The consortium is seeking to ensure interoperability for the billions of devices that will make up the Internet of Things (IoT).

The OIC specifications and open source implementations will help companies design products that intelligently, reliably and securely manage and exchange information under changing conditions, power and bandwidth, and even without an Internet connection.  The companies said the first OIC open source code will target the specific requirements of smart home and office solutions.

The rise and ultimate success of the Internet of Things depends on the ability for devices and systems to securely and reliably interconnect and share information," said Doug Fisher, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of the Software and Services Group. "This requires common frameworks, based on truly open, industry standards. Our goal in founding this new consortium is to solve the challenge of interoperable connectivity for the Internet of Things without tying the ecosystem to one company's solution."

http://www.openinterconnect.org/

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Ericsson Hits 63 Mbps with 3G HSDPA

Ericsson and Turkcell demonstrated 3-carrier High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (3C-HSDPA) with a top speed of 63 Mbps. The demo was carried out in the 2.1GHz band in a WCDMA commercial network using three 5 MHz carriers for downlink and two 5MHz carriers for uplink, which were all within the 2.1GHz frequency band that is owned by Turkcell. The demo used Enhanced Uplink Multi-carrier (EUL-MC) to achieve an 11.5 Mbps uplink. The trial used core network and radio access network nodes supplied by Ericsson.

The test utilized a feature that will be included in Ericsson's software release 15A and was conducted on a smartphone powered by a Qualcomm processor with its integrated Qualcomm modem.

Turkcell currently operates a Dual-Carrier HSDPA network supporting speeds of up to 43.2 Mbps in downlink and 5.76 Mbps in uplink.

Bulent Elonu, Chief Network Technology Officer, Turkcell, says, "At Turkcell, Turkey's leading telecommunications and technology company, we are following global advancements closely to provide the latest technology to our customers as quickly as possible and to ensure excellent customer experience. We have been following three carrier development plans as the next step from two carrier technology for a long time. In the past, we have offered our customers a number of innovative solutions with Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies. Today, this successful demonstration enabled us to introduce another groundbreaking innovation. Data download using three carrier has been tested for the first time on a network globally. We are proud that Turkcell has successfully hosted the first global testing of this promising future technology."

http://www.ericsson.com
http://www.turkcell.com.tr/

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Vitesse Samples Next Gen Ethernet Switching Silicon for 802.11ac Networks

Vitesse Semiconductor unveiled its next generation SparX-IV Ethernet switching silicon optimized for 802.11ac WLAN enterprise deployments.

The new SparX-IV Ethernet switches are designed for Gigabit Wi-Fi access and aggregation, and are also suited for industrial Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

The new 802.11ac access point deployments enable WLAN connections in the gigabit range.  However, to ensure this performance, uplinks and aggregation switches must be upgraded as well. Vitesse said its new SparX-IV Ethernet switches were designed to answer this need by providing the ability to aggregate from 8 to 24 access ports at 2.5 Gbps. Significantly, the switch design also adds Layer 3 routing and IEEE 1588 timing and synchronization capabilities.

“Wave 2 .11ac deployments will be all about 2.5G uplinks,” said Larry O’Connell, product marketing director for Vitesse. “There’s a sizeable price and power penalty by going to 10G uplinks, requiring Enterprises to install new cabling to enable the higher total bandwidth. Vitesse’s new SparX-IV Ethernet switch family optimizes the aggregation switch bandwidth and port counts to actual deployment scenarios."

Some SparX-IV highlights.

• High Density Port Configurations: The SparX-IV Ethernet switches can be configured based on connectivity needs for 1G or 2.5G Ethernet uplinks;

• Sophisticated Traffic Classification: Featuring a highly optimized TCAM architecture with more classification capabilities than the competition, the SparX-IV family readily enables

• Expanded Routing & Layer 3 Support: With added Layer 3 routing support, the SparX-IV Ethernet switches offer larger routing tables than comparable options, giving customers flexibility in Quality of Service (QoS) and IPv4/IPv6 routes; and

• Ruggedized For Industrial Environments: The SparX-IV family is industrial-hardened for rugged environments: industrial temperature range support for operating temperatures of -40°C to 125°C; VeriTimeTM IEEE 1588 timing and synchronization; and hardware-based

The SparX-IV family includes a range of configurations and is sampling now.

http://www.vitesse.com/gigabit-wifi

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Sprint to Power Pre-Paid Personalized Services with ItsOn

ItsOn, a start-up based in Redwood City, California, confirmed that Sprint will use the ItsOn cloud-based virtual network platform to offer personalized service experiences for no-contract customers with a key differentiation in the marketplace beyond price. Specifically, the Sprint Prepaid Group will repurpose the Zact Mobile cloud-based virtual network platform to power a new no-contract service – to launch later this summer-- that will supersede Zact, which is an MVNO service that ItsOn launched last year.

Last month, ItsOn announced that Sprint had selected its Smart Services Platform to enhance capabilities on its existing network architecture and that the ItsOn Smart Services device software would be embedded in all new Sprint Android devices sold through all distribution channels going forward.

Under this new agreement, ItsOn's technology will power future Sprint prepaid mobile data, voice and messaging service offers.

The ItsOn platform enables:

• On-device service experience, including purchase, account creation, contextual marketing, real-time international and roaming upsells, group plan sharing and remote app-level device controls
• Rapid service creation, including cloud-based service experience design, and plan and catalog management that can be instantly deployed to targeted demographic groups
• Sponsored plans, including mobile operator or third-party sponsorship of customer usage for application and content services
• Automated OSS/BSS and network functions, including policy orchestration, charging, rating, billing and on-device customer care

"We are thrilled to close this major agreement with Sprint to power the next generation of intuitive, convenient and personally relevant mobile service offers for no-contract wireless customers," said Greg Raleigh, Founder and CEO of ItsOn. "Sprint will be the first major mobile operator in the world to commercially launch a virtual, end-to-end, automated mobile network policy design and management platform. We are proud to help Sprint usher in the next wave of engaging, customer-centric mobile experiences."

"With ItsOn's technology, Sprint sees an opportunity to give no-contract consumers greater choice and real-time control of their mobile service," said Dow Draper, president, Sprint Prepaid Group (SPG). "ItsOn's cloud-based solution enables a unique user experience and could help reduce our timelines for designing and launching distinctly new service offers.  These new capabilities provide a very personalized on-device customer experience– both for individuals and families."

http://www.itsoninc.com
http://www.zact.com/education

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Etisalat Tests Huawei's 400G

Etisalat is conduction a trial of Huawei's 400G OTN on its commercial network in the United Arab Emirates. In addition, Etisalat has been testing advanced mobile broadband technologies and 40 Gbps GPON from Huawei.

"With Huawei’s 400G technology, Etisalat’s existing network asset has proven its capability of supporting future, next-generation transmission technology, and are fully committed to enhancing our ability to support traffic growth demand from our customers," said Esmaeel Alhammadi, Vice President of Network Development, Etisalat.

"Both Huawei and Etisalat share a vision of enabling a better connected world for our regional customers. Through our latest partnership on the 400G OTN trial, we have set the stage for increasing access to the modern information society with intelligent management capabilities," added Alan Wang, President of Huawei Etisalat Global Key Account.

http://www.huawei.com

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VI Systems, UCSB and DTU Demo 1060nm VCSEL Link

The first vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) at 1060nm has been demonstrated by VI Systems, University of California Santa Barbara and the Technical University of Denmark.  The tests established a data rate of 30 Gbps.

The 1060nm VCSEL light source is a bottom emitting, highly-strained 1060 nm quantum well VCSEL developed by Professor Larry Coldren’s group in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The receiver tested was designed for data rates of up to 40 Gbps and included VI Systems’ transimpedance amplifier T40-150C080 packaged in fiber coupled receiver optical subassembly (ROSA).

http://www.v-i-systems.com/presse_e/detail.php?rubric=Presse_en&nr=1258

http://www.ece.ucsb.edu/Faculty/Coldren/OTC/

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Ericsson Opens its Fourth Network Operations Center in India

Ericsson opened a Global Network Operations Center in Kolkata, India -- its fourth such facility in the nation.  It also operates NOCs in Noida, Gurgaon and Bangalore.

The new Global Network Operations Center provides managed services that help operators in 49 countries around the world reduce capital expenditure, improve network performance and promote end-user loyalty. The managed services provided include service and resource fulfillment, proactive and reactive maintenance, alarm and network fault handling, restoration and repair of network faults, problem management and change management, customer problem management, help desks, network planning, design and optimization, application development and support, and operations management.

Amitabh Ray, Managing Director of Ericsson India Global Services, says: "India’s large ICT talent pool and fast-growing economy makes it the ideal place to base a Global Network Operations Center to serve Ericsson’s customers. Kolkata’s standing as a center of commercial and educational excellence makes it a great location for Ericsson’s newest Global Network Operations Center site."

http://www.ericsson.com/news/140708-ericsson-opens-fourth-global-network-operations-center-site-in-india_244099436_c

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Bluebird Network Deploys ADVA 100G Core

Bluebird Network has deployed the ADVA Optical Networking's FSP 3000 to connect major urban areas within Missouri with a 100G core. The deployment extends a seven-year partnership for the companies.

Fully integrated into the ADVA FSP 3000, the ADVA 100G Core is built on coherent receivers, low-noise amplification and increased non-liner optical tolerance.

http://www.advaoptical.com
http://www.BluebirdNetwork.com

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TeliaSonera Acquires Tele2’s Norwegian Operations

TeliaSonera will acquire Tele2’s operations in Norway for SEK 5.1 billion (US$750 million). Tele2 has approximately 1.1 million mobile customers in Norway.

TeliaSonera said the deal adds to its base of 1.6 million users in Norway, giving it a 40% share of the market. The company has also committed itself to a 98 percent population coverage for 4G by 2016, two years ahead of its obligations.

“I am delighted that we have reached an agreement to acquire Tele2 in Norway. This is a great strategic fit for TeliaSonera and in line with our ambition to strengthen our position in our core markets. At the same time it enables us to both faster and further invest and deliver best in class services to the benefit of Norwegian customers and society,” says Johan Dennelind, President and CEO.

http://www.teliasonera.com

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