MEF Launches Ethernet Interconnect Points

The Metro Ethernet Forum is launching a new Ethernet Interconnect Points initiative that aims to define requirements for Carrier Ethernet services between operators, including location, facilities, ENNI, wholesale service alignment and business process alignment.

The Ethernet Interconnect Points Initiative was formed earlier this year by leading US telcos including AT&T, Frontier, Verizon and Windstream. Having identified the key challenges, the initiative is in the process of being formalized into a MEF project, and it is expected that there will be broad participation from many of the 130+ service provider members of the MEF in this activity. The project is expected to publish the EIP Phase 1 Implementation Guideline in 2015.
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“This industry effort to standardize local Ethernet Meet Point interconnections among carriers is a big step towards providing a network infrastructure capable of supporting an all IP environment by 2020,” said Mike Lesher, Assistant Vice President, Product Marketing Management, AT&T Mobile & Business Solutions. “Standardization will facilitate the deployment of Carrier Ethernet coverage to all businesses, no matter their network provider. AT&T is proud to be one of the leaders of this important MEF project.”
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”Consensus among Carrier Ethernet providers is important for the successful definition of standardized Ethernet Meet Points,” said Matthew Duckworth, director of Ethernet product marketing, Verizon Global Wholesale and a co-initiator of the MEF project. “Verizon supports MEF’s efforts to create the framework that will enable the industry to achieve consensus and help accelerate the transition from TDM to IP-based networks.”

"The work of this MEF-facilitated initiative has already clarified some very important technical and process-related aspects of interconnecting to provide universal coverage across multiple franchises", said Todd Wells, SVP of Revenue Strategy for Frontier Communications. "This improved understanding will undoubtedly accelerate availability of faster Ethernet-based services to US subscribers.”

“Standardization of Ethernet meet points is critical to driving greater adoption of Carrier Ethernet in the marketplace. Windstream is dedicated to helping the MEF on this important industry initiative,” said Randy Nicklas, executive vice president of engineering and chief technology officer for Windstream.

As part of the ongoing marketing of its work, the EIP Initiative will be introduced at the Verizon Partner Conference at GEN14 on Monday November 17th, 2014 in Washington DC.

http://www.gen14.com
http://www.MetroEthernetForum.org

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CenturyLink and Infinera Deliver Terabit to SC14 in New Orleans

Infinera and CenturyLink are delivering one terabit per second (1 Tbps) of super-channel transmission capacity to support the SCinet network at this week's International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis (SC14) at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

CenturyLink currently offers 100 GbE Optical Wavelength Service to research institutions and laboratories, including those at more than 150 U.S. Department of Defense locations through a contract for the Defense Research and Engineering Network; financial and educational institutions; Internet content providers; and is delivering these Ethernet services to enterprise customers across the U.S. and in select international cities through a dedicated network connection.

"This terabit deployment demonstrates the scale, reliability and efficiency of our network and complements the 100 gigabit Ethernet services we have available to our customers today," said Pieter Poll, senior vice president of national and international network planning at CenturyLink. "The delivery of terabit capacity on SCinet demonstrates the rapid provisioning of services and the ability to turn up terabit capacity in minutes."

SCinet is one of the most powerful and advanced networks in the world, created each year for the Supercomputing Conference.

"This demonstration with CenturyLink illustrates the ability to rapidly scale bandwidth and provision services across an Intelligent Transport Network," said Bob Jandro, Infinera senior vice president, worldwide sales. "Working with CenturyLink to dynamically deliver terabit capacity over their backbone emphasizes the value of our solutions in powering one of the largest networks in the U.S."

http://www.infinera.com
http://www.centurylink.com
http://sc14.supercomputing.org

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Research Community Activates North Atlantic 100 Gbps Ring

Internet2, NORDUnet, CANARIE and SURFnet announced the completion of a collaborative advanced network, called ANA-200G, that spans the North Atlantic.

ANA-200G is a redundant 100 Gbps ring between four open exchange points: MAN LAN in New York City, WIX in Washington, D.C., NetherLight in Amsterdam, and GÉANT Open in London.  The network enables clear channel 100 Gbps data transfers for R&E between researchers in the United States and Northern Europe.

Demonstrations of ANA-200G will take place this week at SuperComputing (SC14) in New Orleans.

"Research and education are worldwide endeavors, with teams collaborating on single ‘big science’ projects across the globe. Likewise, leading R&E networks from around the world also partner on a global scale to jointly advance the state of the art for the benefit of the networks’ users. With this major milestone in ANA-200G, we deliver on an important pathfinder for a novel Global Network Architecture for R&E that is just as robust as each of our domestic capabilities," stated Dave Lambert, President and CEO of Internet2.

http://www.internet2.edu
http://www.nordu.net
http://www.canarie.ca
http://www.surfnet.nl/en

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IBM Lands $325M Contracts for Supercomputers in National Labs

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded IBM contracts valued at $325 million to develop and deliver the world’s most advanced “data centric” supercomputing systems at Lawrence Livermore and Oak Ridge National Laboratories.

IBM said its new systems will employ a “data centric” approach that puts computing power everywhere data resides, minimizing data in motion and energy consumption. These OpenPOWER-based systems are expected to offer five to 10 times better performance on commercial and high-performance computing applications compared to the current systems at the labs, while being more than five times more energy efficient.

The “Sierra” supercomputer at Lawrence Livermore and “Summit” supercomputer at Oak Ridge will each have a peak performance well in excess of 100 petaflops balanced with more than five petabytes of dynamic and flash memory to help accelerate the performance of data centric applications. IBM's design will be capable of moving data to the processor, when necessary, at more than 17 petabytes per second (which is equivalent to moving over 100 billion photos on Facebook in a second).

http://www.ibm.com

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Marvell Launches Octa-Core, 64-bit LTE Smartphone Chip

Marvell introduced its octa-core, 64-bit 5-mode 4G LTE ARMADA Mobile PXA1936 system-on-chip (SoC) for smartphones and tablets globally.

The new 5-mode 4G LTE mobile processor features 8× ARM Cortex A53, advanced graphics and security functions, high performance image processing, and sensor fusion capabilities. Key features of the Marvell ARMADA Mobile PXA1936 include:

• Octa-core Cortex A53, up to 1.5GHz clock speed
• Supports 1080p display, and video encoding and decoding
• Improved image processor to support 13 to 16MP camera
• Advanced power management and audio codec for power efficiency and audio performance
• Enhanced security processor
• Integrated location and sensor hub functionalities for better usability
• Field proven DSDS software for 5-mode modem

"4G LTE is such a critical technology to enable mobile computing, social networking, cloud gaming and other data intensive applications that are part of our daily lives. I believe our single-chip octa-core ARMADA Mobile PXA1936 delivers best-in-class 5-mode 4G LTE connectivity and industry-leading processing, security, graphics and sensor fusion capabilities that will enable mobile products with outstanding performance, long battery lifetime, affordable price point and superior total user experience and empower global mobile operators and tier-one OEMs for the rapid deployment of 4G LTE high performance smartphones and tablets to the mass market around the world," said Weili Dai, President and Co-Founder of Marvell.

http://www.marvell.com/communication-processors/pxa1936/
@marvellsemi

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Fujitsu Adds FLASHWAVE Ethernet Access/Aggregation Boxes

Fujitsu Network Communications introduced its FLASHWAVE 5300 Ethernet Access and Aggregation Devices designed to deliver Ethernet, or Ethernet and TDM-based connectivity, supporting high-performance enterprise business services and 4G/LTE mobile backhaul applications. The FLASHWAVE 5300 series is initially configured for Gigabit Ethernet and can be upgraded later to support 10GbE by swapping the SFP interface with an SFP+.

The FLASHWAVE 5300 series supports the ITU G.8032v2 standard for Ethernet ring protection switching, ensuring a sub-50 ms failover in the event of a network disruption. Fujitsu also takes advantage of the greater network performance visibility provided by the ITU Y.1731 standard for advanced Ethernet OAM functionalities. Detailed, end-to-end monitoring data is integrated into the Fujitsu NETSMART 1200 Ethernet Service Manager software.  The NETSMART 1200 also facilitates provisioning of Ethernet tunnels, protection domains and service OAM (SOAM) Y.1731 monitoring.

The FLASHWAVE 5300 series, including the previously introduced FLASHWAVE 5310, is available in four configurations:

• 5310 -- a 1RU Ethernet access device with 4 X GE SFP ports built in and two module slots (with 4 X GE SFP port, 8 X T1/E1 circuit emulation or 1 X OC-3/STM-1 channelized module options);
• 5305 -- a 1/2 x 1RU Ethernet access device with 4 X GE/10GbE  SFP+ ports;
• 5321 -- a 1RU Ethernet access and aggregation device with 4 X GE/10GE SFP+ ports and 24 X GE SFP ports; and
• 5322 -- a 1RU Ethernet access and aggregation device with 12 X GE/10GbE SFP+ ports.

"The FLASHWAVE 5300 is an integral new piece of the complete Fujitsu Ethernet solution,” said Steve Pelosi, Vice President and Head of Optical Products, Fujitsu Network Communications. ”We see the technology being deployed for everything from Ethernet business services to mobile backhaul. Whatever the purpose and whatever stage of Carrier Ethernet adoption a customer may be in, Fujitsu has the access, aggregation and metro network devices, as well as the management system, to make them successful."

All FLASHWAVE 5300 series products are MEF Carrier Ethernet 2.0 compliant.

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BTI Systems Expands its Carrier Ethernet Access/Aggregation Line

BTI Systems introduced two new platforms in its Carrier Ethernet (CE) access and aggregation portfolio:

• BTI SA-821 -- a high-density Ethernet access and aggregation switch that supports 10GE access for cell towers and businesses as well as 10GE aggregation applications.
  
• BTI SA-822 -- an Ethernet aggregation switch that supports high-density 10GE ring interconnect and aggregation deployments.

All BTI solutions are managed and controlled under the SDN-enabled BTI proNX Service Manager for ease of provisioning and ongoing operations, including integration to customer portals and other back office systems.

BTI announced today that the company has joined the CloudEthernet Forum.

BTI recently announced key customer wins with data center provider, CyrusOne; colocation provider, Interxion; and Asia-Pacific-based integrated technology solutions provider, Pacnet.

“Our advanced Carrier Ethernet portfolio is designed to deliver what service providers demand today to optimize network resources while increasing bandwidth and driving new services,” said BTI’s Senior Product Manager, Frank Chang. “The BTI Carrier Ethernet platforms provide network resiliency, operational simplicity with common management, compact size, high port density and the industry’s most competitive price performance. With the strength of our portfolio, we have rapidly become the vendor of choice for leading providers to power their next-generation metro and cloud services.”

http://www.btisystems.com

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FCC Chairman Seeks Big Increase in E-Rate

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is seeking a significant increase in the E-rate program, which funds broadband connections for the nation’s schools and libraries. A draft order being circulated for consideration by the FCC would increase E-Rate's funding by $1.5 billion to $3.9 billion by raising taxes on telephone bills and phasing down support for legacy services.

The FCC estimates 63% of public schools – over 40 million students – don’t have broadband connections to the building capable of taking advantage of modern digital learning.  In addition, 45% of school districts lack sufficient Wi-Fi capacity to move to one-to-one student-to-device deployments and half of all public libraries report connections of less than 10 Mbps (70% of rural libraries).

http://www.fcc.gov/blog/taking-next-step-e-rate-modernization

Statement from Commissioner Pai Statement in opposition
http://www.fcc.gov/document/commissioner-pai-statement-telephone-tax-increase-172

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Infonetics: Optical Hardware Sales Dipped 5% in Q3 2014

The global optical network hardware market (SONET/SDH, WDM) totaled $3 billion in 3Q14, down 10% sequentially, and down 5% year-over-year, according to a new report released by Infonetics Research.

Some highlights of the report:

• Though WDM equipment revenue is up 4% in 3Q14 from a year ago, strong WDM spending trends waned in North America, and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) continued to decline
• North America stopped pulling the optical train in 3Q14 as strong results from Ciena were offset by other vendors’ weaker performance
• Europe, meanwhile, remains in an optical slump compounded by a weak macro economy, and Asia Pacific was down by double digits on a sequential basis
• Market gains are accumulating to fewer vendors, but Alcatel-Lucent, Ciena, Cyan, Infinera, and NEC all notched positive results in 3Q14.

“A spending divergence is opening in the optical market, with some service providers, primarily competitive carriers and internet content providers, growing spend, while traditional carriers proceed with caution. Companies less dependent on EMEA and incumbent carriers are faring better—this effect explains the varying sentiment in the industry,” notes Andrew Schmitt, principal analyst for carrier transport networking at Infonetics Research.

http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2014/3Q14-Optical-Network-Hardware-Market-Highlights.asp

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Crehan: A Surge in 40 Gigabit Data Center Networking Adoption

The adoption of 40 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) in data centers is significantly accelerating, according to recent and upcoming reports from Crehan Research.

Crehan’s latest server-class adapter and LAN-on-motherboard report shows that 40GbE speeds on these products is already approaching a quarter-million port annual run-rate in 3Q14, and on track to increase four-fold, reaching a million port annual run-rate by 4Q14.

The reports show that Mellanox currently accounts for the majority of 40GbE server adapter shipments, while Cisco is the share leader in 40GbE data center switch port shipments.

“We were very bullish in our outlook for 40GbE data center networking growth in 2014, but results in certain segments of this market are already exceeding our forecast," said Seamus Crehan, president of Crehan Research. "Data center networking traffic demands are so strong in some market verticals that these customers cannot wait to evaluate the upcoming 25GbE and 50GbE options. They need to go ahead and deploy speeds greater than 10GbE right now," he said. "Furthermore, 40GbE is currently benefiting from a window of opportunity where it is a viable server connection as well as a viable data center aggregation and core networking option."

With its prior data center switch report (2Q14), Crehan Research noted that low-priced switches had driven strong data center Ethernet growth. These lower prices are especially pronounced in 40GbE and are helping to drive the much stronger adoption of this technology.

http://www.CrehanResearch.com

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