Vodafone New Zealand lights up 800G with Ciena

Vodafone New Zealand will deploy 800G between its data centres in Auckland using Ciena’s WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) coherent optics.

Vodafone is leveraging its existing Ciena 6500 shelves, doubling the data throughput for each hardware module deployed and reducing energy consumption by 50 percent.

“Ciena’s innovative 800G coherent optics enable Vodafone New Zealand to execute on our vision to provide New Zealanders with access to the world’s best digital services. With Ciena’s WL5e, Vodafone will provide increased bandwidth for a plethora of data-hungry applications, especially necessary as we’ve seen both increases and spikes of data used during the past few months, a trend that is only set to continue as remote working becomes more widespread and New Zealand gears up for a more digitally-focused future,” says Tony Baird, Wholesale and Infrastructure Director at Vodafone. “The highly advanced data transport system has been deployed together with Vodafone’s optical partner Ciena and test equipment experts VIAVI.”

“Today’s networks need to adapt and adjust quickly to meet rising connectivity demands. WL5e delivers increased scale, performance and efficiency, transforming Vodafone New Zealand’s network to bring exciting new applications and services to life,” says Rick Seeto, Vice President and General Manager of Asia-Pacific and Japan, Ciena.

https://www.ciena.com/about/newsroom/press-releases/vodafone-new-zealand-rolls-out-800g-technology-with-ciena.html

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Windstream deploys Nokia's 7750 core router

Windstream is replacing its legacy core router platform with Nokia's 7750 SR-7s across its core routing network as it prepares for next-generation broadband and 5G services. The full core enhancement encompasses Windstream’s nationwide network, which Nokia and Windstream expect to complete by late 2021. Nokia and Windstream have implemented the first four network sites, located in Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta and most recently in Ashburn, Va. The fifth is scheduled for New York City and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Nokia said its advanced routers will provide Windstream scalable system capacity and increased flexibility to optimize any network location for superior performance and a best-in-class subscriber experience. The 7750 SR-7s routers are powered by Nokia's programmable FP4 network processors, which are designed to enable deterministic packet forwarding for consistent performance at full scale. The 7750 SR-7s is a modular system and line card architecture with economic licensing and universal optical connectors. t

Buddy Bayer, Chief Network Officer at Windstream, said: “Windstream is thrilled to work with Nokia for this next-phase national IP core build-out. We continue to see tremendous growth in network traffic and the need to deliver more throughput and higher capacity to our customers is critical. Building out this backbone with Nokia's 400G-capable routers will allow us to stay ahead of our customers’ network needs.”

Ricky Corker, President of Customer Operations, Americas at Nokia, said: “Nokia is excited to enhance our longstanding relationship with Windstream and really put the power of our FP4 chipsets to work. Taking a lead in 400G technologies is paramount to Nokia’s focus, and giving higher levels of connectivity to Windstream’s wholesale customers, especially when so urgently needed throughout COVID-19, is a source of pride for us at Nokia.”

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MIT: Scaling up the quantum chip

Researchers at MIT have achieved a breakthrough in the field of scalable quantum processors by developing a process to manufacture and integrate “artificial atoms,” created by atomic-scale defects in microscopically thin slices of diamond, with photonic circuitry.

A team, led by Dirk Englund, an associate professor in MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, were able to build a 128-qubit system — the largest integrated artificial atom-photonics chip to date. The hybrid manufacturing approach iused carefully selected “quantum micro chiplets” containing multiple diamond-based qubits placed on an aluminum nitride photonic integrated circuit.

“In the past 20 years of quantum engineering, it has been the ultimate vision to manufacture such artificial qubit systems at volumes comparable to integrated electronics,” Englund says. “Although there has been remarkable progress in this very active area of research, fabrication and materials complications have thus far yielded just two to three emitters per photonic system.”

http://news.mit.edu/2020/scaling-quantum-chip-0708

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PacketLight rolls 400G muxponder/transponders

PacketLight Networks introduced its PL-4000 muxponder and transponder product line for DCI, 400G metro, and 200G long haul applications.

The PacketLight PL-4000 product family is an integrated optical solution offering mux/demux, amplifiers, optical switch and embedded Layer-1 optical encryption. It provides the full demarcation point between the service CPE and the DWDM uplink, and is interoperable with any third-party switch or router.

PacketLight's solution supports 400G multi-source agreement (MSA) pluggable coherent optical modules, standard FEC modes and the same management system. Support includes a variety of 400G line optics, such as high-performance CFP2-DCO, QSFP-ZR+ and QSFP-ZR, and different standard FEC modes such as C-FEC as defined by the OIF, O-FEC as defined in the Open ROADM standard, and SD-FEC for high performance demanding links. The CFP2 pluggable module used in the PL-4000 also provides ultra-long-haul connectivity in PacketLight's 200G product line.

“The 400G product line is yet another milestone in PacketLight’s position as a leading system vendor in the optical transport market, answering customer needs for 400G capacity as well as optimized CAPEX and OPEX,” said Koby Reshef, CEO of PacketLight Networks. “The PL-4000 family will bring lower cost per bit, better performance in less space and power consumption, optimizing the link budget.”

http://www.packetlight.com

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SUSE to acquire Rancher Labs

SUSE agreed to acquire Rancher Labs, a privately held open source company based in Cupertino, California that offers a Kubernetes management platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.

SUSE is a private company known for its enterprise Linux, edge computing and AI software solutions.

“Rancher and SUSE will help organizations control their cloud native futures,” said Sheng Liang, Rancher CEO. “Our leading Kubernetes platform with SUSE’s broad open source software solutions creates a powerful combination, enabling IT and Operations leaders worldwide to best meet the needs of their customers wherever they are on their digital transformation journey from the data center to cloud to edge.”

SUSE said the acquisition of Rancher is the first step in its inorganic growth strategy since becoming a fully independent software company in March 2019. SUSE recently reported that its ACV (annual contract value) bookings in Q2 2020 increased 30% year over year and global cloud revenue rose 70% year over year.

https://rancher.com/press/suse-to-acquire-rancher/

Rancher raises $40 million for Kubernetes management

Monday, March 16, 2020  #Kubernetes, Rancher  

Rancher Labs, a start-up based in Cupertino, California, closed a $40 million Series D funding round for its Kubernetes management platform.

Sheng Liang, CEO at Rancher Labs said, “In 2019, we experienced 169% year-on-year revenue growth, and this round of funding is the ultimate validation of the market and our unique technologies. Just as Linux became the standard computing platform for the data center, cloud, and devices in the 2000s, we fundamentally believe Kubernetes is fast becoming the ubiquitous enterprise computing platform for multi-cloud, heterogenous IT environments in the 2020s.”

The round was led by Telstra Ventures. One of its investors, Telstra Corporation, is a Rancher Labs customer and is Australia’s largest telecommunications company. The funding round also included participation from existing investors Mayfield, Nexus Venture Partners, GRC SinoGreen, and F&G Ventures, bringing total funding to date to $95 million.

http://www.rancher.com

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Japan-Guam-Australia North Cable ready-for-service

The Japan-Guam-Australia North Cable System (JGA North), which spans approximately 2,700 kilometers from Japan to Guam, is ready for service. The cable has an initial design capacity of 24 Tbps minimum, increasing to 30 Tbps in the coming year.

JGA North seamlessly interconnects with Japan-Guam-Australia South (JGA South) in Guam.

Japan-Guam-Australia North Cable to offer 24 Tbps

Sunday, September 15, 2019  Subsea  

Installation is underway on a new Japan-Guam-Australia North Cable System with an initial design capacity of 24 Tbps. Future modulation upgrades will increase capacity further. Commercial activation is expected in Q1 2020.

JGA North’s submersible repeaters were manufactured by NEC Corporation and the submarine cable was manufactured by OCC Corporation. JGA North lands in Minami Boso, Chiba, and is extended by terrestrial dark fibers to two neutral world-class data centers in Tokyo.

JGA North will land at the Gateway Network Connections facility in Guam. Announced in June 2019 through a strategic partnership between RTI and GTA, GNC is Guam’s first combined neutral cable landing station and data center, providing seamless interconnection for both existing and new cables between and among Asia, Australia, and the United States.

https://us15.campaign-archive.com/?u=71b5dcfd024e7017839808268&id=f4f8b14ef3

NEC selected for 96 Tbps SxS cable from Guam to California

Tuesday, January 29, 2019  NEC  

NEC has been awarded a turnkey contract to be the system supplier for the SxS Cable System (SxS), a 10,500-kilometer subsea cable system that will directly connect Guam and California. The SxS cable has an initial design capacity of more than 96 terabits per second (Tbps).

The project is commissioned by RTI Connectivity Pte. Ltd. (RTI-C).

Russ Matulich, RTI-C’s CEO, acknowledged this important milestone stating, “The addition of SxS complements our more than $500 million of investments towards ensuring the fastest connectivity between essential neutral POPs in Asia, Australia and the United States. SxS will seamlessly interconnect with our HK-G, JGA North, JGA South and SEA-US cable systems in a new purpose-built, RTI-owned facility in Guam. SxS strongly positions RTI to provide large-scale connectivity for our customers for years to come.”

RTI-C is headquartered in Singapore, and RTI is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

http://www.rticable.com

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Intel's Thunderbolt 4 delivers 40 Gbps

Intel revealed new details about Thunderbolt 4, the next generation of its universal cable connectivity solution based on the USB4 specification. Thunderbolt 4 delivers 40 Gbps speeds. Data, video and power are delivered via a USB-c port.

Intel said Thunderbolt 4 will enable docks with up to four Thunderbolt ports and universal cables up to 2 meters in length.

Intel’s upcoming mobile PC processors, code-named “Tiger Lake,” will be the first to integrate Thunderbolt 4.

“Thunderbolt provides consumers with a leading connectivity standard across a range of devices, helping to advance computing experiences and delivering on the promise of USB-C with simplicity, performance and reliability. The arrival of Thunderbolt 4 underscores how Intel is advancing the PC ecosystem toward truly universal connectivity solutions,” statesJason Ziller, Intel general manager of the Client Connectivity Division.

Thunderbolt 4 certification requirements include:

• Double the minimum video and data requirements of Thunderbolt 3.
• Video support for two 4K displays or one 8K display.
• Data - PCIe at 32 Gbps for storage speeds up to 3,000 MBps.
• Support for docks with up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports.
• PC charging on at least one computer port.
• Wake your computer from sleep by touching the keyboard or mouse when connected to a Thunderbolt dock.
• Required Intel VT-d-based direct memory access (DMA) protection that helps prevent physical DMA attacks. (Read more in the Thunderbolt Security Brief.)

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The Optical Society opposes U.S. government restrictions on student visas

The Optical Society (OSA) stands opposed to new restrictions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. Here is the statement of Elizabeth Rogan, CEO, The Optical Society (OSA):

"The Optical Society (OSA) strongly opposes the decision by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to modify temporary exemptions for current and future nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 visa students attending schools in the U.S. Under these new rules, nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 students in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program are prohibited from taking a full online course load while remaining in the U.S. In addition, they will not be allowed to enter the country from abroad. Students who cannot transfer to a school with in-person instruction on such short notice will likely face deportation."

"The decision has serious implications for students as academic institutions across the U.S. and globally transition to online offerings to mitigate the risk of covid-19. Students in STEM and other fields attending U.S. schools will be unable to start or complete their academic work. Their lives will be uprooted, and degrees will be abandoned. The new rules are the latest in a series of increasingly exclusionary and shortsighted immigration proclamations by the Administration.

"OSA supports the civil liberties and human rights of all scientists and engineers and declares its support for the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Scientific progress needs governments to respect basic human rights in order to achieve its full potential. Governments must avoid interference with the human rights of scientists and engineers as they carry out their professional work. The ICE decision restricts the training, education, and work of students and runs counter to OSA’s core value of inclusivity."

"As we search for scientific solutions to global challenges such as the pandemic, there could hardly be a worse time to shut the country off from talented students. We urge U.S. government officials to reverse this destructive decision. Students must be allowed to continue their studies should their institutions maintain online-only courses during the pandemic."

https://www.osa.org/e

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Telstra Wholesale deploys ADVA for Ethernet service

Telstra Wholesale is using ADVA's FSP 150 packet edge device with LTE backup to deliver a new Ethernet Access – Mobile Backup service.

Telstra Wholesale’s new Ethernet Access – Mobile Backup service gives customers access to MEF-compliant Carrier Ethernet connectivity with integrated LTE failover capabilities. The offering is built on the ADVA FSP 150-XG304u, a 10Gbps edge hosting platform designed to deliver the capacity and compute power needed for the most demanding applications. The device features simple, unified backup technology that enables Telstra Wholesale to improve service availability to 99.95%.

“Ethernet Access – Mobile Backup uses the strength of the Telstra Wholesale mobile network and one of the largest fiber footprints in Australia to give customers even more confidence in the resilience of their connectivity,” said Glenn Osborne, sales and wholesale segment executive, Telstra. “This truly unique service is integrated into the end user’s Ethernet Access fiber connection, which means there is no need for our Telstra Wholesale customers to build a complex bespoke backup solution using a variety of technologies. Customers can also avoid having to maintain costly under-utilized backhaul or to merge separate bills, and simple fixed monthly pricing with no mobile data overage charges provides much-needed peace of mind for any business.”

https://www.adva.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/20200702-telstra-wholesale-deploys-adva-technology-in-australian-first-ethernet-service

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Nokia's CloudBand powers Airtel's VoLTE

Nokia announced that its CloudBand-based software products are powering Bharti Airtel's Voice over LTE (VoLTE) network in India. The cloud-based VoLTE solution, which has been deployed to cover all 22 telecom service areas in India, uses Commercial Off-the-Shelf IT hardware with cloud-based Virtual Network Functions (VNFs), which consumes much less power and space compared to the traditional 2G/3G Circuit Switched legacy core.

Airtel's network supports over 110 million customers, making it the largest cloud-based VoLTE network in India and the largest Nokia-run VoLTE in the world.

Nokia’s VoLTE solution enables Airtel to free up spectrum by ramping down its 3G network, allowing the operator to utilize the freed up spectrum to deploy 4G/LTE services for better speed and capacity.

Randeep Sekhon, CTO of Bharti Airtel, said: “We are delighted to deepen our strategic partnership with Nokia to build a future ready and agile network. The country’s largest open cloud based VoLTE network is a major milestone in Airtel’s journey. Our objective is to reap the benefits of cloud solutions to simplify our architecture and enable faster delivery of innovative services, ultimately delivering an enhanced customer experience.”

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