Microsoft Builds Out Azure Networking Capabilities

Microsoft announced a number of new Azure networking capabilities and partnerships aimed at enabling better hyper-scale and enterprise grade applications in public and hybrid cloud environments.

New capabilities and partners include:

• New ExpressRoute partnerships with Colt Technology Services in Europe, Tata Communications in Asia, and Telstra in Australia.
• ExpressRoute is now generally available in Australia with a Meet-Me location in Sydney that reaches all Australian Azure regions.
• New Multi-site ExpressRoute options provide for better disaster recovery
• Multiple subscriptions sharing the same ExpressRoute circuit.  The circuit owner can issue up to 10 circuit authorizations per circuit and each authorization can support up to 10 VNet links.
• Network Security Groups now allow for easier subnet isolation in multi-tier topologies.
• Site to Site Forced Tunneling, which sends network traffic back to on-premises for policy validation to meet compliance requirements. Customers can now, redirect or “force” all Internet-bound traffic from the cloud, back to their premises via a S2S VPN tunnel for inspection and auditing.
• VPN support for Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS).
• Support for multiple virtual NICs in a VM
• Access to VPN operations logs
• Nested Traffic Manager policies
• Azure load balancer source IP affinity.

Microsoft also announced the preview of Azure Stream Analytics, a real-time event processing engine powered by the Azure cloud. Azure Stream Analytics aims to uncover insights from devices, sensors, infrastructure, applications, and data. Microsoft said it will be able to both ingest millions of events. Analytic functions can be programmed in a SQL-based query syntax and the system will transparently deal with distribution for scale, performance, and resiliency.

http://azure.microsoft.com/blog/2014/10/29/networking-enterprise/
http://azure.microsoft.com/blog/2014/10/29/announcing-azure-stream-analytics-for-real-time-event-processing/

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Tata Launches "IZO" Cloud Enablement Platform

Tata Communications, which operates one of the most advanced and largest submarine cable networks and a Tier-1 IP network, launched its "IZO" cloud enablement platform for connecting network, data center and cloud resources on a global basis.

The vision behind Tata's IZO network platform is to combine the ubiquity of the public Internet with predictable routing, enterprise cloud connectivity and interconnected data centers.

Tata's IZO ecosystem brings together over 20 service providers reaching 85% of the world's GDP, two of the largest cloud platforms - Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure - and over 50 data centers across the globe.

The key elements of IZO include:

• IZO Internet WAN -- brings the security, flexibility and predictability of a private network to the public internet - with the global reach of the Internet. Through partnerships with 20 service providers around the world, IZO Internet WAN provides multi-national organizations deterministic routing of traffic with guaranteed end-to-end SLAs and business standard reporting.
  
• IZO Private -- connects businesses to cloud service providers via private network connectivity. Tata has a global partnered interconnect arrangement for AWS Direct Connect and Azure ExpressRoute. IZO Private connects businesses to cloud services over MPLS or Ethernet through one single provider globally to ensure network performance.
  
• IZO Public -- tags and prioritizes content with guaranteed performance for Tata Communications enterprise customers.  The customer can map different types of traffic to different Classes of service.

"We're taking the necessary steps towards making the Internet Fit For Business™ by bringing a new level of predictability and reliability to the public Internet that does not exist today. This isn't something we can do alone and we're joined in this initiative to bring about a new era of internet, by some of the world's leading ISP and cloud providers as we collaborate to achieve a common goal. Cloud, in every form, continues to transform the way businesses operate, innovate and generate revenue. Our role is to make sure that we're delivering a network that supports and enhances everybody's network cloud," stated Vinod Kumar, Managing Director and CEO, Tata Communications.

Tata's network reaches more than 240 countries and territories across 400 PoPs, as well as  nearly 1 million square feet of data center and collocation space worldwide. The company calculates that over 24% of the world's Internet routes travel over its network.

http://www.tatacommunications.com/izo

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ALU's 7950 Core Router Lands at CenturyLink, China Telecom, China Unicom, China Mobile

Alcatel-Lucent announced key contracts to supply its 7950 Extensible Routing System (XRS) to four major carriers: CenturyLink, China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile.  Financial terms were not disclosed.

Alcatel-Lucent said the deployments in China will help the nation address the expected explosion of demand for capacity over the next five years, as well as supporting the operators’ contributions to China’s national ‘Broadband China’ strategy.  The contracts results from a recent central bidding process for IP core routers. The deployments will mark the first scale commercial use of the system in China.

Some highlights:

• CenturyLink, the third largest telecommunications company in the U.S., has deployed the 7950 XRS in its IP core network.   CenturyLink obtains an end-to-end managed IP/MPLS network.  The deployment enables the company to scale its network and provide services to its customers that support their growing broadband needs, including 1 Gbps service which was recently made available to residential and business customers in 16 cities. CenturyLink's IP network also has a direct connection into its 57 worldwide data centers.
• In the China Telecom 2014 400G-enabled core router central bid, Alcatel-Lucent successfully secured Jiangsu province and Shanghai city, two areas with the highest demand for network traffic, out of the five bidding areas.
• In the China Unicom 2014 all Ethernet core router central bid, Alcatel-Lucent was selected as the sole supplier.
• Alcatel-Lucent was also selected as the sole supplier for the China Mobile 2014 high-performance Ethernet router central bid.

"As a global leader in cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions, we are focused on ensuring we have the speed and capacity to meet the data demands of our customers," said James Feger, vice president, CenturyLink network strategy and development. "This new platform is flexible and supports our IP networking needs as we continue to grow and transform our network."

“These first scale commercial deployments in China of the world’s most powerful core router will provide China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile, with the increased capacity needed to meet internet service demand in the world’s largest market. The experience gained in China will lay a solid foundation for future deployments of the 7950 XRS across the entire region of APAC,” stated Michel Combes, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent.

http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/products/7950-extensible-routing-system

• In August, Alcatel-Lucent announced that Turk Telekom had deployed its 7950 Extensible Routing Platform (XRS) to provide core routing for its growing base of more than 13.5 million access lines and 7.4 million ultra-broad band subscribers.   Turk Telekom initially deployed the 7950 XRS in three major locations in Istanbul and in Ankara .  At the time, Alcatel-Lucent said the 7950 was deployed by more than 24 Service Providers worldwide.

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NTT DOCOMO Deploys Oracle's Virtualized Diameter Signaling Router

NTT DOCOMO has deployed Oracle Communications' Diameter Signaling Router to support new LTE roaming services. It was implemented as a virtualized solution.

Specifically, the Oracle Communications Diameter Signaling Router enables NTT DOCOMO to:

• Provide LTE roaming services outside of Japan
• Centralize routing, traffic management, and load-balancing tasks to enable the LTE network to grow incrementally to support increasing service and traffic demands

NS Solutions Corporation assisted NTT DOCOMO with the implementation of Oracle Communications Diameter Signaling Router.


“The rapid growth of LTE in Japan and roaming markets demands that we support LTE roaming to provide our customers with a consistently high-quality mobile experience no matter where they are. Oracle Communications Diameter Signaling Router has given us the high reliability and advanced functionality we need to support our LTE roaming services since December 2013,” said Hiroshi Nakamura, Ph.D., senior vice president, managing director, Core Network Development Department, NTT DOCOMO.

http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/press/2345269?rssid=rss_ocom_pr

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MegaChips to Acquire SiTime for MEMS Timing

MegaChips Corporation, a top 25 fabless semiconductor company based in Japan, agreed to acquire SiTime for $200 million in cash.


SiTime, which is based in Sunnyvale, California, specializes in silicon MEMS-based oscillators and clock generators that are a drop-in replacement for legacy quartz crystal products. Its  MEMS timing solutions replace quartz products in the telecom, networking, computing, storage and consumer markets, with the benefits of higher performance, smaller size, and lower power and cost.The company has shipped over 250 million devices to date. The company commenced operations in 2005 and is headed by Rajesh Vashist.

MegaChips, which was established in 1990, is focused on the development of cutting-edge system LSIs and systems products incorporating original algorithms and architecture in the areas of imaging, audio, and telecommunications. The company has annual revenue of US$600 million. The acquisition gives MegaChips gets a leadership position in MEMS, through SiTime’s 80%
share in MEMS timing.

Key market for both companies include Wearables, Mobile and Internet of Things.

“MegaChips has an aggressive growth strategy with a vision to become one of the top ten fabless semiconductor companies through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions,” said Akira Takata, President and CEO of MegaChips Corporation. “MEMS components are fuelling the growth of the semiconductor industry. Through the acquisition of SiTime, MegaChips becomes a leader in MEMS. SiTime will help us expand our portfolio and diversify our customer base. SiTime technology is the perfect match for MegaChips’ solutions that target Wearables, Mobile and IoT markets such as “frizz”, our ultra-low-power smart phone Sensor Hub LSI and BlueChip Wireless, a sub-GHz RF LSI.”

“As a founding investor in SiTime, Bosch recognized early on the tremendous vision and innovation behind SiTime’s approach to MEMS timing,” said Dr. Volkmar Denner, Chairman, Board of Management of Robert Bosch GmbH. “We have closely followed their success from a Silicon Valley startup to a revenue-generating company that sells to some of the world’s largest electronics companies. We are pleased that MegaChips is acquiring SiTime and we expect a bright future for the combined companies.”

Upon closing, scheduled for November 2014 pending regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, SiTime will retain its name and operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of MegaChips.

http://www.sitime.com
http://www.megachips.co.jp/english/

In June 2014, SiTime introduced the smallest, lowest power 32 kHz TCXO (temperature compensated oscillator) designed for the emerging market of wearable electronics and Internet of Things (IoT).

The new, 32 kHz TCXO (temperature compensated oscillator) device, which leverages SiTime's MEMS technology, comes in a 1.5 x 0.8 mm chip scale package (CSP). It can perform various functions in a system included delivering reference for real time clock (RTC) function, sleep clock for connectivity (Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, Wi-Fi), and heartbeat clock for battery supervisory function.

Compared to a quartz TCXO, the SiT1552 MEMS TCXO is:

• 20% of the size and is available in a 1.5 x 0.8mm CSP
• 50% lower power, typically consuming less than 1 micro-amp
• 45% thinner, with a height of 0.55 mm
• 10 times faster startup, with a startup time of 0.3 milliseconds
• 30 times higher shock resistance
• 15 times higher reliability, at 500 million hours MTBF

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VMware Labs Asia Targets US$1 Billion for Development in China

VMware is aiming to deepen its reach into the technology ecosystem in China by forming partnerships with leading players and universities. The company plans a US$1billion investment over the next five years for market development and innovation specifically in China.

A newly formed VMware Labs Asia has been established to spur joint solution development with developers and academia. The lab will be headed Dr. Ying Li, who most recently led EMC China's Center of Excellence.   VMware's R&D Center in China will continue to be led by Alan Ren, managing director, China R&D, VMware.

The first project under VMware Labs Asia is a Linux-based VDI solution that will address the unique market opportunity for open technologies in China. VMware said this initiative will expand the virtual desktop options available to customers.

"By developing technology solutions in close coordination with the broader ecosystem, VMware will address market-specific requirements together with partners and other communities to rapidly develop and ship new innovation for the China market and beyond," said Ying Li. "VMware Labs Asia will give VMware an advantage as we assemble and combine the expertise of multiple stakeholders to embrace the new era of technology development," Li added.


http://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-newsfeed/VMware-Labs-Asia-Established-to-Expand-and-Diversify-Technology-Innovation-Through-Joint-Solution-Development/1893768

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F5 Sales Rise 18% YoY to $465.3 million, CEO to Retire Next Year

F5 Networks reported revenue of $465.3 million for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year 2014, up 6 percent from the prior quarter and 18 percent from $395.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013. For fiscal year 2014, revenue was $1.73 billion, up 17 percent from $1.48 billion in fiscal year 2013.

GAAP net income for the fourth quarter was $94.0 million ($1.26 per diluted share) compared to $79.5 million ($1.05 per diluted share) in the third quarter of 2014 and $76.2 million ($0.97 per diluted share) in the fourth quarter a year ago. GAAP net income for the year was $311.2 million ($4.09 per diluted share) versus $277.3 million ($3.50 per diluted share) in fiscal year 2013.

“The fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 was a solid finish to a year characterized by positive customer and partner response to our Synthesis architecture, the array of new products we rolled out in fiscal 2013, our Good Better Best pricing strategy, and the enhanced capabilities of our BIG-IQ management platform,” said John McAdam, F5 president and chief executive officer.

Separately, McAdam announced his plans to retire at the end of fiscal year 2015.

Commenting on his decision, McAdam said “Following a year of record growth, I believe F5 is better positioned in terms of our market opportunity, the breadth of our products and services, the strength of our partnerships, and the caliber and enthusiasm of the entire F5 team than at any time in the company’s history. I am excited about our prospects and firmly committed to delivering another year of solid growth and profitability as President and CEO."

http://www.f5.com

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Hitachi Cloud Coming to Equinix Data Centers

Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) announced an agreement with Equinix to offer its Hitachi Cloud - Compute as a Service solution inside Equinix International Business Exchange data centers.

HDS will offer fully managed, enterprise-grade services for private cloud from a global footprint of Equinix IBX data centers in 32 markets around the globe. HDS said the variety of interconnection solutions for cloud and network service providers available inside Equinix, including the Equinix Cloud Exchange, gives its customers the ability to achieve sophisticated hybrid cloud solutions.

"To achieve optimal performance and cost benefits in the cloud, enterprises are actively consolidating IT assets, positioning systems within strategically located data centers and ensuring access to multiple cloud providers,” said Jim Poole, vice president, global service provider, Equinix.

http://www.hds.com/corporate/press-analyst-center/press-releases/2014/gl141027.html

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Pacnet Inaugurates Tier III Data Center in Tianjin China

Pacnet inaugurated its latest data center in China, a new facility in Tianjin (TJCS1) to address growing demand in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The new data center is strategically located in the Gaocun Science & Technology Innovation Park of the Tianjin Wuqing District in China and was developed in partnership with the Tianjin Wuqing government.

The Tier III, 226,000-square-foot facility provides colocation, connectivity and managed services backed by 24x7 expert, multilingual customer service and on-site remote hands support.  Additionally, TJCS1 boasts N+1 and 2N redundant power and state-of-the-art security, environmental and fire controls.  Customers locating in TJCS1 also obtain direct access to major domestic exchanges, Points of Presence (PoPs) and diverse carrier networks within China.

Pacnet said its new facility is SDN-enabled to give full network control to its customers to self-provision bandwidth on demand based on their business needs.

TJCS1 is connected to the Beijing data center of China International Data System (CIDS) via Pacnet Enabled Network (PEN), an industry-first service platform that leverages SDN to deliver flexible and scalable bandwidth configurable by customer

Pacnet’s data centers in China now include Tianjin, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai.

http://www.pacnet.com/pressrelease/pacnet-opens-tier-iii-data-center-in-tianjin-china

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Algeria Telecom Picks Ericsson SSR Provider Edge Router

Algeria Telecom has chosen Ericsson to upgrade its broadband aggregation network. Under the deal, Ericsson will consolidate the existing network using its SSR 8000 platform with Provider Edge (PE) and BNG functionality.

The network will support residential broadband connectivity and IPTV as well as high-speed virtual private network (VPN) services for enterprise customers.

The agreement includes Broadband Network Gateways (BNG) and Provider Edge (PE) applications based on the Ericsson SSR 8000 family and professional services such as project management, solution architecture, deployment and migration services. Financial terms were not disclosed.

http://www.ericsson.com

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