Here's what Happened at Open Compute Project Summit

In the five years since its launch, the Open Compute Project (OCP) has chalked up dozens of innovations and technical specification contributions that have been implemented by hyperscale data center operators. The ambitions have now expanded beyond rack hardware to include switching, storage, silicon photonics,  a telemetry framework, an open-source analytics platform and new domain of solutions adapted for telecom operators.

Here are some highlights from this week's OCP Summit in San Jose, California:

• Hundreds of companies and thousands of developers are now participating in Open Compute
• Facebook estimates it has saved several billion dollars thanks to OCP
• The OCP Board of Directors includes Jason Taylor (Facebook), Bill Laing (Microsoft), Don Duet (Goldman Sachs), Mark Roenick (Rackspace), Jason Waxman (Intel), Andy Bechtolsheim, and Frank Frankovsky.
• OCP has big ambitions for the telecom world which needs efficient infrastructure too. OCP has launched a Telecom Infrastructure Project that includes initial participation from AT&T, DT, EE, Equinix, Nokia, SK Telecom and Verizon.
• Facebook is moving quickly to bring 100G technology into the network backbone of its hyperscale data centers
• Intel said its OCP Rack Scale Architecture, with compute shelves, NVMe storage shelves, and network shelves has gained traction from a robust ecosystem of partners.
• OCP rack servers are moving to a standard 19" design.  This enables system to pack up to 256GB of DDR4 DIMMs on a single motherboard.
  
• OCP foresees that specialized workloads, such as security or SDN, will benefit from acceleration boards based on FPGAs.
• Silicon photonics will soon be a requirement in hyperscale data centers, especially when backbones eventually upgrade beyond 100G.
• OCP is developing an open telemetry framework for data centers.
• OCP open telemetry will be matched by an OCP open analytics platform.
• Microsoft highlighted its role in developing an open switch abstraction interface (SAI) to remove complexity in hyperscale data centers
• Microsoft's next OCP contribution is Software for Open Networking in the Cloud (SONiC), which allows sharing of the same software stack across hardware from multiple switch vendors. With its modular architecture and lean stack, SONiC allows data center operators to debug, fix, and test software bugs much faster. It also allows the flexibility to scale down the software and develop features that are required for datacenter and networking needs.
• Artificial Intelligence applications will require highly efficient and massively scalable hardware blocks.  Facebook is bringing these AI requirements to OCP. Its Big Sur AI hardware assembly has already deployed thousands of machines in just a few months. Big Sur is Open Rack-compatible and incorporates eight high-performance GPUs of up to 300 watts each, with the flexibility to configure between multiple PCI-e topologies. It uses NVIDIA's Tesla Accelerated Computing Platform.
  
  
  
• Google has just joined OCP. The biggest cloud participants also include Facebook, Microsoft and Rackspace.  (still missing Amazon, Alibaba, Apple, LinkedIn, etc).
• Google's first contribution to OCP is its design for a 48v data center rack.  Google said its design is 30% more energy efficient, in part by minimizing AC-DC conversions.
• Equinix has announced it is adopting Facebook’s Wedge network switch design and open-source architecture.
• Goldman Sachs announced that more than 80% of servers that the company has acquired since last summer are based on OCP standards.
• OCP is introducing Lightning, which is  flexible NVMe JBOF (just a bunch of flash). It is designed to provide a PCIe gen 3 connection from end to end (CPU to SSD). It leverages the existing Open Vault (Knox) SAS JBOD infrastructure to provide a faster time to market, maintain a common look and feel, enable modularity in PCIe switch solutions, and enable flexibility in SSD form factors. 

http://www.opencompute.org/

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Panasonic's "freeze-ray" Long-term Storge Uses 300 GB Optical Discs

Panasonic unveiled its enhanced "freeze-ray" series Data Archiver, which uses 300GB Optical Discs for long-term storage. The system was developed in collaboration with Facebook and shown at this week's Open Compute Project Summit in San Jose.

A fully-loaded freeze-ray system can pack 1.9 petabytes of data in a standard 19-inch data center rack.

In the future, Panasonic plans to increase the capacity of the Archival Disc to 500GB and eventually 1TB per disk.

http://panasonic.net/avc/archiver/freeze-ray/

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Radisys Launches DCEngine Frame Inspired by Open Compute

Radisys launched its "DCEngine" - a 42 RU frame based on principles of the Open Compute Project (OCP) with enhancements for communication service providers.

Radisys said its DCEngine provides a disruptive cloud platform that goes well beyond software-defined networking to create a truly open, software-defined services delivery infrastructure that fully embraces open source hardware and software technologies and offers DevOps agility to service providers.

DCEngine highilghts:

• A pre-installed, ready-to-deploy frame inspired by OCP as an open architecture for Radisys and third-party partners. 
• Performance and scalability through a collection of easily deployed and serviced compute, storage and networking sleds. DCEngine offers up to 2.4 petabytes of storage and up to 152 Intel Xeon class processors in a standard 42 RU frame.
• A flexible software and management framework enabling the most demanding service provider workloads. This framework is based on leading open source projects including the Open Network Operating System (ONOS) and Central Office Re-architected as a Datacenter (CORD) initiatives being led by On.LAB.
• A design that meets next-generation central office and service provider data center specifications, including NEBS temperature, EMI and seismic requirements where required.
• Professional services and cradle-to-grave lifecycle management of DCEngine hardware and fully validated and supported software stacks, including design, installation, configuration, deployment and ongoing maintenance and validation.

Radisys confirmed initial orders and shipment of DCEngine into one of the world’s largest mobile operators late in 2015 .

“Radisys’ 25-plus years of communication software DNA, coupled with our leadership in open telecommunication platforms, positions us as the ideal partner for communication service providers looking to evolve from existing central office architecture to the cloud,” said Brian Bronson, President and Chief Executive Officer at Radisys. “DCEngine’s seamless scalability and efficient lifecycle management, coupled with our proven track record of understanding and addressing the needs of the service provider, positions Radisys to be a leader in enabling the evolution of next-generation operator infrastructure.”

Separately, Radisys noted that it has joined the Open Compute Project as a silver member.

http://www.radisys.com

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Trend Micro Completes TippingPoint Deal

Trend Micro completed its previously announced acquisition of TippingPoint, a leading provider of next-generation intrusion prevention systems (IPS) and integrated network security solutions, from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). Trend Micro TippingPoint solutions are immediately available to bring customers comprehensive threat intelligence and protection for current and zero-day vulnerabilities and exploits.

“We are very excited to see this agreement come to fruition as it demonstrates our ongoing commitment to enterprise security,” said Eva Chen, CEO, Trend Micro. “With the addition of TippingPoint, Trend Micro provides customers with the unmatched ability to respond to known and unknown threats, exploits and vulnerabilities across the entire attack lifecycle. Trend Micro is now in a unique position to deliver these integrated, layered capabilities to address the complex network security challenges facing global companies today.”

http://www.trendmicro.com

Trend Micro to Acquire's HP's Tipping Point Intrusion Prevention Business for $300M

Wednesday, October 21, 2015  HP, IPS, Mergers and Acquisitions, Security, Trend Micro  No comments

Trend Micro agreed to acquire HP TippingPoint, a leading provider of next-generation intrusion prevention systems (NGIPS) and related network security solutions, for approximately $300 million.

The deal encompasses security technology, intellectual property, industry expertise, as well as a large, loyal enterprise customer base.

Since 2014, Trend Micro and TippingPoint have had a strategic partner relationship. HP and Trend Micro will continue to be strong partners post transaction. The two companies will form a strategic partnership with TippingPoint around re-sale, managed services and OEM activities, as well as security intelligence, app security and data security.

Trend Micro said the acquisition positions it as the go-to enterprise security provider of dynamic threat defense solutions spanning endpoints, network, data center and the cloud. Trend Micro will also combine current and acquired capabilities to create a Network Defense business unit, serving more than 3,500 enterprise customers.

“This acquisition complements Trend Micro’s current threat defense expertise, extending its strength in endpoint, cloud, data center and breach detection to the network,” said Mike Spanbauer, vice president of research, NSS Labs. “By combining two strong brands, this move accelerates Trend Micro’s enterprise position into a non-competing segment, and provides a single, complete threat defense solution for enterprises seeking to make a critical security investment.”

http://www.TrendMicro.com

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NeoPhotonics Comments on U.S. Department of Commerce Ruling on ZTE

NeoPhotonics, which supplies advanced hybrid photonic integrated optoelectronic modules and subsystems, confirmed that ZTE is a customer but that the Department of Commerce ruling on ZTE would not impact its financial outlook.

NeoPhotonics revenue to ZTE during fiscal year 2015 were approximately one percent of total revenue, and the company does not anticipate materially different revenue from ZTE in the first quarter of 2016 or in the 2016 fiscal year.

http://www.neophotonics.com

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Macom Announces CWDM4 L-PIC for 100G Datacenter Applications

M/A-COM Technology Solutions (MACOM) introduced a silicon photonic integrated circuit integrated with lasers (L-PIC) for a 100G transmit solution for CWDM4 and CLR4 applications.

MACOM’s MAOP-L284CN features four high bandwidth Mach-Zehnder modulators integrated with four lasers (1270, 1290, 1310, and 1330 nm) and a CWDM multiplexer, with each channel operating at up to 28 Gbps. The L-PIC operates on a standard single mode optical fiber, and includes integrated tap detectors for fiber alignment, system initialization and closed loop control. A single fiber aligned to the output edge coupler of this 4.1 x 6.5 mm die is the only optical requirement for implementing this device into QSFP28 transceiver applications. MACOM is also offering the MASC-37053A modulator driver integrated with CDR, matched with this L-PIC™ for optimized performance and power dissipation.

“Silicon-based photonic integrated circuits, or PICs, enable integration of optical devices such as modulators and multiplexer onto a single chip. We believe that MACOM’s L-PIC™ solves the key challenge of aligning lasers to the silicon PIC with high yield and high coupling efficiency, making the adoption of Silicon PICs a reality for high-speed optical interconnects within the Datacenter,” said Vivek Rajgarhia, Vice President of Strategy, High-Speed Networking, for MACOM.

http://www.macom.com

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Arianespace Successfully Launches EUTELSAT 65 West

Arianespace successfully launched the EUTELSAT 65 West A relay satellite on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana.

EUTELSAT 65 West A, which was built by SSL, will provide service in Brazil and across Latin America.  It has 10 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders, which will be used for video and data services and 24 Ka-band spot beams for broadband connectivity. The satellite, which is designed to provide service for 15 years or more, will be located at 65° West longitude. With this launch, there are 81 SSL-built GEO satellites currently on orbit.

http://www.arianespace.com

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Box Hits Quarterly Sales of $85 Million, up 36% year-over-year

Box reported revenue for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 of a record $85.0 million, an increase of 36% from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015. Billings in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 were a record $130.2 million, an increase of 59% from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015. There was a GAAP net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 was $0.41 on 123.3 million shares outstanding, compared to $2.64 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 on 20.0 million shares outstanding.

“Fiscal 2016 was a momentous year for Box with record revenue of more than $300 million. With new products like Box Platform, Governance, and KeySafe, and major customer wins in the fourth quarter with AIG, Genentech, Bain Capital, The Home Depot and Unilever, among others, we continue to be the platform of choice as enterprises move their content to the cloud,” said Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO of Box. “We achieved higher operating leverage driven by our strong business model and execution, and we remain focused on expanding our customer base, increasing our scale and driving further operational efficiencies.”

“In the fourth quarter, we delivered strong year-over-year revenue growth of 36% and billings growth of 59%,” said Dylan Smith, Box co-founder and CFO. “These top-line results, coupled with our positive cash flow from operations, reflect our progress towards achieving positive free cash flow in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017. With strong strategic partnerships, expanding cross-selling opportunities, and a large market opportunity still ahead of us, we are well-positioned for both continued growth and future profitability.”

http://www.box.com

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