Edgecore contributes its whitebox “Cassini” Packet Transponder to TIP

Edgecore Networks is contributing the hardware design for the “Cassini” packet transponder to the Telecom Infra Project (TIP). 

Cassini is a modular open-source whitebox packet transponder offering a flexible mix of 100 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) packet switching ports and 100/200 Gbps coherent optical interfaces for data center interconnect and service provider backhaul use cases. The design will support disaggregated software options including IP Infusion OcNOS™ and open source alternatives.

Edgecore said it developed Cassini with leading optical companies— NTT Electronics, Acacia Communications, and Finisar.

“The Open Optical Packet Transport project group in TIP pioneered the whitebox packet transponder concept with its introduction last year of the Voyager design which has gained significant interest in the community and from network operators,” said George Tchaparian, CEO, Edgecore Networks. “We have long supported open whitebox hardware with our many switch, PON OLT, and WiFi design contributions to the Open Compute Project®, and are now pleased to contribute the Cassini design to TIP as an open platform to provide more flexible whitebox choices to operators and encourage further collaboration between the packet switching and optical technology worlds.”

Highlights of the Cassini packet transponder

• a 1.5RU form factor 
• system throughput of 3.2Tbps 
• based on Broadcom StrataXGS Tomahawk Plus switch silicon
• 16 fixed 100 Gigabit Ethernet QSFP28 ports, plus eight line card slots 
• supports a flexible mix of additional 100GbE ports or ACO/DCO optical ports based on coherent DSP and optical transceivers
• supports Ethernet and optical line cards with MACsec security to enable secure encrypted connections on both client-side links and metro or wide area connections.

Read More

Cumulus supports TIP's Voyager Open Optical Routing Platform

Cumulus Networks is working to make its Linux implementation available on Voyager, the open transponder and routing platform of the Telecom Infra Project (TIP).

Voyager is an Open Packet DWDM system that disaggregates hardware from software and that can fulfill multiple use cases in metro and long-haul fiber optic transport networks. Facebook contributed Voyager to TIP to address operator needs for scalable, cost-effective backhaul infrastructure.

Voyager with Cumulus Linux is expected to be generally available for production use in early 2018 through partner ADVA Optical Networking.

The collaboration on the Voyager platform marks Cumulus Networks’ expansion beyond the data center networking market and into the Data Center Interconnect (DCI) market. More than 800 customers, including over a third of the Fortune 50, use Cumulus Networks technology to enable web-scale networking in their data centers. The combination of Cumulus Linux and Voyager extends the benefits of the Linux networking model – including increased operational efficiency and lower costs – to optical networks. Through Cumulus Linux, IP + optical networks reap the benefits of an open and flexible full-featured protocol stack that offers reliability, automation, programmability, telemetry based capabilities, and VXLAN support.

“Opening up closed, black-box systems enables innovation at every level, so that customers can meet the challenges facing their networks faster and more efficiently,” said Josh Leslie, CEO of Cumulus Networks. “We’re excited to work with the TIP community to bring open systems to networks beyond the data center.”

“Open approaches are key to achieving TIP’s mission of disaggregating the traditional network deployment approach,” said Hans-Juergen Schmidtke, Co-Chair of the TIP Open Optical Packet Transport project group. “Our collaboration with Cumulus Networks to enable Cumulus Linux on Voyager is an important contribution that will help accelerate the ecosystem’s adoption of Voyager.”

Read More

ADVA tests TIP Voyager in Colombia with InterNexa

ADVA Optical Networking and InterNexa performed a successful field trial of Telecom Infra Project’s Voyager open optical transponder over a 1,400 km optical fiber ring connecting the cities of Bogotá and Medellin.  The test delivered 200 Gbps on a single optical port.

The trial used an open “white box” architecture that disaggregates the hardware and software. Voyager integrates in a single rack unit (1RU) chassis IP packet technologies, switching and DWDM transponders. ADVA integrated the Voyager hardware and software components.

"We have found the Voyager Transponders very attractive for both their capacity on the DWDM line side for 100G/200Gbps speeds, and for the support of Layer 2 and Layer 3 protocols and features,” said Gabriel J. Vivares Arias, Product Development Specialist at InterNexa’s Product Management. “So we worked with ADVA Optical Networking to design a trial in our network, over our DWDM system that interconnects the main cities of Colombia -- Bogotá, Medellin and Cali -- in order to run tests on an optical fiber network with a ring topology approximately 1,400 km long, based on a 50GHz ROADM architecture designed to support 40 x 100G channels, with optical links up to 130 km on the direct route Medellin - Bogotá (370 km in total) and at least 3 links with 180 km on average on the route through Cali, Medellin - Cali - Bogotá (1,040 km in total)."

Read More

Ericsson sets 2020 financial targets

Ericsson outlined key elements of a transformation plan to stabilize the company and improve its margins by the 2020 timeframe. The restructuring is taking longer than the company initially expected due to a weaker than expected Radio Access Network equipment market that will have significant compound effect over the coming years. The exchange rate of the Swedish krona against the USD is making the situation even more challenging.

During its Capital Markets Day event in Sweden, Ericsson executives reaffirmed that the corporate mission is "to enable the full value of connectivity for its service provider customers."

Some group financial targets

• achieve net sales of SEK 190 – 200 b. by 2020
• achieve more than 12 % operating margin on a sustainable basis beyond 2018, excluding restructuring costs.
• achieve a gross margin of 37 – 39% and an operating margin of at least 10% for the Group in 2020, excluding restructuring charges. This target does not factor in any significant 5G sales during this time period.

Some other takeaways from the meeting

• Ericsson expects that the Radio Access Network equipment market will decline by -2% during 2018, and by -1% during 2019. In 2020, the market is expected to remain flat with no further decline.
• Beginning in Q4 2017, Ericsson will report its results in four segments: Networks, Digital Services, Managed Services and Other. 
• Ericsson is expected weaker short-term performance in segment IT & Cloud, due to past contract commitments.
• The Cisco-Ericsson partnership will not reach its goal of $1 billion in sales in 2018.
• Ericsson is looking to sell its Media business.

Börje Ekholm, President and CEO, Ericsson says: “5G is not just another G. Even though we are not planning for significant 5G sales before 2020, we are convinced it will create value for our customers in their mobile broadband business, enabling them to manage very high traffic growth. But even more important, it has the potential to create new businesses and revenue streams for service providers based on use cases such as industrial applications. With the combination of products and capabilities that we have in Networks and Digital Services combined, we are well positioned to support our customers’ network evolution to 5G.”

Read More

Netflix deploys Infinera Cloud Xpress 2

Netflix has deployed the Infinera Cloud Xpress 2 to expand their delivery capacity for streaming videos.

Netflix has over 100 million members in over 190 countries and delivers more than 125 million hours of streaming TV shows and movies per day.

Infinera's Cloud Xpress 2 supports simple point-and-click provisioning and the highest plug-and-play combination of capacity and reach available, delivering 1.2 terabits per second of capacity up to 130 kilometers without any external equipment. Infinera Instant Bandwidth enables Netflix to activate and pay for additional capacity in minutes, reducing initial cost of deployment while remaining responsive to dynamic capacity demands.

“The Infinera Cloud Xpress 2 makes it easy to deploy new high-capacity links between our Open Connect content delivery points of presence and quickly scale capacity to match demand,” said Dave Temkin, vice president of global networks, Netflix.

“We are honored to work with Netflix to help improve the delivery of streaming videos for its more than 100 million members around the world,” said Pete Dale, vice president of sales, cloud and content at Infinera. “The Netflix deployments demonstrate the exceptional simplicity and operational efficiency of the terabit-scale Cloud Xpress 2.”

Read More

Infinera announces Q3 revenue of $192m, restructuring

Infinera reported Q3 2017 revenue of $192.6 million, compared to $176.8 million in the second quarter of 2017 and $185.5 million in the third quarter of 2016. GAAP gross margin for the quarter was 35.2% compared to 36.7% in the second quarter of 2017 and 45.6% in the third quarter of 2016. GAAP operating margin for the quarter was (17.8)% compared to (22.9)% in the second quarter of 2017 and (5.9)% in the third quarter of 2016. There was a GAAP net loss for the quarter was $(37.2) million, or $(0.25) per share, compared to a net loss of $(42.8) million, or $(0.29) per share, in the second quarter of 2017, and net loss of $(11.2) million, or $(0.08) per share, in the third quarter of 2016.

In addition, Infinera announced a restructuring plan to reduce its expenses, including reduced headcount, rationalization of certain products and programs, and the closure of a remote R&D facility.
Infinera anticipates annual savings from the restructuring to be approximately $40.0 million.

“In the third quarter we continued to bring new products to market and delivered financial results that exceeded our guidance,” said Tom Fallon, Infinera’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our ICE4 products are delivering the technology differentiation we expected and are gaining traction across multiple customer verticals. Despite a softening near-term market outlook, over time I am confident we will return to outgrowing the market and delivering strong financial results.”

Read More

Ixia's new BreakingPoint Cloud stress tests cloud security

Ixia announced BreakingPoint Cloud, a software as a service (SaaS) solution that safely models data breaches and threat vectors to deliver quantifiable evidence and immediate insight into the effectiveness of cloud-based data and application security, whether private, public, or hybrid.

The service is powered by a high assurance threat intelligence feed provided by Ixia’s Application Threat Intelligence (ATI) Research Center. Ixia said its service can help eliminate security misconfigurations, understand the impact of a new risk before it happens, and provide evidence to support security audits.

"BreakingPoint Cloud is a proactive, risk assessment solution for public cloud and on-premise and hybrid networks that uses data-driven evidence to help customers ensure that their security controls are continuously working at optimum capacity, and can mitigate the latest breaches," stated Sunil Kalidindi, vice president of product management at Ixia, a Keysight Business.

Read More

Twilio's Q3 revenue tops $100 million

Twilio, which enables developers to embed messaging, voice, and video capabilities directly into their software applications, reported its first $100 million quarter. Twilio's Q3 revenues amounted to $100.5 million, up 41% from the third quarter of 2016 and 5% sequentially from the second quarter of 2017. There was a GAAP loss from operations of $24.0 million for the third quarter of 2017, compared with GAAP loss from operations of $11.3 million for the third quarter of 2016. Non-GAAP loss from operations of $7.7 million for the third quarter of 2017, compared with non-GAAP loss from operations of $3.4 million for the third quarter of 2016.

Twilio reported 46,489 active customer accounts as of September 30, 2017, compared to 34,457 as of September 30, 2016.

“We hit a number of exciting milestones in Q3, including our first $100 million revenue quarter, our first enterprise license agreement for our higher level software products, and the launch of Twilio Studio,” said Jeff Lawson, Twilio’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer.

Read More

Silver Spring Q3 revenues dip to $47million

Silver Spring Networks reported Q3 revenue of $47.6 million, down 35.9% year-over-year. Net loss per diluted share was ($0.47), versus ($0.29) in the third quarter of last year.
Quarter-ending cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments was $126.2 million versus $113.4 million in the third quarter of 2016. Billings were $82.8 million, up 8.7% year-over-year.
Cost of billings was $43.1 million or 52.1% of billings, versus $34.4 million or 45.1% in the third quarter of 2016.

“We delivered solid billings growth, underlying profitability, and significant cash flow from operations,” said Mike Bell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Silver Spring Networks. “New customer deployments continue for both domestic and international projects as we ramp deliveries of our Gen5 platform.”

In September,  Itron agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Silver Spring for $16.25 per share in cash. The transaction is valued at approximately $830 million, net of $118 million of Silver Spring’s cash. Silver Spring provides Internet of Important Things connectivity platforms and solutions to utilities and cities. In 2016, Silver Spring generated revenues of $311 million with a gross margin of 44 percent and ended the year with $1.2 billion of backlog. With its global footprint in the smart utility and smart city sectors, Silver Spring generated more than 20 percent of its revenues through its primarily recurring managed services and SaaS solutions, an area of strategic focus for Itron. To date, Silver Spring has delivered more than 27.3 million network-enabled devices across five continents.

Read More