Optical Internetworking Forum tests SDN transport API

Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), in collaboration with MEF, successfully concluded its 2018 Software-Defined Networking (SDN) Transport Application Programming Interface (T-API) multi-vendor interoperability demonstration.


The multi-vendor demo led by four network operator labs included lab deployed and cloud deployed systems testing new dynamic behavior use cases and deployment scenarios. The demo also incorporated service provisioning scenarios at the LSO Presto reference point in the MEF LSO architecture, using the MEF NRP Interface Profile Specification (MEF 60), which defines extensions to T-API in support of Carrier Ethernet services.

“The OIF SDN Interoperability demonstration has successfully brought together carriers, vendors and integrators with a common goal of moving to an open API (TAPI),” said Jack Pugaczewski, Distinguished Architect, CenturyLink. “T-API is a key enabler for providing automated service fulfillment and assurance. We have tested the Connectivity, Topology and Notification software patterns that T-API provides. Common APIs reduce design, development and deployment cycles for all involved, thus getting to market faster and realizing the financial benefits of automation.”

Participating network operators were CenturyLink, China Telecom, SK Telecom and Telefónica and vendors included ADVA, Coriant, Infinera, NEC/Netcracker, Nokia and SM Optics. Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC) was a participating academic institution and TELUS Communications participated as a consulting network operator.

“The OIF’s goal for interop events is to improve the quality and clarity of specifications being tested,” explained Jonathan Sadler, OIF VP and Networking & Operations Interoperability Working Group Chair. “As the tests were performed, we noted possible points for misunderstanding and places where the specifications may be enhanced. These results will be liaised to ONF and MEF for review at future meetings.”

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Google Cloud readies launch in Los Angeles

Google Cloud Platform is ready to launch a new Los Angeles cloud region next month, joining its current regions or Oregon, Iowa, South Carolina and northern Virginia.

The new Los Angeles cloud region will target the aerospace, music, media and entertainment industries of southern California.

"Los Angeles is a global hub for fashion, music, entertainment, aerospace, and more—and technology is essential to strengthening our status as a center of invention and creativity,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “We are excited that Google Cloud has chosen Los Angeles to provide infrastructure and technology solutions to our businesses and entrepreneurs.”

https://cloudplatform.googleblog.com/

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SSE Enterprise Telecoms deploys Infinera for "dark fibre-like network’

SSE Enterprise Telecoms, which operates a 13,700km private telecoms network and an estate of 15 data centres across the UK, has selected Infinera's XTM Series to deliver a resilient, ‘dark fibre-like’ network across the UK.

Specifically, SSE Enterprise Telecoms' network will provide fibre connectivity from BT exchanges to more than 80 commercial data centres. The extensive network promises access to multiple services with speeds of up to 100 Gbps to each BT exchange.

Infinera said it was selected for this deployment by SSE Enterprise Telecoms over incumbent vendors due to its unique combination of layer 1 and 2 packet optical and Ethernet services – serving as a credible alternative to customers laying costly dark fibre cabling.

Conrad Mallon, Chief Technical Architect, SSE Enterprise Telecoms says: “We’re working with Infinera because they have an elegant product set that scales effectively, and a unique approach to layer 1 and 2 connectivity. A network project on this scale makes us one of the few providers that can offer multiples of 100Gbps services between exchanges, commercial data centres and across our core, at an accessible price point. The network expansion deal is also paving the way for our ambitious roadmap which will see SSE Enterprise Telecoms investing more in network reach over the next five years.”

Nick Walden, SVP, EMEA, Infinera says: “The UK market has never been more dynamic, now facing exponential bandwidth growth coupled with a renewed focus on connectivity services from both enterprises and carriers due to the recent DFA activities. Infinera is delighted to partner with SSE Enterprise Telecoms on this significant project to rapidly scale network capacity and service differentiation for its customers with our leading XTM Series packet optical solutions.”

http://www.ssetelecoms.com/ 
https://www.infinera.com/sse-enterprise-telecoms-implements-infinera-platform-across-uk
/

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Google Clouds adds high-performance file storage

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) announced a new high-performance storage service for users who need to create, read and write large files with low latency.

The new Cloud Filestore is managed file storage for applications that require a file system interface and a shared file system. It gives users a simple, integrated, native experience for standing up fully managed network-attached storage (NAS) with their Google Compute Engine and Kubernetes Engine instances.

Two tiers are offered. A high-performance Premium tier is $0.30 per GB per month, and the midrange performance Standard tier is $0.20 per GB per month in us-east1, us-central1, and us-west1 (Other regions vary).

https://cloudplatform.googleblog.com/

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Coriant intros Vibe X90 white box for disaggregated routing/switching

Coriant introduced the first in a series of "Vibe" carrier-class white boxes for service aggregation from access to the core.

The new, 2RU Coriant Vibe X90 Programmable Packet Platform, which is a key component of the Coriant Hyperscale Carrier Architecture, is a cost-optimized white box solution for IP transport network applications where cost-efficient Layer 2/3 service aggregation is required for a dense mix of 1G, 10G, 25G, and 100G interfaces, including in Provider Edge and Central Office environments. It supports 900 Gbps of full-duplex switching capacity in single node configurations and scalability up to 2.7 Tbps in stacked configurations, with further scalability enabled in POD configurations.

Key features include:

• Carrier-class performance – to ensure a best-in-class customer experience as IP traffic and services scale, the Vibe X90 system architecture is purpose-built for telco environments and supports a wide breadth of carrier-grade operations, including packet synchronization (IEEE 1588, SyncE), large packet buffers, ETSI-standard rack sizes, node stacking, and control and data plane redundancy
• Open, agnostic software control – to break vendor lock-in and accelerate innovation cycles, the Vibe X90 is built upon Open Network Install Environment (ONIE) and Open APIs, enabling flexible software portability with compatible NOS software, such as the Coriant NOS, and SDN/NFV orchestration in multi-vendor, multi-layer environments
• Cost-efficient IP network scalability – single and stacked configuration node options, coupled with support for horizontal scalability enabled by leaf and spine POD architectures, provide the foundation for flexible and cost-efficient multi-unit scalability, with full resilience for control and data plane traffic
• Application-optimized features – the Vibe X90 supports important networking features such as advanced timing capabilities that enable a variety of mobile and converged applications where flexible scaling and accurate packet synchronization is critical to service availability   

https://www.coriant.com

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Acacia offers Coherent ZR Optics for CFP and CFP2 Pluggable Modules

Acacia Communications announced the general availability of two new high-speed coherent optical interconnect products for “ZR” applications in access, edge, and enterprise campus networks.

Acacia's new 100G/200G CFP2-DCO ZR and next generation low power 100G CFP-DCO ZR are enabled by the company's proprietary digital signal processor (DSP) and silicon photonic technologies.

Acacia said its new products support the requirements of unamplified applications beyond the 40km reaches standardized in the industry and extend to 80km and beyond.

Acacia’s CFP-DCO ZR module is capable of supporting the 18W power class that was widely deployed for 10km client applications. Both modules also offer high-capacity and low-power consumption solutions designed to reduce the complexity, power usage and cost of high-bandwidth interconnects.

“Traditionally, coherent optical transmission was primarily used for longer reach applications, but traffic patterns are changing in ways that are leading to the need for high capacity interconnects that target shorter reaches in a power efficient and cost effective manner. ZR optics address this need,” said Tom Williams, Senior Director of Marketing for Acacia Communications. “Acacia pioneered the coherent ZR offering with our industry first CFP-DCO form factor and our vision is to continue to expand the use of coherent technology in shorter reach applications.”

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IEEE adopts OpenFog Reference Architecture

The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) has adopted The OpenFog Consortium’s OpenFog Reference Architecture for fog computing as an official standard.

The new standard, known as IEEE 1934™, relies on the reference architecture as a universal technical framework that enables the data-intensive requirements of the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

“We now have an industry-backed and -supported blueprint that will supercharge the development of new applications and business models made possible through fog computing,” said Helder Antunes, chairman of the OpenFog Consortium and senior director, Cisco. “This is a significant milestone for OpenFog and a monumental inflection point for those companies and industries that will benefit from the ensuing innovation and market growth made possible by the standard.”

The OpenFog Consortium, which was founded more than two years ago, describes fog computing as a system-level horizontal architecture that distributes resources and services of computing, storage, control and networking anywhere along the cloud-to-things continuum. It supports multiple industry verticals and application domains, enables services and applications to be distributed closer to the data-producing sources, and extends from the things, over the network edges, through the cloud and across multiple protocol layers.

“The reference architecture provided a solid, high-level foundation for the development of fog computing standards,” said John Zao, Chair, IEEE Standards Working Group on Fog Computing & Networking Architecture Framework, which was sponsored by the IEEE Communications Society's Edge, Fog, and Cloud Communications Standards Committee. “The OpenFog technical committee and the IEEE standards committee worked closely during this process and benefited from the collaboration and synergies that developed. We’re very pleased with the results of this standards effort.”

OpenFog Consortium Releases its Reference Architecture

Wednesday, February 08, 2017  Fog  No Comments

The OpenFog Consortium, whose founding members include ARM, Cisco, Dell, Intel, Microsoft, and Princeton University, published its OpenFog Reference Architecture, a universal technical framework designed to enable the data-intensive requirements of the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

Fog computing is the system-level architecture that brings computing, storage, control, and networking functions closer to the data-producing sources along the cloud-to-thing continuum. The new reference architecture aims to enable high-performance, interoperability and security in complex digital transactions.

In brief, the OpenFog Reference Architecture contains a medium- to high-level view of system architectures for fog nodes (smart, connected devices) and networks, deployment and hierarchy models, and use cases. It is based on eight core technical principles, termed pillars, which represent the key attributes that a system needs to encompass to be defined as "OpenFog." These pillars include security, scalability, openness, autonomy, RAS (reliability, availability, and serviceability), agility, hierarchy and programmability.

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ADVA delivers fiber assurance for Holland's TReNT

TReNT, a leading Netherlands-based fiber solutions provider, has deployed ADVA's ALM assurance technology across its dark fiber network.

The ADVA ALM is a plug-and-play fiber assurance device, It provides TReNT with continuous in-service monitoring, immediately alerting operators to any faults or potential fiber degradation.

ADVA said real-time data is key to assuring world-class dark fiber services and maintaining valuable SLA promises through rapid repair cycles. The device is also non-intrusive as it operates independently of transported data.

“The ADVA ALM is helping us maximize the potential of our fiber plant and bring added value to our customers. With this assurance solution, our operators are able to detect any issues in an instant. That means no more wasted hours finding faults, no more futile repair visits and altogether simpler maintenance,” said Harmen ten Kate-Busschers, project manager, TReNT.

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SD Express memory cards integrate PCIe and NVMe for up to 985 MB/sec

The next generation of SD Express memory cards will use the well-known PCIe 3.0 specification and NVMe v1.3 protocols defined by PCI-SIG and NVM Express, respectively. The PCIe interface delivering a 985 megabytes per second (MB/s) maximum data transfer rate and the NVMe upper layer protocol enables advanced memory access mechanism, enabling a new world of opportunities for the popular SD memory card. In addition, the maximum storage capacity in SD memory cards grows from 2TB with SDXC to 128 TB with the new SD Ultra Capacity (SDUC) card. These innovations maintain the SDA’s commitment to backward compatibility and are part of the new SD 7.0 specification.

A new white paper, “SD Express Cards with PCIe and NVMe Interfaces,” provides more details on the new capabilities and features found in the SD 7.0 specification. More information is available on our website.

“With SD Express we’re offering an entirely new level of memory card with faster protocols turning cards into a removable SSD,” said Hiroyuki Sakamoto, SDA president. “SD 7.0 delivers revolutionary innovations to anticipate the needs of forthcoming devices and content rich and speed hungry applications.”

“PCI-SIG is pleased to have teamed with the SDA to collaborate on this innovation for the world’s leading removable memory card – SD,” said Al Yanes, PCI-SIG president and chairman. “PCIe specification conformance tests are available today by major test vendors, offering a significant advantage for any new PCIe adopter.”

https://www.sdcard.org/

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China Mobile and NTT DOCOMO back IoT Multi-vendor eSIM

China Mobile and NTT DOCOMO will launch an eSIM(1) solution to enable cross-vendor SIM profile switching from DOCOMO to China Mobile.

This allows DOCOMO customers from Japan with IoT equipment in China to switch the mobile numbers (profiles) of their IoT equipment from DOCOMO to China Mobile even with different SIM vendors adopted by the two operators, thus eliminating the need to replace physical SIM cards.

DOCOMO commercialized the eSIM solution in 2014 and launched a commercial service with Telefonica Brasil S.A. (Vivo) in 2015.

DOCOMO and China Mobile International signed an IoT Service Agreement including eSIM solution in November 2017.

DOCOMO has also been pursuing various eSIM projects through partnerships with international mobile operators including IoT World Alliance, SCFA and Conexus
. Gradual expansion to Europe, Asia, Middle East and America is planned.

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