Intel ships FPGA-powered accelerator cards for Xeon servers

Intel's FPGA-powered accelerator cards are featured in a new range of Xeon processor-based servers coming from major OEM customers, including Dell EMC and Fujitsu.

Both Dell EMC and Fujitsu will incorporate a complete Intel hardware and software stack in their individual offerings, consisting of Intel Programmable Acceleration Cards with Arria 10 GX FPGA and the Intel Acceleration Stack for Intel Xeon Scalable processor with FPGAs.

“We are beginning our adoption of Intel Programmable Acceleration Card with Arria 10 GX FPGA with PRIMERGY server and engaging our priority customers. The FPGA acceleration benefits enable operators to tackle the opex constraints while still achieving scale, performance and adaptability,” said Kenichi Sakai, corporate executive officer and head of Data Center Platform Business Unit of Fujitsu.

Dell EMC PowerEdge R640, R740 and R740XD servers incorporating Intel FPGA acceleration are now available for volume deployment with more to come.

“We are at the horizon of a new era of data center computing as Dell EMC and Fujitsu put the power and flexibility of Intel FPGAs in mainstream server products,” said Reynette Au, vice president of marketing for the Intel Programmable Solutions Group. “We’re enabling our customers and partners to create a rich set of high-performance solutions at scale by delivering the benefits of hardware performance, all in a software development environment.”

Intel first announced sampling of the card in October 2017 with the promise to make it commercially available in 1H 2018.

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AT&T and Crown Castle expand strategic relationship

AT&T and Crown Castle announced a new and expanded long-term leasing deal for wireless network infrastructure.

Under the new agreement, leasing management and operations are streamlined to improve the efficiency and flexibility under which AT&T can deploy new technologies and increase network capacity. In addition to macro sites, the new agreement covers small cell deployments. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The companies said the new agreement will enable AT&T to speed up the deployment of 5G technologies and the execution of our FirstNet build.

"This agreement marks a significant milestone in our relationship with Crown Castle," said Susan Johnson, executive vice president – Global Connections and Supply Chain, AT&T. "It establishes a market-based framework and simplifies the lease management and administration process. This will allow us to streamline network projects to better serve our customers."

"We are pleased to expand our longstanding strategic relationship with AT&T," said Mike Kavanagh, Chief Commercial Officer, Crown Castle. "We look forward to continuing to support AT&T's growth by providing our infrastructure assets to meet their network needs for years to come."

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Xtera in conversation with Verizon - part 1

The evolution of optical transport technology in terrestrial and subsea networks as we approach Shannon's limit is the topic of discussion in this conversation with Glenn Wellbrock, Director, Backbone Network Design, Verizon, Stuart Barnes, Chairman and CSO, Xtera, and Vijay Rudravajjala, VP Engineering, Xtera.


See video:
https://youtu.be/H3zt-Nd-xQ8

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Xtera in conversation with Verizon - part 2

In this segment, the conversation turns to network disaggregation trends. A key question that is raised by network operators is "what value am I going to get out of disaggregation if I am not interested in becoming an equipment manufacturer or system integrator?"  The value may be in standardizing APIs and driving network agility.

On the issue of standards, the topic of how to accurately quantify the capacity of open lines is raised, especially when spectral sharing is employed.

Glenn Wellbrock, Director, Backbone Network Design, Verizon
Stuart Barnes, Chairman and CSO, Xtera
Vijay Rudravajjala, VP Engineering, Xtera

See video: https://youtu.be/Bpvb7ACLxbk

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Anova claims wireless network delivers lowest latency from Chicago to Wash DC at 3.4ms

Anova Technologies, which specializes in connectivity for the financial sectors, announced the activation of a long haul wireless network between Aurora, IL and 1275 K St., Washington D.C.

The Aurora facility is a data center for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Washington address is used by the Department of Labor and is where important macro-economic releases are delivered.

Anova's network has the capability to bi-directionally transmit 150Mbps, with client port-to-client port latencies measured at 3.4ms one-way from Aurora, IL to Washington D.C. The company says this path is the fastest commercial network between these locations.

“We have always been active in providing capacity out of Washington, D.C. for this type of data; our path from New Jersey to D.C. has been up for over four years. And when you add our recently acquired CME to NY4 route to this network – Anova now owns and operates a triangle of long haul wireless connectivity between all three major U.S. financial centers: the CME in Aurora, the New Jersey equities & FX exchanges and the news epicenter of Washington D.C. No other provider has this,” stated Mike Persico, founder and CEO of Anova Technologies.

Anova now has almost 3000 total kilometers of active RF network across long haul and metro regions.

• Anovva is developing two proprietary networking platforms:
  The Relay - an FPGA-based endpoint termination device that optimizes layer 1 for latency while democratizes queuing & fail-over. The company claims zero queuing cross customers at the bit level. 
•  Laser Transport System (LTS) - a data transmission platform that simulcasts across two frequencies (MMW and laser) and selects the best packet in real time using Dynamic Packet Resourcing (DPR) thus enabling fiber-like availability at wireless speed.

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Keysight delivers 5G tester to NTT DOCOMO

Keysight Technologies has provided a 28 GHz Channel Sounding Solution to NTT DOCOMO to characterize the air interface.

5G channel sounding measures parameters such as path loss, power delay profile, reflection, and various fading profiles including Doppler shift. It is required to design efficient and robust 5G channel models.

Keysight said its 5G 28 GHz Channel Sounding Solution with wideband MIMO data capture techniques enables engineers to measure angular spread with fewer measurements and improve resolution of the multi-path parameters. Keysight and NTT DOCOMO recently cooperated on a similar project at a 60 GHz fixed use case.

“We knew that we needed a cooperative relationship with a test and measurement provider who specialized in high-frequency applications to develop and verify underlying technologies for 5G,” said Yukihiko Okumura, Group leader of 5G Radio Access Network Research Group, Research Laboratories of NTT DOCOMO. “The technical support and expertise from Keysight in 5G channel sounding techniques for mobility helped us understand the channel behavior at mmWave frequencies, especially travelling at high speeds.”

“Keysight is enabling the 5G industry by providing a combination of technical expertise and solutions in mmWave frequencies,” said Garret Lees, Director of Operator Solution Group, Keysight Technologies. “By partnering with NTT DOCOMO on 5G we’re able to accelerate key testing capabilities, allowing the wider mobile ecosystem to gain insights and innovate early.”

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Zayo to provide dark fiber ring in the Montreal for cloud company

Zayo will build a high-capacity dark fiber ring in the Montreal metro area to a global cloud provider. The project involves the extension of Zayo's existing dense network in Montreal and building a 60-kilometer ring for the anchor tenant along the South Shore, the city’s growing technology and data center hub. The name of the anchor tenant was not disclosed.

“This project enables us to further expand our Canadian footprint and deliver the high-performance communications infrastructure that this long-standing customer merits,” said Jack Waters, CTO and president of Fiber Solutions at Zayo. “We expect to capture the benefits of scale leveraging our dense Montreal footprint and these new success-based routes.”

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Telia Carrier connects Sabey Data Centers Seattle

Telia Carrier is now providing its 100G-enabled IP backbone and transmission network to Sabey Data Center Properties in Seattle.

Intergate.Seattle is Sabey Data Center’s flagship property and is the largest privately owned multi-tenant campus on the west coast. It is composed of two campuses, eight buildings and more than 1,373,000 square feet of data-center space.

“We are proud to partner with Sabey Data Center’s Intergate.Seattle campus. Our reliable network services enable Sabey to deliver the flexibility and capacity its customers need,” said Stephen Hartman, head of Telia Carrier’s North American Region.

Sabey Data Centers pulls in $675m in financing

Tuesday, December 19, 2017  Data Centers, Financials, Sabey  1 Comment

Seattle-based Sabey Data Centers, which owns and operates data center campuses in Seattle, Ashburn (VA), Quincy (WA) and Wenatchee (WA), closed a $675 million financing package led by TD Securities, including a $425 million 5-year term loan and a $250 million 5-year revolver. 

The company said proceeds of the term loan will be used to refinance existing property-level debt into a corporate facility, while the revolver will be used to fund capital expenditures for data center development and strategic initiatives.  Sabey plans to expand its data center campuses in Northern Virginia as well as in Central Washington, which benefits from low power rates and a mild climate ideal for efficient cooling.

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EXFO's quarterly sales rise 7.8% to US$64.7 million

EXFO reported sales of US$64.7 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2018, up 7.8% year-over-year. Sales were up 5.2% to US$128.1 million at the halfway mark of the company's fiscal year. 

In January 2018, EXFO assumed full control of Astellia, a global leader in the performance analysis of mobile networks and subscriber experience.

Sales, excluding the one-month contribution of Astellia, attained US$62.9 million in the second quarter of 2018 compared to US$60.0 million in the second quarter of 2017. Astellia contributed US$1.8 million in sales in the second quarter and first half of 2018. Astellia's sales were reduced by US$0.3 million to account for acquisition-related fair value adjustment of deferred revenue.

IFRS net loss attributable to the parent interest totaled US$4.7 million, or US$0.08 per share, in the second quarter of fiscal 2018 and US$2.0 million, or US$0.04 per share, at the halfway mark of the fiscal year. In comparison, net earnings attributable to the parent interest totaled US$1.0 million, or US$0.02 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2017 and US$4.3 million, or US$0.08 per diluted share, in the first half of 2017.

Adjusted EBITDA totaled US$2.5 million, or 3.9% of sales, in the second quarter of 2018 and US$8.6 million, or 6.7% of sales, in the first half of the fiscal year.

"I am thrilled with the closing of the Astellia acquisition as it positions EXFO among the top five providers worldwide of service assurance solutions," said Philippe Morin, EXFO's Chief Executive Officer. "Together, we have created a strong critical mass with solutions deployed at more than 250 network operators, while our global sales organizations have been merged to maximize cross-selling opportunities. Similarly, our unique portfolio of complementary technologies will be combined to deliver unmatched capabilities in high-growth markets like NFV/SDN, IoT and 5G. Although this transformative acquisition involves a short-term financial impact, we expect the additional sales volume, cross-selling opportunities, efficiencies as well as complementary technology and service offerings will contribute to earnings growth in fiscal 2019."

"In addition, I am pleased with the strong performance from our Physical-layer product line in the second quarter of 2018," Mr. Morin added.

EXFO to acquire Astellia for mobile subscriber awareness

Sunday, December 17, 2017  Canada, EXFO, France, Merger & Acquisitions, Monitoring, Testing  No Comments

EXFO has launched an all-cash voluntary tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Astellia, a provider of network and subscriber intelligence solutions for mobile operators. EXFO already holds 33.1% of Astellia's equity.

The offer is proposed at a price of EUR 10 per Astellia share, valuing the entirety of Astellia's equity (on a fully diluted basis) at approximately €25.9 million.

Astellia's real-time monitoring and troubleshooting solution optimizes networks end-to-end, from radio to core.  The company is based in France with significant operations in Spain and a strong presence in Canada, Lebanon, Morocco and South Africa.

"We aim to combine the two companies and create a global leader in the service assurance and analytics industry", said Germain Lamonde, EXFO's founder and Executive Chairman of the Board. "Combining our complementary base of customers, technologies and competencies, as well as our similar corporate cultures, will enable the development of game-changing solutions and services within a large market in rapid transition—all this in the best interests of our customers, employees and shareholders."

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OPAQ Networks raises $22.5 million for its Security-as-a-Service

OPAQ Networks, a start-up based in Herndon, Virginia, OPAQ Networks announced a $22.5 million Series B round of financing for its Security-as-a-Service.

OPAQ provides service providers with a single integrated/automated portal to deliver and manage network security for midsize enterprises. The OPAQ cloud platform combines a fully encrypted private network backbone with continuous monitoring, compliance analytics/reporting, next-generation firewall, web application firewall, DDoS mitigation, micro-segmentation and automated security management capabilities.

The company cited several recent milestones: a strategic partnership with Palo Alto Networks, the introduction of its micro-segmentation technology for endpoints, and its acquisition of business intelligence/reporting automation specialists FourV Systems.

The funding round was led by new investor Greenspring Associates, with continuing participation from Columbia Capital and Harmony Partners.

“OPAQ Networks has built and delivered the most advanced high-performance platform for providing Fortune 100-grade network security to midsize enterprises, a capability that has been missing in this segment of the market due to deployment complexity, lack of resources and affordability,” said Glenn C. Hazard, Chairman and CEO of OPAQ Networks. “This latest round of financing provides the necessary resources to accelerate our go-to-market plan, continue to expand our focus on channel partners and overall market adoption.”

http://www.opaqnetworks.com

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