Nokia's Fabric Service Platform was co-developed with Apple

Nokia introduced a new Network Operating System (NOS) and a declarative, intent-based automation and operations toolkit that were co-developed with leading global webscale companies, including Apple, who is deploying the technology at its data centers.

Nokia SR Linux is a microservices-based NOS. It inherits Nokia’s time-proven Internet protocols from the service router operating system (SROS) currently in use by the huge installed base of Nokia carrier-grade routers.  The new NOS is paired with a new SR Linux NDK (NetOps development kit), which exposes programming capabilities. Applications are integrated via gRPC (remote procedure call) and protobuf, with no recompiling, language limitations or dependencies.

The new intent-based automation and operations toolkit, called Nokia Fabric Service Platform (FSP), was designed to build, deploy and monitor the entire data center network with powerful network level constructs. The FSP includes technologies that were only available to the largest cloud builders, such as a real-time state-correct virtual digital twin for validation and troubleshooting.

Nokia describes SR Linux as the industry’s first flexible and open network application development environment.

Basil Alwan, President of IP and Optical Networks at Nokia, said: “With decades of experience serving the world’s telecom operators, we understand the engineering challenges of building and operating business and mission-critical IP networks on a global scale. However, today’s massive data centers have their own unique operational challenges. The SR Linux project was the proverbial ’clean-sheet’ rethink, drawing from our partnership with Apple and others. The resulting design is impressive in its depth and strikes the needed balance for the future.”

Other customers quoted in the NOS announcement include BT, LINX, Equinix, team.blue and Turkcell.

Nokia's data center and cloud networking hardware portfolio includes the Nokia 7250 Interconnect Router (IXR), Nokia 7220 IXR-H series and Nokia 7220 IXR-D series platforms, which offer a broad range of high-performance chassis-based and fixed-form-factor options for data center top of rack (TOR), leaf, spine and super-spine applications. The platforms support 400GE, 100GE, 50GE, 40GE, 25GE, 10GE and 1GE interfaces and deliver a robust and comprehensive set of capabilities spanning IP routing, layer two switching, QoS, scalable telemetry, security and model-driven management.

https://www.nokia.com/networks/dc-fabric/

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New H.266/VVC codec improves efficiency by 50%

After devoting several years to its research and standardization, Fraunhofer HHI, together with partners including Apple, Ericsson, Intel, Huawei, Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Sony, announced the release of H.266/Versatile Video Coding (VVC).

The new H.266/VVC global video coding standard reduces bandwidth requirements by around 50% relative to the previous standard H.265/High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) without compromising visual quality.

H.266/VVC provides efficient transmission and storage of all video resolutions from SD to HD up to 4K and 8K, while supporting high dynamic range video and omnidirectional 360° video.

Fraunhofer HHI said H.266/VVC represents the pinnacle of (at least) four generations of international standards for video coding. The previous standards H.264/Advanced Video Coding (AVC) and H.265/HEVC, which were produced with substantial contributions from Fraunhofer HHI, remain active in more than 10 billion end devices, processing over 90% of the total global volume of video bits.

As an example of improved efficiency, the previous standard H.265/HEVC requires ca. 10 gigabytes of data to transmit a 90-min UHD video. H.266/VVC requires only 5 gigabytes of data to achieve the same quality. Because H.266/VVC was developed with ultra-high-resolution video content in mind, the new standard is particularly beneficial when streaming 4K or 8K videos.

“After dedicating almost three years toward this standard, we are proud to have been instrumental in developing H.266/VVC," says Benjamin Bross, head of the Video Coding Systems group at Fraunhofer HHI and editor of the +500-page standard specification of H.266/VVC. “Because of the quantum leap in coding efficiency offered by H.266/VVC, the use of video will increase further worldwide. Moreover, the increased versatility of H.266/VVC makes its use more attractive for a broader range of applications related to the transmission and storage of video.”

"If you consider that Fraunhofer HHI already played a key role in the development of the previous video coding standards H.264/AVC and H.265/HEVC, then we are happy with the fact that more than 50% of the bits on the Internet are generated by a Fraunhofer HHI technology,” adds Dr. Detlev Marpe, head of the Video Coding and Analytics department at Fraunhofer HHI.

A uniform and transparent licensing model based on the FRAND principle (i.e., fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) is planned to be established for the use of standard essential patents related to H.266/VVC.

https://newsletter.fraunhofer.de/-viewonline2/17386/465/11/14SHcBTt/V44RELLZBp/1

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Verizon cites progress with 5G Standalone Core

Verizon recently completed the first end-to-end data session over its new 5G network standalone core.

The 5G standalone core integral to enabling dynamic resource allocation through network slicing and Mobile Edge Compute. Verizon said its containerized design uses webscale software architecture that mirrors modern, advanced IP based technologies.

“The 5G standalone core is critical for unleashing the most advanced benefits of 5G technology including remarkable levels of programmability to manage the advanced solutions and exponential traffic that 5G will bring,” said Bill Stone, Vice President of Planning for Verizon. “By building this 5G core with cloud-native containerized architecture, we will be able to achieve new levels of operational automation, flexibility and adaptability.”

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Google Cloud activates NVIDIA Ampere GPUs

Google Cloud is now offering Accelerator-Optimized VM (A2) instance featuring the recently launched NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPU. Google is the first cloud service provider to offer the new NVIDIA GPU.

For large, demanding workloads, Google Compute Engine offers customers the a2-megagpu-16g instance, which comes with 16 A100 GPUs, offering a total of 640GB of GPU memory and 1.3TB of system memory — all connected through NVSwitch with up to 9.6TB/s of aggregate bandwidth.

For those with smaller workloads, Google Compute Engine is also offering A2 VMs in smaller configurations to match specific applications’ needs.

Google Cloud announced that additional NVIDIA A100 support is coming soon to Google Kubernetes Engine, Cloud AI Platform and other Google Cloud services.

https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2020/07/07/nvidia-ampere-gpus-google-cloud/

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Liqid develops PCIe 4.0 Fabric with Broadcom

Liqid has collaborated with Broadcom to deliver a PCI-Express (PCIe) Gen 4.0 Fabric Reference Design Kit (RDK). The companies have built a managed-fabric solution powered by Liqid Command Center orchestration software and Broadcom PEX88000 PCIe Gen 4.0 switches.

PCIe Gen 4.0 doubles the throughput over Gen 3.0, achieving bandwidth of up to 256 GT/s per port, substantially reducing transfer time for big data applications.

The PCIe Gen 4.0 Fabric RDK includes all the gear needed to get started with application testing and validation, including:

• 1x Fabric management node
• Liqid Command Center fabric and orchestration software
• 1x 24-Port PCIe Gen 4.0 fabric switch
• 1x PCIe Gen 4.0 expansion chassis
• 2x PCIe Gen 4.0 HBAs
• 17x Mini-SAS HD cables

“To take full advantage of PCIe Gen 4.0 solutions, the industry needs reliable, turnkey platforms on which to effectively and swiftly validate new devices and applications,” said Sumit Puri, CEO & Cofounder, Liqid. “We are pleased to work with the PCIe industry leader Broadcom to deliver a comprehensive RDK platform that can enable new Gen 4.0 products to market quickly and accelerate mission-critical data center operations across public and private sectors.”

https://www.liqid.com/

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Seaborn emerges from Chapter 11

Seaborn has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy having reduced total outstanding debt, revised debt maturity arrangements, and restructured its ownership to provide a solid basis for the continued growth of the business going forward.

Coincident with the consolidation and Chapter 11 emergence, Larry Schwartz, former CEO of Seaborn, and Roger Kuebel, former CFO of Seaborn, have left Seaborn and the Seabras Group.

Pete Hayes and Don Shassian, Partners Group-appointed Board members, will serve as Interim CEO and Interim CFO, respectively, of the Seabras Group. Andy Bax, the Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) of Seaborn, will remain in the same role.

"We are excited about the future and sincerely thank all of our employees, customers, providers and other business partners for their continued commitment to the company”, said Andy Bax, Chief Operating Officer of Seaborn. “Our world-class team will continue to work hard to deliver innovative advancements and new, industry-leading solutions for our customers and partners for years to come."

“We believe that Seaborn’s technology-driven, client-first approach and advanced delivery solutions are best-in-class,” says Todd Bright, Partner and Head of Private Infrastructure Americas at Partners Group, a global private markets investment manager and owner of Seaborn on behalf of its clients. “We will continue to work side-by-side with Seaborn as a value-added investor to help the company meet the needs of its customers now and in the future.”

Seaborn is an independent cable operator that fully operates and maintains its submarine and terrestrial cable infrastructure. POPs, terrestrial backhaul, landing stations and subsea cable are all under Seaborn’s control. 

http://www.seabornnetworks.com

Seaborn extends Seabras-1 IP Network to key data centers

Monday, January 20, 2020  Seaborn, Submarine, Subsea  

Seaborn Networks announced new high capacity connectivity from their Seabras-1 IP Network directly into key global IX locations;

• Amsterdam - AMS-IX now live (January 6, 2020)
• Frankfurt - DE-CIX now live (January 6, 2020)
• London - LINX now live (January 6, 2020)
• San Jose - Equinix IX (SV1) live by end of January 2020
• Los Angeles - CoreSite Any2 IX (LA1) live by end January 2020
• Ashburn - Equinix IX (DC4) live by end January 2020

“We continue to see tremendous growth across our high-quality IP Network as we develop new and innovative connectivity options for our customers through our transit and peering fabric or by enabling direct, high capacity connectivity to our IX partners,” said Seaborn COO Andy Bax. “Through these high capacity IX connections, we want our customers to enjoy remote peering services across an ever-growing number of strategic global exchanges. January is just the start of this exciting expansion of our IP network and we look forward to announcing more global exchanges for Seabras-1 being on-net for Seaborn shortly.”

Seaborn Networks is the developer-owner-operator of submarine fiber optic cable systems, including Seabras-1 between São Paulo and New York.

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AT&T expands SD-WAN with Cisco

AT&T introduced a new service offering based on Cisco Secure SD-WAN technology. The service includes natively integrated security capabilities to provide threat protection that is consistently maintained across branch offices and clouds, without compromising performance.

The SD-WAN offering is powered by Cisco’s ISR and ASR routers and Enterprise Network Compute System (ENCS) and managed through a single cloud-based dashboard. Integrated security features include an application-aware enterprise firewall, intrusion prevention, URL filtering and advanced malware protection.

“Successful network and digital transformation requires effective security management,” said Mo Katibeh, Executive Vice President, Chief Product & Platform Officer, AT&T Business. “AT&T SD-WAN with Cisco combines connectivity, SD-WAN and security, which allows businesses to expand and scale without worrying about the security of their branch locations."

https://www.business.att.com/content/attbusiness/en/products/sd-wan.html/

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A10 expects improved financials with 5% YoY revenue growth

A10 Networks narrowed its financial guidance for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020 to the following:

• Revenue in the range of $51.7 million to $52.2 million
• GAAP operating income in the range of $2.5 million to $3.0 million. Non-GAAP operating income in the range of $5.8 million to $6.3 million
• GAAP earnings per share in the range $0.03 to $0.04. Non-GAAP earnings per share in the range of $0.07 to $0.08
• Cash flow from operations of at least $9.0 million

Dhrupad Trivedi, President and Chief Executive Officer of A10 Networks, commented, “Despite a challenging environment, A10’s focus on operational excellence and on providing innovative solutions to customers enabled us to deliver year-over-year organic revenue growth and improving profitability. We believe that the cash flow from operations combined with a robust balance sheet positions us well to navigate these markets.”

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South Africa's MTN offers 5G indoor CPE from ZTE

MTN, one of the leading telecommunications operators in South Africa, has begun offering the ZTE 5G Indoor CPE MC801A wireless router.

The  ZTE 5G Indoor CPE MC801A, which boasts Wi-Fi 6 access technology, will enable customers to access 5G in all 5G-enabled areas of South Africa. It also features ZTE's “Smart ANT” algorithm enabling the unit to independently select better signals.  It operates over both NSA & SA 5G Networks.

“ZTE has always been at the forefront of 5G commercialization and our end-to-end solutions have been ready for the market,” said Bob Zhou, Director of Mobile Division at ZTE Corporation South Africa. “ZTE has been committed to developing a series of diversified 5G terminal devices portfolio, to satisfy the diverse requirements of operators, enterprise users, and consumers in multiple service scenarios. Our key objective is to empower the digital life in the near future  and accelerate digital transformation.”

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