Juniper expands 5G portfolio with new routers, line cards, silicon

Juniper Networks unveiled a major refresh to its metro, edge and core solutions to accelerate service providers’ 5G transformation.

The rollout builds on Juniper's introduction last year of an MX Series 5G Universal Routing Platform powered by a new generation of its custom ASICs promising extensive programmability and performance improvements for supporting resource-intensive applications like 5G and secure SD-WAN-based managed services. The company says these new solutions, combined with its Contrail software, will help service providers achieve a holistic approach to infrastructure transformation that is cloud-centric, secure, and automated

Highlights:

• Introducing the 1 RU ACX700 Universal Metro Router to serve access applications with IPsec transport. It supports the precise timing and bandwidth requirements for 5G and meets the environmental requirements for deployment at remote, hardened sites such as street cabinets. The platform offers 24x10GbE and 4x100GbE port densities. The router is based on merchant silicon. Commercial availability is expected in early 2020.
• Introducing the 3 RU ACX700 Universal Metro Router with 2.4 Tbps of total system performance in a temperature-hardened form factor for both pre-aggregation and aggregation. The route is based on merchant silicon. Commercial availability is expected in early 2020.
• Introducing the MPC11E line card for the MX2000 Series 5G Universal Routing Platform. The new line card is powered by Juniper’s Penta Silicon, delivering a three-fold increase in line card and system capacity with 4 Tbps per slot capacity for high-capacity edge routing platforms. The Juniper Penta Silicon-powered MPC11E line card is expected in the second half of 2019.
• Introducing new Triton Silicon capable of delivering 400GbE native MACsec support. The new Triton Silicon will enable leading 100GbE and 400GbE density in Juniper's PTX10008 and PTX10016 Universal Chassis. The new Juniper Triton silicon promises a ~70 percent power efficiency gain (~0.15 watts per gigabit) over existing Junos Express Plus silicon, leading to a 380% bandwidth increase over the previous generation line cards in the PTX10008 and PTX10016. The new Triton Silicon-powered 14.4Tb line cards for the PTX10008 are expected to be available during the second half of 2019.

“Service providers seek agility, cost savings and new services from 5G networks, but capitalizing on these benefits requires a complete transformation of infrastructures, operations and services. With today’s announcement, Juniper Networks is giving service providers the building blocks required to create 5G-ready networks built for simplicity and agility that are capable of supporting immense traffic demands for the future. By combining the attributes of secure and automated cloud architectures, Juniper is ushering in the next era of service provider networking,” stated Brendan Gibbs, Vice President, Product Management, Juniper Networks.

Juniper refreshes MX edge routers powered by own Penta silicon

Tuesday, June 12, 2018  Juniper  

Juniper Networks introduced its new MX Series 5G Universal Routing Platform powered by a new generation of its custom ASICs promising extensive programmability and performance improvements for supporting resource-intensive applications like 5G and secure SD-WAN-based managed services.

The new "Penta" silicon, which leverages 16nm geometry, functions as the packet forwarding engine for the MX series. It delivers a 50 percent power efficiency gain (0.5 watts per gigabit) over the existing Junos Trio chipset, which leads to a 3x bandwidth increase for the MX960, MX480 and MX240. Juniper designed the Penta silicon with native support of both MACsec and an IPsec crypto engine – an industry-first – that can originate and terminate thousands of IPSec sessions without sacrificing performance. Additionally, Juniper Penta supports flexible native Ethernet support (FlexE).

Juniper Penta silicon features:

• 16nm with Integrated 3D HBM Memory reducing packaging by 83% over the 4th Generation Trio silicon 
• 500G Full Duplex / 1T Half Duplex 
• 50Gbps SERDES 
• Fully Programmable Packet Pipeline 
• Fully Fungible Integrated Databases for FIB, ACLs, Tunnels, Telemetry, and more… 
• Built-in FlexEthernet Support 
• Built-in MACSec & IPSec Tunnel Encryption Engine (Industry First)

A second major innovation with the platform is open hardware-accelerated 5G Control and User Plane Separation (CUPS), which enables operators to separate the evolved packet core user plane (GTP-U) and control plane (GTP-C) with a standardized Sx interface. This allows service providers to scale the control plane and the user plane independently as needed for added flexibility and investment protection.

Juniper said its MX Series 5G platform is the first networking platform to support a standards-based hardware accelerated 5G user-plane in both existing and future MX routers to enable converged services (wireless and wireline) on the same platform while also allowing integration with third-party 5G control planes. Juniper expects this will lower total cost of ownership by as much as three to four times over software-based user plane implementations for MXs deployed in the field.

In addition, the rollout expands Juniper Universal Chassis system. The previously announced PTX and QFX Universal Chassis gains two new MX variants: MX10008 and MX10016. The 13-RU MX10008 and 21-RU MX10016 Universal Chassis bring industry-leading and space-saving scale for edge routers at 19.2Tbps and 38.4Tbps, respectively.

Juniper pushes ahead with 400G based on its own silicon

Tuesday, July 24, 2018    

Juniper Networks is bringing 400GbE capabilities across its wide-area network, data center and enterprise portfolio starting in the second half of 2018, including 400GbE in backbone, peering, data center interconnect, scale-out metro core, telco-cloud services and hyperscale data center IP fabrics. The announcement includes product refreshes for Juniper’s PTX, QFX and MX series platforms based on the company's recently announced 400GbE-capable Juniper...

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Lumina extends OpenDaylight SDN controller to legacy elements

Lumina Networks, which offers an SDN Controller powered by OpenDaylight, is extending its platform to simplify legacy resource automation in support of the transformation journey to 5G deployments and DevOps principles.

The new Lumina Extension & Adaptation Platform (LEAP) uses model-driven frameworks to shield the complexity of underlying southbound interfaces. As part of Lumina’s Intent-Driven Service Automation solution, LEAP extends the capabilities of Lumina’s OpenDayLight-based (Fluorine release) SDN controller to enable intent-driven network operations. In a language agnostic manner, the platform promotes the addition of new microservices-based components and allows DevOps teams to leverage existing scripting skills to extend their service automation frameworks in-house.

Lumina said its goal with LEAP is to simplify service provisioning with automation while extending the life of legacy network elements through programmability. In brownfield environments, it could be used to provision devices with legacy interfaces to co-exist with programmable network elements. For service assurance enablement, LEAP could be used to collect parameters, normalize them, and push them for other functionality, such as alarming, statistics, notifications, etc.

“We are excited to announce a solution which extends the life of existing capex investments while decreasing service delivery times from months to minutes,” says Andrew Coward, CEO of Lumina Networks. “LEAP helps Service Providers take control of the network transformation and 5G service innovation while delivering the proven benefits of OpenDaylight to manage and automate heterogeneous environments.”

https://www.luminanetworks.com/products/leap/

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IBM Watson now available on-prem or any public cloud

IBM has made Watson portable across any cloud as well as on-premise enterprise infrastructure.

In opening Watson beyond its own cloud, IBM said its goal is to provide businesses with a simpler, faster way to build, deploy and run AI models and applications across any cloud.

Highlights:

• Introducing the ability to run IBM Watson services, including Watson Assistant and Watson OpenScale, on any cloud. Through their integration with IBM Cloud Private for Data (ICP for Data), Watson and Watson OpenScale can now be run any environment – on premises, or on any private, public or hybrid-multicloud – enabling businesses to apply AI to data wherever it is hosted. Businesses will be able to infuse AI into their apps, regardless of where they reside. The flexibility this affords can remove one of the major obstacles to scaling AI, since businesses can now leave data in secure or preferred environments and take Watson to that data.
• Deploy AI software that automates business processes for improved efficiencies and performance. New AI digital automation software is designed to enable clients to discover patterns in their business processes and then create AI-embedded programs to automate certain workflows.

The announcements leverage a series of new Watson microservices built for ICP for Data that are based on Kubernetes, enabling these new Watson microservices to be run on IBM Cloud, and other public, hybrid or multi-cloud environments.

"Businesses have largely been limited to experimenting with AI in siloes due to the limitations caused by cloud provider lock-in of their data," said Rob Thomas, General Manager, IBM Data and AI. "With most large organizations storing data across hybrid cloud environments, they need the freedom and choice to apply AI to their data wherever it is stored. By breaking open that siloed infrastructure we can help businesses accelerate their transformation through AI."

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Lenovo offers data center hardware on a subscription basis

Lenovo is introducing a subscription-based offering that allows customers to use and pay for data center hardware and services – on-premise or at a customer-preferred location – without having to purchase the equipment.

Lenovo TruScale Infrastructure Services is a new take on procuring IT resources via a consumption-based, subscription model. The company says these customers do not need to take capital ownership of the hardware or other IT assets. They can simply pay for what they use each month as part of their operating expenses. Lenovo’s ThinkSystem and ThinkAgile product portfolios are available through this offering, which includes hardware installation, deployment, management, maintenance and removal.

“Lenovo is accelerating our customers’ Intelligent Transformation and digital journey by providing them with a new way of securing and deploying infrastructure. By eliminating the capital expense of purchasing IT equipment and replacing with a subscription model, customers can now focus on supporting their business growth, knowing that they’ll have the right flexibility across their environment,” said Roderick Lappin, Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer at Lenovo Data Center Group. “Lenovo TruScale Infrastructure Services combines the economic flexibility of cloud with the security of on-premise data, giving customers more agility, efficiency and simplicity in how they operate.”

http://www.truscale.com

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Rakuten invests in Altiostar for virtual RAN

Rakuten, the Japanese e-commerce and fintech company and soon to be the operator of Japan’s newest mobile network, will make a strategic investment in Altiostar Networks, a start-up based in Tewksbury, Mass. The investment is subject to approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

Altiostar provides a 5G-ready virtualized RAN software solution that supports open interfaces and disaggregates the hardware from the software to build an open multi-vendor web-scale network. The Altiostar solution supports macro and small cells, indoor and outdoor, enabling interference management, carrier aggregation and dual reception.

Rakuten said it is on track with the deployment of a fully virtualized mobile network in Japan by October 2019.

“Our vision for Rakuten Mobile Network is to build the world’s first end-to-end, fully virtualized, software-defined mobile network: A network that innovates at the Speed-of-Software and scales at the Speed-of-Cloud. Altiostar technology is key to realizing this vision within the year,” said Tareq Amin, CTO of Rakuten Mobile Network. “The whole Rakuten team is looking forward to working closely with Altiostar to take a leadership role in driving RAN virtualization and to bring disruptive innovation to the mobile industry.”

“Open RAN architecture and virtualization are key to building software-centric networks that can scale and adapt to meet an explosion of devices and applications driving service velocity and profits,” said Ashraf Dahod, CEO of Altiostar Networks. “This funding is going to help us expand our technology innovation to help operators like Rakuten to push new business models and bring affordable broadband to the masses through web-scale mobile networks.”

In addition to the investment, Rakuten Mobile Network President Yoshihisa Yamada and Chief Technology Officer Tareq Amin will join the board of Altiostar upon completion of the transaction.

http://www.altiostar.com

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Wave2Wave adds Robotic Fiber Switches

Wave2Wave Solution has added two, large robotic fiber switches to its ROME family of patch panels.

The ROME MAX and ROME MAX-T switches each offer large fiber port counts in a full rack configuration within a standard 19-inch footprint.

ROME MAX is in a seven-foot tall rack, while ROME MAX-T extends to eight feet to provide the highest fiber count. This product series removes the complexity of installing and managing a CLOS design by building it into the solution.

"Robots are here, robots are in the data centers, and ROME will be a key evolutionary solution in today's transforming network," said David Wang, Founder and CEO of Wave2Wave. "Data center operators are constantly seeking new ways to differentiate themselves from the competition, whether that's by providing more timely service offerings, improving the accuracy of data center recordkeeping, or finding other innovative ways to help their customers grow. The latest additions to our ROME portfolio address these needs by speeding up and simplifying the way Layer-0 services are rolled out."

http://www.wave-2-wave.com

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Symantec acquires Luminate Security for perimeter defense

Symantec announced the acquisition of Luminate Security, a privately held company developing Software Defined Perimeter technology. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Luminate enables security and IT teams to create Zero Trust Application Access architecture without traditional VPN appliances.

Luminate's Secure Access Cloud securely connects any user from any device, anywhere in the world to corporate applications, on-premises and in the cloud, while all other corporate resources are cloaked without granting access to the entire network.

The company says its approach prevents any lateral movements to other network resources while eliminating the risk of network-based attacks.

Symantec said Luminate’s Secure Access Cloud technology further extends the power of its own Integrated Cyber Defense Platform to users as they access workloads and applications regardless of where those workloads are deployed or what infrastructure they are accessed through.

http://www.luminate.io

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Sumitomo Electric to deliver Aquantia's automotive Multi-Gig Ethernet

Sumitomo Electric Industries and Aquantia announced a strategic partnership for Sumitomo Electric to deliver Aquantia's Multi-Gig Ethernet connectivity products to global manufacturers of autonomous vehicles.

The products, Sumitomo Electric connectors, cables and subsystem capabilities combined with Aquantia AQcelerate automotive PHYs, are targeted at In-Vehicle Networks (IVNs) that enable new levels of autonomous driving. The agreement will allow the two companies to co-develop new capabilities for Aquantia AQcelerate devices that meet the needs of Sumitomo Electric’s global customers.

“By including Aquantia’s Multi-Gig capabilities with our automotive product offerings, Sumitomo Electric is making a landmark contribution to the autonomous vehicle ecosystem,” said Toshiaki Kakii, Managing Executive Officer of Sumitomo Electric. “A Multi-Gig IVN ensures the highest level of safety for drivers, passengers and anyone else sharing the road. Autonomous driving requires massive amounts of data transfers within the vehicle, and the combination of Sumitomo Electric and Aquantia will help make it seamless for Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) customers to create a safe, enjoyable in-car experience.”

Aquantia intros automotive Ethernet portfolio- multi-gig over copper

Monday, January 29, 2018  Aquantia  

Aquantia, which is known for its multi-gig Ethernet over copper PHY technologies, introduced an automotive networking portfolio and announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to provide Multi-Gig networking support for the NVIDIA DRIVE Xavier and DRIVE Pegasus platforms.

The market for automotive Ethernet could be many times larger than the data center, enterprise and access segments where multi-gig Ethernet-over-copper used today. Future vehicles, especially Level 4/5 autonomous vehicles, will require high-performance onboard networks to connect cameras, sensors, and displays with GPUs and CPUs.

Level 4/5 requirements include multiple high-resolution videos cameras, some of which are expected to be up to 4K60p at 20-bit resolution requiring full 10 Gbps connectivity. The network must be secure and redundant. It must also use reliable and low-cost cabling. For these reasons, Aquantia believes its multi-gig Ethernet over copper technologies are best suited for the task.

Aquantia's AQcelerate Automotive product line includes the following devices, which all support data rates up to 10GbE:

• The AQV107 Multi-Gig PHY
• The AQVC107 PCIe Multi-Gig MAC+PHY Ethernet controller
• The AQVC100 PCIe Multi-Gig controller (MAC only)

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Jack Water appointed President of Zayo Networks

Jack Waters has been appointed President, Zayo Networks and Chief Operating Officer of Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. In this expanded role, Waters will lead the company’s global Networks business, including the fiber solutions, transport, enterprise and strategic networks businesses in addition to network operations and security.

Waters has served as Zayo’s Chief Technology Officer and President, Fiber Solutions since August 2016. During his tenure, Jack has led organic and inorganic expansion of the company’s fiber network, integrating six acquisitions, including Electric Lightwave, Optic Zoo, and Spread Networks.

Prior to joining Zayo, Waters served in numerous leadership roles at Level 3 Communications, including chief technology officer. He was with Level 3 from its inception, and oversaw most of the engineering, network, and operations functions during Level 3’s initial 18 years. Waters was an original member of the team responsible for InternetMCI and began his career at SURAnet, the Southeastern University Research and Academic Network. Waters is a frequent speaker at industry and policy events and serves on the board of directors of the Colorado Technology Association.

"Jack’s leadership will continue to be instrumental as we fully leverage our global fiber footprint to provide solutions to the world’s most innovative and impactful companies,” said Dan Caruso, Zayo Chairman and CEO. “He has put a foundation in place, including the regional and strategic fiber network teams, which will be key to driving momentum and further unleashing the value of our network.”

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Twilio posts Q4 revenue of $204.3 million, up 77%

Twilio, which operates a cloud communications platform,  reported revenue of $204.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, up 77% from the fourth quarter of 2017 and 21% sequentially from the third quarter of 2018. GAAP loss from operations of $44.0 million for the quarter. GAAP net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted, was $0.47 based on 99.4 million weighted average shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2018, compared with GAAP net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted, of $0.20 based on 93.2 million weighted average shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2017. Non-GAAP net income per share attributable to common stockholders, diluted, was $0.04 based on 110.6 million non-GAAP weighted average shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2018.

"The power of our platform model was evident in our results once again, as Q4’s exceptional results capped off an incredible 2018,” said Jeff Lawson, Twilio’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “We are excited to add email to our platform through the acquisition of SendGrid and look forward to helping our customers drive their customer engagement strategies across all of the important communication channels - voice, messaging, video, and, now email.”

Key metrics

• 64,286 Active Customer Accounts as of December 31, 2018, compared to 48,979 Active Customer Accounts as of December 31, 2017.
• Dollar-Based Net Expansion Rate was 147% for the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to 118% for the fourth quarter of 2017.
• 1,440 employees as of December 31, 2018.
• Closed the acquisition of SendGrid, the leading email API platform

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