xRAN Fronthaul Control, User and Synchronization spec 2.0 approved

The xRAN Forum (xRAN) announced the approval and release of the xRAN Fronthaul Control, User and Synchronization (CUS) Plane Specification Version 2.0 and the xRAN Fronthaul Management Plane (MP) Specification Version 1.0. The approvals allow vendors to develop new RRUs and BBUs for a wide range of deployment scenarios, which can be easily integrated with virtualized infrastructure & management systems using standardized data models. The second...

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Spirent debuts 400G Ethernet test solution

Spirent Communications introduced an 8-port 1U-high rack-mountable solution for testing 400/200/100/50 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE). The new pX3 400G Appliance, which is the world’s highest density QSFP-DD tester, is designed to validate the forwarding performance and quality of service of ultra-high-scale, next-generation-enabled, multi-terabit routers and switches, all contained in a single rack space. The pX3 400G appliance offers 8 ports. Spirent...

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MEF 3.0 Progress Report -- Layer 1, intercarrier APIs, SD-WAN, more

Kevin Vachon, COO of MEF, provides a progress report on MEF 3.0,  which is the global services framework for “defining, delivering, and certifying agile, assured, and orchestrated communication services across a global ecosystem of automated networks.” This week's MEF Annual Members' Meeting in Nashville was highly productive, featuring advancements in all of the following areas: Layer 1 specifications; Layer 3 specifications; SD-WAN; Carrier...

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SD-WAN market adoption - a perspective from Comcast Business

The market has really begun to embrace SD-WAN, says Kevin O'Toole, Senior Vice President, Product Management, Comcast Business, in order to cut their costs and unlock the power of new last-mile access networks. MEF is working on standards to support the evolution of SD-WAN. Filmed at the MEF Annual Members' meeting in Nashville. See video: https://youtu.be/lRE6338Veaw ...

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Intel reports record Q2 sales - strength in data centers

Intel reported record second quarter revenue of $17.0 billion, up 15 percent YoY and driven by strength across the business and customer demand for Intel platforms. Intel's data-centric businesses grew 26 percent, approaching 50 percent of total revenue. PC-centric revenue was up 6 percent on strength in the commercial and enthusiast segments. “After five decades in tech, Intel is poised to deliver our third record year in a row. We are uniquely...

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AWS hits Q2 sales of $6.105 billion, up 49% yoy

In its quarterly report for the three months ended June 30, 2018, Amazon disclosed that AWS sales amounted to $6,105 for the period, up 49% from $4,100 a year earlier. Quarterly news highlights for AWS New enterprise customers announced during the quarter include Ryanair, Epic Games, zulily, 21st Century Fox, Verizon and its subsidiary Oath, Major League Baseball, and Formula One. AWS announced the general availability of Amazon Elastic Container...

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Nokia posts dip in Q2 revenues and profitability

Nokia reported net sales in Q2 2018 of EUR 5.3 billion, down 5% compared to EUR 5.6 billion in Q2 2017. On a constant currency basis, net sales would have been down 1%. Non-IFRS diluted EPS in Q2 2018 was EUR 0.03, compared to EUR 0.08 in Q2 2017. Nokia’s Networks business net sales were EUR 4.7 billion, with operating profit of EUR 69 million The company expects commercial 5G network deployments to begin near the end of 2018.  Strong momentum...

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CyrusOne buys land for another data center in northern VA

CyrusOne has purchased land and a newly-built, powered shell for an enterprise data center in Sterling, Virginia -- its fourth data center campus in the region. The first phase of the facility should be ready in Q1 2019. It will eventually provide 33 megawatts of available power. The new data center brings CyrusOne’s total power capacity in Northern Virginia to over 160 megawatts. "Hyperscalers demand warp speed, and we’re proud to be accelerating...

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Alibaba Cloud opens 2nd availability zone in Malysia

Alibaba Cloud launched its second cloud availability in Malaysia. The new zone complements Availability Zone A, which was launched last year. Alibaba Cloud also plans to open the first cloud-based Anti-DDoS Scrubbing Center in Malaysia in August. “I welcome Alibaba Cloud’s effort to further support and enhance Malaysia’s digital economy. The world moves ever closer towards e-commerce and we see a considerable surge in demand by local industries...

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Standards organizations to address Ethics in Autonomous and Intelligent Systems

A new Open Community for Ethics in Autonomous and Intelligent Systems (OCEANIS) has been formed to focus on standards as a means to address ethical matters in autonomous and intelligent systems. IEEE and the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) are founding members. In addition to IEEE-SA, Founding Members include: Austrian Electrotechnical Association (OVE) Austrian Standards International (A.S.I.) British Standards Institution (BSI) China Electronic...

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