Monday, February 2, 2015

Vitesse's 10/40G PHYs Enable Secure WAN with 256-bit MACsec and 1588

Vitesse Semiconductor introduced a new quad channel, 10/40G physical layer transceiver family featuring government-grade, FIPS-197-certified 256-bit MACsec encryption for securing WAN links for enterprise, cloud and mobile backhaul traffic.

Specifically, the new PHYs enable 40G connectivity with “secure 1588” by leveraging Vitesse’s FIPS-certified Intellisec IEEE 802.1AE MACsec security encryption technology and Vitesse’s VeriTime IEEE 1588 timing and synchronization.

Vitesse said the new quad channel 10G PHY family addresses several markets which are prime for MACsec encryption: enterprise and data center networking, where access lines with government-grade protection is required; and Service Provider access networking, where higher capacity, more intelligence and secured Ethernet transport is needed in aggregation service router, mobile backhaul, etc.

Vitesse notes that traditional MACsec implementations are not able to deliver IEEE 1588 timing accuracy, as required in TD-LTE and LTE-Advanced mobile networks.  Its Intellisec and VeriTime technologies deliver line-rate 256-bit encryption with the industry’s de facto highest accuracy IEEE 1588 timing. Intellisec’s “tag-in-the-clear” capability also provides the network transparency needed to enable use of third party networks for delivery of critical services to mobile, Enterprise and Industrial-IoT networks.

Key capabilities of Vitesse’s VSC8256, VSC8257 and VSC8258 include:
  • High capacity 40G connectivity;
  • Highly accurate VeriTime IEEE 1588 network timing; and
  • Flexible Layer 2 security (Intellisec IEEE 802.1AE MACsec) offload for companion network processors, I/O processors, MAC controllers and/or FPGA-based designs.
  • Accelerating Cloud Services to Users and Industry
“Addressing the ‘Snowden effect’ and growing security concerns in our increasingly connected world is critical in next-generation networking equipment,” said Uday Mudoi, vice president of product marketing at Vitesse. “Vitesse’s game-changing technologies readily enable the rigorous security needed to safeguard Enterprise, Cloud and mobile network infrastructures.”

The new 10GE PHY family includes:

  • VSC8256: Serial-quad channel 1G/10G Ethernet retimer and repeater
  • VSC8257: Serial quad channel 1G/10G Ethernet PHY with VeriTime IEEE 1588 timing and synchronization
  • VSC8258: Serial quad channel 1G/10G Ethernet PHY with VeriTime IEEE 1588 timing and synchronization and Intellisec IEEE 802.1AE MACsec
http://www.vitesse.com/products/physical-layer/10ge-phys

Brocade Adds Inline MACsec Encryption to Routers

Brocade introduced native port-based encryption functionality for its family of MLXe modular routers.

The new security functionality added to the Brocade MLXe routers includes both 256-bit IPsec encryption and 128-bit MACsec encryption for ensuring end-to-end data protection. Both of these security protocols can be enabled at wire speed for up to 44 Gbps (IPsec) or 200 Gbps (MACsec) throughput per module, meeting the highest levels of network performance requirements. The encryption is interoperable with third-party IPsec Suite B-capable platforms, and it complements MACsec functionality available in the Brocade ICX family of switches.

Brocade said this update eliminates the need for expensive specialized switch/router encryption services blades or third-party security appliances, while also eradicating performance-inhibiting latency and complex operations that are inherent with these types of add-on devices. Adding encryption and decryption natively to the I/O modules of the router enables the network to ensure the privacy of all data that moves across it, without compromise, for the first time. By bringing wire-speed encryption into the router, customers can enable pervasive data privacy across their New IP initiatives while offloading their appliances, improving performance, and increasing their overall IT security profile.

IPsec interoperability with the Brocade Vyatta vRouter is targeted for a future release.

"With data breaches making headlines around the world, securing confidential information is top of mind for every organization. As customers tackle the data privacy challenge, they need security everywhere in their infrastructure, but especially for data-in-flight over the WAN. Historically, performance and cost have been key barriers to broad adoption of network encryption technology," said Jason Nolet, senior vice president Switching, Routing, and Analytics Products, at Brocade. "By utilizing innovative, I/O-based encryption in Brocade MLXe routers, organizations can now deploy up to 44 Gbps of wire-speed IPsec encryption per trunk and over 1 Tbps per router, achieving five times the performance at a third of the cost -- and without the operational complexity -- of comparable solutions."

"In a recent survey of IT professionals across North America, respondents stated they experienced a 75 percent decline in network performance when security appliance capabilities are enabled such as firewall, anti-virus, deep packet inspection, and encryption," said Zeus Kerravala, founder, ZK Research. "Additionally, 44 percent cited trade-offs being required between network performance and security, with nearly 40 percent of respondents stating they either decline to enable, or completely turn off, functions in their security devices to avoid impacting networking performance."

Hardware modules that support up to 200 Gbps of wire-speed MACsec encryption are priced starting at $90,000. A module that supports both IPsec and MACsec at up to 44 Gbps wire-speed performance is priced at $120,000.

http://newsroom.brocade.com/press-releases/brocade-enables-pervasive-data-privacy-across-publ-nasdaq-brcd-1171720#.VNAp0f6-2-0

Apple to Build $2 Billion Data Center in Arizona

Apple plans invest $2 billion to convert a former factory in Mesa, Arizona, into a major data center.

The 1.3 million square foot facility was previously occupied by GT Advanced Technologies, a company that had sought to supply sapphire screens to Apple. The new data center will be 100 percent solar energy.

http://azgovernor.gov/governor/news/governor-doug-ducey-announces-major-apple-expansion-arizona

Verizon Customers at Super Bowl Generated 4 TB of Data

Verizon customers at the Super Bowl racked up more than 25 million wireless connections – nearly 25,000 per minute.

All of the tweets, texts, status updates, etc. sent by Verizon customers immediately before, during and after the game in Glendale added up to 4.1 terabytes of data, compared to 1.9 terabytes during the 2014 Super Bowl.

Verizon said its network engineers spent nearly two years preparing for the event, including quadrupling the 4G LTE data capacity at the stadium and at major venues throughout metro Phoenix, adding cell sites, small cell systems, indoor and outdoor Distributed Antenna Systems and rolling in mobile cell sites.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/news/article/2015/01/verizon-customers-at-super-bowl-xlix-rack-up-more-than-25-million-wireless-data-connections.html

SanDisk Show All-Flash VMware Virtual SAN

SanDisk is showcasing an all-flash VMware Virtual SAN 6 architecture that can perform more than two million transactions per minute (TPM) for database transaction processing and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) applications.

The new Virtual SAN 6, which can be deployed at entry-level as a 4-node cluster that can scale up to a total of 64 nodes, leverages SanDisk Lightning Gen. II 12Gb/s Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) SSDs and CloudSpeed SATA SSDs to provide the cache and persistent storage tiers.

“This new all-flash VMware Virtual SAN design from SanDisk provides our mutual customers with increased levels of virtual machine (VM) performance density with scalability and the necessary price/performance SSD attributes,” said Charles Fan, senior vice president and general manager, Storage and Availability Business Unit, VMware.

http://www.sandisk.com/

IBM Softlayer to Host eBay Enterprise Commerce Ecosystem

eBay Enterprise has selected IBM's Softlayer hybrid cloud platform to enhance its Magento Hosting Partner ecosystem to further expand its global scope and reach.

Magento is an ecommerce platform used by more than 240,000 retailers worldwide.

The agreement is designed to introduce Magento's ecommerce clients to IBM's cloud platform while also expanding global infrastructure options for Magento's retailers and brands. Through this partnership, Magento will have additional means to support clients in every major global market.

"Magento's unique worldwide developer network enables retailers and brands to create customized, innovative, omnichannel commerce experiences to accelerate their growth. Our partnership with IBM, a proven leader in cloud, will provide Magento clients of all sizes another cost-effective, scalable and secure hosting infrastructure on a global scale," noted Craig Hayman, president, eBay Enterprise.

http://www.ibm.com

Intel to Acquire Lantiq for Home Gateway Silicon

Intel has agreed to acquire Lantiq, a supplier of broadband access and home networking technologies, for an undisclosed sum.

Lantiq, which is based in Munich, Germany, offers a portfolio of silicon devices including xDSL solutions with vectoring and G.Fast; fiber-based technologies such as Fiber to the Distribution Point (FTTdp) and GPON; gateway home networking and DSLTE systems; ultra-efficient network processors; and comprehensive Ethernet and voice solutions. The company holds over 2,000 patents.

Intel said the acquisition will expand its presence in the cable residential gateway market and broaden its offering to other gateway markets, including DSL, Fiber, LTE, retail and IoT smart routers.

"By 2018, we expect more than 800 million broadband connected households worldwide," said Kirk Skaugen, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Client Computing Group. "Intel has been a global leader in driving broadband into the home and to connected compute devices. The combination of our cable gateway business with Lantiq's technology and talent can allow global service providers to introduce new home computing experiences and enable consumers to take advantage of a more smart and connected home."

"Intel and Lantiq share a common vision about the evolution of the connected home and the intelligent network," said Dan Artusi, Lantiq CEO. "Together we can drive the transformation of the broadband customer premises equipment (CPE) as it becomes a smart gateway that connects an increasingly diverse roster of devices and services in the home."

http://www.intel.com
https://www.lantiq.com/media-center/news/press/380/


  • Lantiq was spun out of Infineon Technologies in 2009. It subsequently acquired the home networking and DSL-related assets of Aware.

Singapore Assigns 2.3GHz and 2.5 GHz TDD for HetNet Trials

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) will assign some Time Division Duplex (“TDD”) spectrum in the 2.3 GHz and 2.5 GHz band in the short term to facilitate trials for Heterogeneous Network (HetNet) deployments.

IDA expects the HetNet trials in Singapore to last six to nine months.  IDA is currently studying the allocation of these TDD bands for the longer term, as part of its overall review of spectrum bands to be allocated for mobile broadband services.

https://www.ida.gov.sg/About-Us/Newsroom/Media-Releases/2015/Spectrum-in-TDD-bands-assigned-for-HetNet-trials

SanDisk Intros Automotive Grade Flash Storage

SanDisk introduced a suite of robust, automotive grade NAND flash solutions optimized for connected cars and automotive infotainment systems.

SanDisk anticipates a the need for high-performance storage in a range of in-vehicle applications, including 3D mapping and advanced augmented reality in navigation systems, entertainment systems, intuitive driver assist technology, data event recorders, etc.

The SanDisk Automotive portfolio of storage solutions includes an automotive grade SanDisk SD card and iNAND embedded flash drive (EFD), which are available to automotive manufacturers in capacities up to 64GB. The devices are designed to perform in temperatures from -40 degrees C to 85oC.

http://www.sandisk.com/

FCC Commissioner Questions DISH's AWS-3 Subsidy

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai called for an investigation into how DISH Network Corp. qualified for a multi-billion discount in the recently completed AWS-3 spectrum auction.

By acting through two companies in which it holds an 85% stake, DISH was qualified as a small company in the auction, entitling it to a 25% discount on acquired spectrum.  Pai notes that DISH has annual revenues of almost $14 billion, a market capitalization of over $32 billion, and over 14 million customers.

http://www.fcc.gov/document/commissioner-pai-statement-abuse-designated-entity-program

Ericsson Announces 5G Partnership with SingTel

SingTel and Ericsson signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore future 5G networks and to address a wide range of use cases from consumers to industries.  The companies plan to evaluate and test technologies that are candidates for future 5G standardization. SingTel is seeking to explore how 5G technology can support Singapore’s vision of being a "Smart Nation."

Tay Soo Meng, Group Chief Technology Officer, SingTel, says: "We see 5G as a potential technology that will support very advanced communication needs in the future. We will endeavor to explore, study and possibly trial the 5G technologies to ensure SingTel continues its technology leadership in the mobile communications domain."

http://www.ericsson.com/
http://www.singtel.com