Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Arista embeds network detection and response into switches

Arista Networks is adding embedded security and packet analysis capabilities to its 720XP series of switches. 

By embedding NDR (Network Detection and Response) capabilities into the Arista EOS-based switches themselves, Arista says it can deliver broader visibility and threat hunting across the modern cognitive campus. 

The new capabilities build on Arista's Autonomous Virtual Assist (AVA) platforms with two key components: AVA Sensors and the AVA Nucleus. AVA Sensors support a variety of form factors from stand-alone appliances and virtual to cloud workloads and now, within campus power over ethernet (PoE) switches. The AVA Sensors analyze the full packet, including application layer data which sets the stage for automated and manual threat hunting. The sensors then transfer the “just right” deep-packet data to the AVA Nucleus, which is offered as both on-premises and SaaS. 

Arista will deliver the capabilities via a switch software upgrade . The company cites minimal impact on switch performance or reliability.

“Network security has been an ongoing challenge for most organizations due to hardware deployments and configuration changes needed at the network infrastructure level. While organizations acknowledge that the network presents a unique vantage point, security teams have been forced to trade off network visibility and ongoing operational costs,” said Rahul Kashyap, Vice President and General Manager of Cybersecurity and CISO at Arista Networks. “By building NDR capabilities into the switching infrastructure itself, Arista enables a built-in, secure network that reduces organizational risk by speeding up both time to detection and time to remediation.”

The new capabilities are expected to be generally available in Q2, 2022, with early trials in March 2022.



Mavenir showcases portfolio of O-RAN-compliant radio units

Mavenir is introducing a portfolio of O-RAN compliant Radio Units (RUs) spanning micro, macro, millimeter wave (mmWave) and massive MIMO (mMIMO) deployments. The products will be showcased at the upcoming Mobile World Congress.

The Mavenir OpenBeam radio portfolio covers a wide range of spectrum, both licensed and unlicensed. Mavenir is offering open interfaces and O-RAN 7.2 compliance.

“We have engaged with customers globally to curate a comprehensive O-RAN portfolio that addresses the needs of both private enterprises as well as traditional communication providers” says Rajesh Srinivasa, Senior Vice President of Radio Business Unit at Mavenir. “OpenBeam portfolio covers a wide range of deployment scenarios starting from micro-RUs to 64TR Massive MIMO Radios. OpenBeam radios deliver industry-leading performance and energy efficiency packed in a small footprint.”

Pardeep Kohli, Chief Executive Officer at Mavenir, said “With the incredible growth of virtualization and Open RAN, we always believed that the ecosystem had to be accelerated as this is fundamental for the success of the future of networks. Mavenir has been working with many partners in the ecosystem, and we have also injected more direct contributions when it comes to innovative design.

https://www.mavenir.com/press-releases/expanding-the-open-ran-ecosystem-with-a-wide-portfolio-of-high-performance-o-ran-compliant-radios/

Viavi builds up its Open RAN test suite

Viavi Solutions announced extensions to its Open RAN test suite, including:

  • RIC Test. TeraVM RIC Test validates the performance of the RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) when presented with a wide range of RAN scenarios, tests the functionality of rApps and xApps, and provides the means to generate the data needed to train AI models.
  • Test in the Cloud. VIAVI allows any node – O-RU, O-DU, O-CU, RIC and Core – and complete end-to-end testing to be performed in public, private and edge cloud environments.
  • Test as a Service. VIAVI now provides a Test as a Service (TaaS), offering the support to maximize your engineering productivity and provide access to the right tools and expertise to enable the rapid delivery of high performance and ultra-reliable cellular communications products.
  • TMLite. The capabilities of the flagship TM500 Network Tester are now available in a streamlined version on a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) server, enabling vendors to deploy focused functional test tools earlier in the development cycle, and allow smaller vendors to gain access to the TM500 family with a more compact package. The TMLite is built around the latest third-generation AMD EPYC processors which offer high compute and input/output flexibility per server, enabling multiple carriers of 4G and 5G at RF and Open Fronthaul.

VIAVI also highlighted the following partnerships:

  • Capgemini. VIAVI has collaborated with Capgemini, through Capgemini Engineering in Portugal, to deliver an industry-leading 5G and O-RAN lab test capability, powered by VIAVI's O-RAN Lab as a Service (LaaS) to ensure successful network integration of 5G networks and accelerate Lab-to-Live trials for Open RAN.
  • Ericsson. VIAVI will be delivering geolocation capabilities as a Non Real-time RIC Application (rApp) on the Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform, a service management and orchestration product which enables any mobile network, purpose-built or Cloud RAN / Open RAN, to be intelligently automated.
  • Rohde & Schwarz. VIAVI and Rohde & Schwarz are partnering to offer an integrated solution for conformance testing of O-RAN Radio Units (O-RUs), including the O-RU Test Manager which provides a seamless user experience.

"Open RAN is moving out of the lab into the real world, facing the messy complexities of mapping theoretically sound technologies and architectures to a wide diversity of implementation scenarios," said Sameh Yamany, Chief Technology Officer, VIAVI. "VIAVI has harnessed its decades of leadership in test tools for cellular and virtual networks, our critical role in industry organizations such as the O-RAN ALLIANCE, and our relationships with other major vendors to ensure our customers have access to tailored and best-of-breed solutions."


MaxLinear debuts single-chip for 5G Open RAN Radio Units

MaxLinear introduced a fully integrated System on Chip (SoC) for 4G/5G Open RAN (Radio Access Network) radio units (RU) including in Macro, Massive MIMO, and Small Cell applications.

MaxLinear's Sierra integrates the following sub-systems into a single chip:

  • RF Transceiver supporting up to 8 transmitters, 8 receivers, and 2 feedback receivers
  • Digital Front End (DFE), powered by MaxLIN™ the industry’s leading digital pre-distortion (DPD) and crest factor reduction (CFR) solution, and supporting digital up-conversion (DUC) and digital down-conversion (DDC) of component carriers
  • Low PHY Baseband Processor supporting 5G, 4G, and NB-IoT air interfaces
  • Fronthaul Interface compliant with O-RAN Alliance Split 7.2x

“Sierra is an ultimate integration of MaxLinear’s highest performance RF and system technologies. It empowers radio vendors to rapidly and cost effectively develop new platforms with best-in-class size, weight, and power consumption for Open RAN applications,” said Brendan Walsh, Vice President of MaxLinear’s Wireless Infrastructure Group. “In this way Sierra represents a game-changing innovation that will level the playing field for wireless infrastructure vendors and can dramatically accelerate the global rollout of Open RAN without compromise on network performance or cost.”




NeoPhotonics samples Open ZR+ QSFP-DD transceivers

NeoPhotonics has begun sampling its Open ZR+ QSFP-DD transceivers. 

The Open ZR+ version of NeoPhotonic's QSFP-DD uses the Marvell Deneb Coherent DSP (CDSP) to incorporate industry-standard Open Forward Error Correction (OFEC). 

NeoPhotonics said that by using OFEC, the rOSNR capability of its transceivers is improved beyond traditional 400ZR CFEC, allowing for multiple span coverage in amplified networks. This may be applied to metro and IP-over-DWDM networks with extended-reach scenarios, with data rate coverage from 100 Gbps to 400 Gbps. 

In addition, there are a number of applications where the fiber reach may not exceed the OIF ZR specifications, but because of older fiber, patch panels and other impairments, the link loss and impairment budgets could exceed that of a standard 400ZR link. In these cases, NeoPhotonics’ OpenZR+ module can be used for 400G upgrades, where standard solutions are not practical.

“NeoPhotonics has developed an OpenZR+ solution to take advantage of the benefits of IP-over-DWDM and because many customers are interested in utilizing small form factor coherent modules deeper into their networks,” said Tim Jenks, Chairman and CEO of NeoPhotonics. “Our Open ZR+ QSFP-DD transceivers combine an extended network reach and interoperable OFEC with our proven optical component and transceiver designs to address these needs. The transceivers also augment our proven 400ZR solutions, which have multiple design wins at cloud and data center switch customers, with new Open 400ZR+ compliant QSFP-DD and OSFP modules. The ability to transmit 400Gb/s over distances as long as 800km and more in a cost-effective manner is a real game changer,” concluded Mr. Jenks.

https://ir.neophotonics.com/news-releases/news-release-details/neophotonics-announces-sampling-open-zr-qsfp-dd-transceivers

Lumentum to acquire NeoPhotonics for $918M amidst strong demand

Lumentum agreed to acquire NeoPhotonics for $16.00 per share in cash, representing a total equity value of approximately $918 million and a premium of approximately 39% to NeoPhotonics' closing stock price on November 3, 2021.The companies cited significant next-gen 400G+ opportunities as a leading driver for the merger.NeoPhotonics, which was founded in 1996 and is based in San Jose, is a leading supplier of tunable lasers and optoelectronic components,...

NeoPhotonics cover 800km reach with 400ZR+ QSFP-DD transceiver

NeoPhotonics demonstrated that its 400ZR+ QSFP-DD coherent pluggable transceiver can effectively transmit at a 400 Gbps data rate over a distance of 800 km in a 75GHz-spaced DWDM system with more than 3.5 dB of OSNR margin in the optical signal. This 400ZR+ coherent pluggable transceiver module is based on NeoPhotonics high performance coherent optics and its ultra-pure color tunable laser, and achieves a reach of 800 km while staying within...


#MWC22: The Biggest Misconception about Private 5G

Ahead of MWC 2022, Shahid Ahmed, Group EVP, New Ventures and Innovation at NTT, shares the biggest misconception about private 5G.

https://youtu.be/RUvwfouROc4

OIF demos at at #OFC22: 400ZR interoperability; CPO; CEI-112, CMIS

OIF will host the following demonstrations at this year’s OFC 2022 in San Diego, March 8-10, 2022. Industry experts will also present updates on OIF’s current work in many critical areas, including 400ZR/800ZR and electrical rates.

400ZR Demo - the first-ever public multivendor 400ZR consists of a full implementation of 400GE across an 80km, DWDM ecosystem using multiple module, router, open line systems, and test equipment vendors, demonstrating the project achieved it’s interoperability goals.

Co-Packaging Architectures Demo - multi-party demonstrations of OIF's 3.2T Module project and external laser project (ELSFP). A variety of interoperable components that enable co-packaging will be shown, along with a system implementation.

CEI-112G Demo - multiple live demonstrations featuring interoperability amongst 12 participating members clearly prove the key role OIF provides as well as the developing supplier ecosystem. The CEI-112G demonstrations in the OIF booth will feature multi-party silicon supplier interoperability over various channels including mated compliance boards, PCB channels and direct attach copper cable channels, and even fiber. Each configuration demonstrates the technical viability of 112 Gbps operation, along with multiple industry form factors, including OSFP and QSFP-DD. The demo also shows a measured far-end eye diagram on an oscilloscope with analysis to show an example of the silicon signal integrity that is typically required going through the large variety of channels on display.

Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS) Implementations Demo - CMIS provides a well-defined mechanism to initialize and manage optical and copper modules in a standard way, while still providing the capability to provide custom functionality. This commonality makes integration into different host platforms easier for both the host vendor and the module vendor. The CMIS demo consists of four separate demonstrations that show how modules can be managed and initialized, how modules can support multiple independent services (breakout) and how module firmware can be easily upgraded.

FlexE Demo - showing FlexE’s channelization features, which allow standard Ethernet optics to be broken down into multiple clients of both standard and non-standard Ethernet rates with a granularity of 5Gb/s. Realistic multi-vendor deployment scenarios will show standard 100GbE interfaces channelized into clients of mixed rates, mapping of traffic from standard Ethernet ports, and end-to-end bit error rate tester (BERT) features demonstrating error and alarm monitoring.

Participating companies include Accton; Alphawave IP; Amphenol; Applied Optoelectonics, Inc.; Broadcom Inc., Ciena; Cisco; EXFO; Fujitsu Optical Components; Innolume GmbH; Intel; Juniper Networks; Keysight Technologies; Lumentum, MACOM Technology Solutions Inc.; Marvell; MaxLinear, Inc.; Molex; MultiLane, Inc.; NEC Corporation; NeoPhotonics; Nokia; O-Net Communications; Ragile Networks Inc.; Senko Advanced Components; Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.; TE Connectivity; VIAVI Solutions and Wilder Technologies.

“With demonstrations in five critical technology areas enabling the networks of today and the future, the OIF booth at OFC will showcase the intersection of innovation, interoperability and implementations,” said Mike Klempa, Amphenol, and OIF Physical and Link Layer Interoperability Working Group Chair.

https://www.oiforum.com/oif-members-demonstrate-how-interoperability-accelerates-solutions-for-todays-and-future-global-networks-at-ofc-2022/

Meta to build data center in Idaho

Meta announced plans for a new data center in Kuna, Idaho. This will be Meta's 15th data center in the United States and 19th worldwide. The company estimates its investment in the project at $800 million.

Kuna is a town of approximately 24,000 located 18 miles (29 km) southwest of downtown Boise, the state capital of Idaho. The elevation is 2,694 ft (821 m).

The Kuna Data Center will run on 100% renewable energy. Meta said the facility will be at least 80% more water efficient than the average data center as the cooling system will rely on outside air for cooling for at least 50% of the year.


Dell'Oro: RAN growth slows in 4Q 2021 but still up over 10%

Radio Access Network (RAN) growth slowed somewhat in the fourth quarter, though this was not enough to change the full-year picture, according to Dell'Oro Group. Total 2G-5G RAN revenues, excluding services, increased at a double-digit rate for a second consecutive year, propelling worldwide RAN to approach $40B to $45B.

"The RAN market continues to show remarkable resilience to a confluence of external factors," said Stefan Pongratz, Vice President at Dell'Oro Group. "Even with the slower growth in the fourth quarter due partly to more challenging comparison, RAN prospects remain and healthy and the overall RAN market is on track to record a fifth consecutive year of growth in 2022," continued Pongratz.

Additional highlights from the 4Q 2021 RAN report:

  • Global RAN rankings did not change with Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, ZTE, and Samsung leading the full year 2021 market.
  • Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, and Samsung lead outside of China while Huawei and ZTE continue to dominate the Chinese RAN market.
  • RAN revenue shares are changing with Ericsson and Samsung gaining share outside of China.
  • Huawei and Nokia's RAN revenue shares declined outside of China.
  • Relative near-term projections have been revised upward – total RAN revenues are now projected to grow 5 percent in 2022.

http://www.delloro.com

Intelsat exits bankruptcy restructuring, cutting debt from $16B to $7B

Intelsat emerged from its financial restructuring process as a private company. The Plan of Reorganization, supported by all creditor groups and confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court on December 16, 2021, has reduced the Company’s debt by more than half, from approximately $16 billion to $7 billion.

In connection with emergence, Intelsat obtained $6.7 billion in new financing consisting of a revolving credit facility, term loan, and secured notes. Supported by new equity owners, the Company is now best positioned for long-term success as it continues to innovate and bring new services to market.

Intelsat also has a new Board of Directors, composed of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and six new directors, including Lisa Hammitt, Intelsat’s Chairperson. Biographies of the directors can be found on the Company’s website at intelsat.com/about-us/leadership/.

“For more than 50 years, Intelsat has led innovation in our sector and delivered high-performing services for customers,” said Intelsat’s Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Spengler. “Now that our financial restructuring has been completed successfully, we are driving Intelsat’s future development and growth from a position of even greater strength. We have significantly less debt as well as new financing to support our innovation and network plans, complementing our unparalleled global orbital and spectrum rights and strong operating model. We are positioned better than ever to fuel the success of our customers and partners, achieve our strategic objectives, and accelerate our growth. Building the world’s first global 5G satellite-based, software-defined, unified network is just one of Intelsat’s many groundbreaking projects well underway.”

Bankrupty court approves Intelsat's restructuring

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division, approved Intelsat's Plan of Reorganization, marking the final Court milestone in the company’s financial restructuring process. Intelsat is poised to emerge from the process in early 2022 upon receipt of regulatory approvals, completion of certain corporate actions, and satisfaction of other customary conditions.Intelsat sais its confirmed Plan will reduce debt...