Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Gigamon - Visibility into VoLTE



Click for 3-minute video: https://youtu.be/-Gmecgbqifg

VoLTE brings great audio for users but carrier implementation raises many technical challenges. In this video, Andy Huckridge, Director of Service Provider Solutions at Gigamon, explores some of the issues surrounding the deployment of VoLTE.

Broadcom's Next StrataDNX Packs 100 Tbps of Switching Capacity

Broadcom introduced its next generation the StrataDNX ("Dune") family of switch system-on-chip (SoC) devices for optical transport, carrier Ethernet, edge and core routers, data center cloud and enterprise campus market segments. Sampling is underway.

The new switching StrataDNX  silicon, like Broadcom's StrataXGS Trident and Tomahawk switchhing families, are designed to power the next wave of network equipment with a higher port density, lower power consumption and greater subscriber scale in a smaller physical system size.  The company said its StrataDNX breaks new ground as the first to provide 800 Gbps packet processing per device at a high interface bandwidth while integrating a scalable multi-terabit switch fabric, hierarchical traffic manager, external packet buffer memory and advanced packet processing.

The 28 nanometer (nm) StrataDNX family supports pre-standard implementation for 25 and 50 Gigabit Ethernet, enabling direct connectivity to the Broadcom BCM56960 Tomahawk switch SoC. The devices support external DRAM-based packet memory offering up to 300x more traffic buffering compared with on-chip memory, enabling zero-packet-loss in heavily congested networks.  They also offer on-chip hierarchical traffic management ensures per-subscriber bandwidth guarantees, required by carrier networks to deliver on service level agreements (SLAs).

StrataDNX Family Key Features

BCM88370 and BCM88670

  • Up to 800 Gbps forwarding capacity per device
  • Advanced, flexible and configurable packet processor
  • Integrated accelerators for carrier service management
  • Carrier feature support including Ethernet OAM, MPLS, VPLS
  • Integrated hierarchical traffic manager with support for thousands of flows
  • External packet buffer memory supporting DDR4 or GDDR5 DRAM
  • Data center virtual network tunneling including VXLAN, NVGRE and Geneve
  • Support for 10 GE, 25 GE, 40 GE, 50 GE, 100 GE Ethernet port interfaces
  • Support for 200G-400G Interlaken port interfaces
  • IEEE 1588 network timing engine

BCM88770

  • Chassis switch fabric supporting 3.6 Tbps per device
  • Single-stage interconnect for up to 144 BCM88670 devices
  • Dual-plane Ethernet/optical switch fabric
  • Backwards compatible to legacy DNX switch fabric chipsets

"With the addition of our latest StrataDNX products to our switch portfolio, Broadcom is delivering the most comprehensive switching platform in the industry," said Ram Velaga, Broadcom Senior Vice President and General Manager, Network Switch. "These devices will change the way customers build and deploy networking equipment by providing a unique combination of advanced core features at a level of high bandwidth integration never before possible."

http://www.broadcom.com/press/release.php?id=s902223

In September 2014, Broadcom introduced its next-generation, StrataXGS "Tomahawk" switch, packing 2 Tbps of switching performance in a single chip that is capable of supporting 32 ports of 100 Gigabit Ethernet, 64 ports of 40GE/50GE or 128 ports of 25GE.

The new chip, which represents the 7th generation of Broadcom Ethernet switching silicon, is designed for the programmable fabrics needed in next-gen, cloud-scale data centers. 

The StrataXGS Tomahawk Series is powered by more than 7 billion integrated transistors in 28nm. It supports new 25GE and 50GE protocol standards, and is the first chip to scale to 32-ports of 100G on a single device.

Significantly, Tomahawk implements Broadcom's FLEXGS and Smart-Flow technology, enabling the switch to be software configured for specific policies while preserving deterministic latency. The new design brings a 12X increase in application policy scale compared to previous generation switches, along with increased flexibility of packet lookups and key generation, and rich load balancing and traffic redirection controls. This supports an extensive suite of user configurable functions for flow processing, security, network virtualization, measurement/monitoring, congestion management and traffic engineering.


  • In November 2010, Broadcom introduced its BCM88600 series Ethernet switching silicon designed for modular switching platforms with capacity ranging from 100 Gbps to 100 Tbps. The BCM88600 series integrates the features and functionality of an entire high-performance line card into a single chip, thus enabling a new generation of ultra high bandwidth networking solutions. The new silicon integrates switch fabric technology from Dune Networks (acquired by Broadcom in December 2009 for $178 million) into the Broadcom product portfolio.

Microsemi to Acquire Vitesse Semiconductor

Microsemi Corporation agreed to acquire Vitesse Semiconductor for $5.28 per share in cash, a premium of 32% on the average closing price of Vitesse's shares over the 30 trading days, and representing a transaction value of approximately $389 million.

Vitesse (Nasdaq: VTSS) offers a portfolio of high-performance semiconductors, application software, and integrated turnkey systems solutions for carrier, enterprise and Internet of Things (IoT) networks worldwide. Key markets include network infrastructure for mobile access/IP edge, enterprise cloud access, and industrial-IoT markets. Vitesse is headquartered in Camarillo, California.

Microsemi (Nasdaq: MSCC) offers semiconductors and system solutions for communications, defense & security, aerospace and industrial markets. Products include high-performance and radiation-hardened analog mixed-signal integrated circuits, FPGAs, SoCs and ASICs; power management products; timing and synchronization devices and precise time solutions, setting the world's standard for time; voice processing devices; RF solutions; discrete components; security technologies and scalable anti-tamper products; Power-over-Ethernet ICs and midspans; as well as custom design capabilities and services. Microsemi is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California.

Microsemi said it expects the acquisition to be $0.16 to $0.20 per share accretive in its first full fiscal year ending September 30, 2016.

"This acquisition is further evidence of Microsemi's continuing commitment to grow as a communications semiconductor company," stated James J. Peterson, Microsemi chairman and CEO. "Vitesse's highly complementary technology suite will expand our product offering and accelerate growth with differentiated technology in emerging markets, while benefitting from the increased scale, consolidated infrastructure and cost savings of the combined entity."

"The proposed acquisition of Vitesse by Microsemi will create a powerful combination," said Chris Gardner, Vitesse's chief executive officer. "I believe Microsemi will be able to leverage Vitesse's Ethernet technology and capabilities further into the communications market and has the scale to implement the adoption of our industrial IoT strategy."

http://investor.vitesse.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=902204
http://www.microsemi.com/

Microsemi's recent acquisitions include:

  • Centellax,a supplier of high-speed analog and RF semiconductor products for the optical communications and Ethernet datacom markets, September 2014.
  • Mingoa, semiconductor IP for hardware accelerated Ethernet OAM and embedded tests, July 2014
  • Symmetricom, highly precise timekeeping technologies and solutions, November 2013
  • Maxim Integrated Product’s telecom clock generation, synchronization, packet timing and synthesis business, January 2012
  • Zarlink Semiconductor, mixed-signal chip technologies for a broad range of communication and medical applications, including timing solutions that manage time-sensitive communication applications over wireless and wired networks, October 2011
  • Actel, low power FPGAs, mixed signal FPGAs, and programmable logic solutions, November 2010.

ADVA's NFV Strategy Builds on its Carrier Ethernet Portfolio

ADVA Optical Networking is preparing to introduce a number of new network Interface Devices (NIDs) as part of its newly unveiled Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) strategy.  The plan is to leverage the ADVA FSP 150 Carrier Ethernet portfolio to support virtualized customer premise equipment and to create virtualized radio access backhaul networks.

The company said its approach to NFV enables essential functions, such as advanced operations, administration and maintenance, to bridge the gap between virtual and physical network functions and to assure maximum network performance independent of the software appliances running on top. The company’s open architecture is fully standardized and not limited to vendor-specific orchestration solutions.

“The migration to a service-centric network has profound implications on the functions that various network elements need to provide,” said Christoph Glingener, CTO, ADVA Optical Networking. “Replacing single-purpose hardware appliances with network-based software functions is not a small task. In particular the NID-space is undergoing significant change, leading to a new set of functional requirements. Advanced service assurance, security and openness are the cornerstones of successful NFV implementations. Our NFV strategy was defined and sharpened by intense cooperation as well as early demo testing with leading technology providers, operators and also proactive engagement with standards bodies and industry forums.”

http://www.advaoptical.com/en/newsroom/press-releases-english/20150318-adva-optical-networking-unveils-nfv-strategy

Twin Prime Raises $9.5M for Mobile Data Delivery Optimization

Twin Prime, a start-up based in Redwood City, California, emerged from stealth and announced a $9.5 million Series A funding round for its work in mobile data delivery optimization.

Twin Prime has developed a mobile application acceleration solution for the delivery of dynamic, static and encrypted content on both cellular and Wi-Fi networks. The company claims it is 3X faster for images and 2X faster for video.

The solution does not rely on caching, compression or content modification. It works with current CDNs. Twin Prime's Global Location and Context-based Acceleration Strategy (GLAS) technology utilizes automated hypothesis testing to achieve real-time automatic selection and deployment of optimization strategies customized for specific mobile network characteristics and operating conditions including device, application architecture, network type, quality and location.

“Our customers see increased user engagement on their apps all across the world over both Wi-Fi and cellular networks. What they like about Twin Prime is the ability to optimize and customize acceleration strategies to every app session as its being used,” said Kartik Chandrayana, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Twin Prime. “We are dedicated to providing the next-generation mobile experience. It’s where business has evolved and it’s a greenfield opportunity that we are ready to deliver on.”

The new funding was led by DFJ and True Ventures with participation from Milliways Ventures and Moment Ventures.

http://www.twinprime.com


  • Twin Prime was founded by Kartik Chandrayana, who previously led engineering teams at Blue Coat Systems and Cisco Systems, and Satish Raghunath, who previously held technical and engineering positions at Juniper Networks and Nortel Networks.

CenturyLink Brings its Cloud to Singapore

CenturyLink announced the availability of its public cloud platform to Singapore.

The CenturyLink Cloud – available in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany - delivers enterprise-class control, agility, scalability and security backed by its global network.

“The launch of a CenturyLink Cloud node in Singapore further enhances our position as a leading managed hybrid IT provider for businesses with operations in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Gery Messer, CenturyLink managing director, Asia Pacific. “We continue to invest in the high-growth Asia-Pacific region to meet increasing customer demand. With a deep product portfolio across infrastructure, applications, services and geographies, CenturyLink optimizes complete solutions for customers, while offering a single point of accountability.”

CenturyLink recently expanded its managed hosting services into China and made its new Private Cloud service available in all 58 of its global data centers.

http://www.centurylinkcloud.com

OpenPOWER Shows Prototypes for Next Gen Data Centers

The OpenPOWER Foundation – an open development alliance based on IBM's POWER microprocessor architecture - showcased a number of products and prototypes for next gen data center systems based on the POWER8 microprocessor.

Some highlights:

  • Prototype of IBM’s first OpenPOWER high performance computing server on the path to exascale – IBM and Wistron are jointly developing the first OpenPOWER-based high performance computing server using technology from NVIDIA and Mellanox. The system will be the debut offering in a series of solutions to be introduced as part of IBM's OpenPOWER technical computing roadmap, which includes IBM’s future delivery of two systems to Lawrence Livermore and Oak Ridge National Laboratories. The systems are predicted to be five to 10 times faster than today’s leading supercomputers.


  • First commercially available OpenPOWER server, the TYAN TN71-BP012 – With planned availability in the second quarter of 2015, the TYAN TN71-BP012 servers are designed for large-scale cloud deployments and follow Tyan’s highly successful OpenPOWER customer reference system introduced in October 2014. IBM will be among the first to deploy the new servers as part of its SoftLayer infrastructure, utilizing them for a new bare metal service offering.
  • First GPU-accelerated OpenPOWER developer platform, the Cirrascale RM4950 – The Cirrascale RM4950 is the result of collaboration between NVIDIA, Tyan and one of the OpenPOWER Foundation’s newest members, Cirrascale. Immediately available for order and shipping in volume in the second quarter of 2015, the platform supports the development of GPU-accelerated big data analytics, deep learning, and scientific computing applications.
  • Open server specification and motherboard mock-up combining OpenPOWER, Open Compute and OpenStack – Rackspace, a managed cloud company, revealed an open server design and prototype motherboard, combining OpenPOWER and Open Compute design concepts. The new design, targeted to run OpenStack services and be deployed in Rackspace data centers, will draw upon a wide range of open innovations to deliver users improved performance, value, and features.


“Since our first public event just under one year ago, the OpenPOWER Foundation has expanded dramatically and enabled the development of a new breed of data center technology products worldwide,” said Gordon MacKean, OpenPOWER Foundation Chair. “Through our members’ individual and collective efforts we are positively changing the game, delivering innovations that advance data center technology, expand choice and drive market efficiency.”

The OpenPOWER Foundation noted that the organization has grown to more than 110 businesses, organizations and individuals across 22 countries.  The OpenPOWER Foundation also announced the formation of the OpenPOWER Advisory Group, a formal mechanism for engaging with other open development organizations. Inaugural members of the Advisory Group represent the Linux Foundation, the Open Compute Project and the China POWER Technology Alliance (CPTA).

http://www.openpowerfoundation.org

Avago Delivers New 100G Optical Transceivers for Data Centers

Avago Technologies announced sampling of its 100G QSFP28 SR4 and CFP4 LR4 transceiver module devices, the AFBR-89CDDZ and AFCT-8450Z, respectively.

The AFBR-89CDDZ QSFP28 transceiver is designed for 100GbE short-range data center interconnects, compliant with IEEE 802.3 100GBASE-SR4 and 100m multi-mode fiber media.

The AFCT-8450Z CFP4 transceiver is designed for 100GbE long-range data communications, compliant with IEEE 802.3 100GBASE-LR4 and 10km single mode fiber media. The AFCT- 8450Z is also compliant to OTN/OTL4.4 data applications.

“Avago is the industry leader in providing high-speed optical interconnects utilizing proprietary short-wave parallel optic and long-wave WDM technologies. The availability of 100G QSFP28 and CFP4 transceivers shall enable broad adoption of 100GE fiber links for data centers and accelerate the transition of data networks to 100G speeds to meet the ever increasing demand for bandwidth”, said Philip Gadd, senior vice president and general manager of the Fiber Optics Product Division at Avago.

http://www.avagotech.com/pages/en/press/100g_qsfp28_sr4_and_cfp4_lr4_transceivers/

Zayo Teams Up with Interxion for Expansion in Ireland

Zayo has selected Interxion Dublin to become the first site in Zayo’s newly expanded, long-haul European network. The companies said this expansion will provide Interxion’s customers in Dublin with high speed links into major UK cities as well as into Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris and cities in 45 states in the U.S. via Zayo’s existing global routes. Customers will have access to wavelength services of up to 100G and the opportunity to utilise Zayo’s full portfolio of services.

Zayo’s online pricing and ordering platform, Tranzact, will allow Interxion customers to commission direct links between Interxion Dublin and leading public cloud services. The innovative platform enables quotes to be generated, orders to be placed, and provides an overview of commissioned services. This capability simplifies the process of interconnecting cloud services to build hybrid business platforms.

”This agreement will enable us to provide services to a wider customer base and continue to support the mission critical services our customers demand,” Alastair Kane, European vice president for Zayo, added. “Through our recent network expansion we are able to support Interxion’s customers in gaining the maximum benefit from public cloud services and connections to hundreds of locations globally. Based on Interxion’s real time responsiveness, flexibility, and ability to understand our long term plans, we look forward to working together to provide customers with comprehensive services to support business needs.”

http://www.zayo.com
http://ww.interxion.com

Polycom Plans Video Collaboration for Skype for Business

Polycom plans to deliver a new series of video collaboration solutions purpose-built for Skype for Business.

The first device in the forthcoming Polycom RoundTable series will be a video solution for huddle rooms that will allow small to midsized businesses (SMB) and teams with Skype for Business and Microsoft Lync 2013 to enjoy rich collaboration experiences, including voice, video and content collaboration. Launch is expected this summer.

Collaboration is the cornerstone of productivity, and people need tools that work the way they do—across locations and devices,” said Zig Serafin, corporate vice president, Skype Business Services Group, Microsoft. “Throughout our long-standing partnership with Polycom, we’ve shared a goal of delivering collaboration experiences that transform the way people work. The RoundTable 100 serves as another important step in helping businesses of all sizes to realize that goal.”

http://www.microsoft.com