Thursday, October 6, 2022

Optica and COBO to host Co-Packaged and Pluggable Optics Summit

Optica (formerly OSA)  and the Consortium for On-Board Optics (COBO) will host the Co-Packaged and Pluggable Optics Industry Summit at the DuPont Silicon Valley Technology and Innovation Center in Sunnyvale, California on 26-27 October 2022. 

The in-person-only event will feature presentations from Microsoft, Google, Meta, Intel, NVIDIA, Arista, Juniper Networks, Marvell, Infinera, Broadcom, Corning, MACOM, Molex, HG Genuine, Ayar Labs, and more.

Optica and COBO have partnered to accelerate discussions on how photonic solutions address global bandwidth predictions of 30% in 2022. Leading data center operators report that today's compute offerings do not meet the demands of expected workloads of the near future and require that photonics technologies evolve quickly, cost-effectively, and greenly.

"We are in a transition period," said Jose Pozo, Optica chief technology officer. "As the global bandwidth pressure grows on datacom providers, major corporations need to ensure key photonics technologies are as close as possible to the processing units inside data centers."

"There are diverse approaches in the market today, and each company has its own roadmap. For the supply chain to meet industry demands, technology companies and hyperscalers must align several options to offer the fastest, greenest and most cost-effective path for data center companies including, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. There is urgency in coordinating approaches now."

Brad Booth, president of COBO and principal engineer, Azure Hardware Architecture at Microsoft, added, "The growing diversity of optical applications within the data center is driving the increased need to enhance high-speed board level interconnect systems and COBO members recognize it is critical for companies to collaborate. We expect important insights and decisions to come from this gathering."

https://www.onboardoptics.org/optica-2022

Microsoft previews Azure Orbital Cloud Access via Starlink and SES

Microsoft is previewing a service called Azure Orbital Cloud Access that extends Microsoft Cloud via satellite access and has demonstrated a fully virtualized iDirect modem. Azure Orbital Cloud Access enables low-latency (1-hop) access to the cloud from anywhere on the planet.

Specifically, Azure Orbital Cloud Access delivers prioritized network traffic through SpaceX’s Starlink connectivity and Azure edge devices, providing customers with access to Microsoft cloud services anywhere Starlink operates. 

Microsoft says Azure Orbital Cloud Access will manage the entire solution for customers, charging on a simple monthly subscription basis and a pay-as-you-go satellite communications consumption model.The product also natively integrates with SD-WAN technology from Juniper Networks, which enables customers to prioritize connectivity between fiber, cellular, and satellite communications networks. The Azure Orbital Cloud Access Preview is currently available for Azure Government customers. 

Microsoft Azure Orbital Ground Station is now in general availability.

In addition, SES and Microsoft announced new joint satellite communications virtualization program.

SES is the Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) network partner for Microsoft Azure orbital. The partnership involves the co-location of ground stations of O3b mPOWER, SES’s second-generation MEO constellation, with Azure Cloud regions. This will ensure customers one-hop and direct cloud access for secure and reliable delivery of Azure services and applications.  The new program will create the world’s first fully virtualized satellite communications ground network by focusing on software-defined hubs, customer edge terminals, new virtual network functions, edge cloud applications, etc. This virtualization will align cloud and satellite network architectures and enable 5G technology to be used in commercial satellite networks.

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/new-azure-space-products-enable-digital-resiliency-and-empower-the-industry/

SES signs on as MEO satellite partner for Microsoft Azure Orbital

 SES signed a multi-year agreement with Microsoft to be an Azure Orbital partner as well as to accelerate and expand the use of Microsoft Azure across its operations and jointly develop cloud-based video and data connectivity managed services.

Under the arrangement, SES will be co-locating and managing O3b mPOWER gateways with Microsoft Azure locations so its customers are always only “one-hop” away from their Azure cloud services anywhere in the world. More specifically, SES will be the medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite partner for Microsoft Azure Orbital. The two companies also agreed to make joint investments in Azure Orbital ground stations for the MEO and Earth Observation segments that SES will deploy and manage based on its industry expertise, with the first Earth Observation gateway being located at Quincy, Western Australia.

The Microsoft partnership is expected to bring improved network performance for SES customers as they route over Microsoft’s global network and inject value-added, cloud-based managed services such as enhanced security, SD-WAN, and other network functions into the service chain.

Verizon debuts mobile edge cloud with Microsoft Azure

Verizon is now offering an on-premises, private edge compute solution in collaboration with Microsoft Azure.Verizon 5G Edge with Microsoft Azure Stack Edge is a cloud computing platform that brings compute and storage services to the edge of the network at the customer premises providing enterprises with increased efficiencies, higher levels of security, and the low lag and high bandwidth needed for applications involving computer vision, augmented...


AWS Local Zones open in Taipei and Delhi

AWS announced the opening of Local Zones in Taipei (Taiwan) and Delhi (India)

Applications hosted in a Local Zone benefit from very low (single-digit millisecond) latency access to EC2 instances and other AWS services. Local Zones also give AWS customers additional choices regarding data residency, giving them the ability to store and process sensitive data (often financial or personal in nature) in-country. However, Local Zones offer a subset of the services offered at AWS Regions and Availability Zones.

AWS said it is working to bring Local Zones to 33 cities in 27 countries including 6 in Latin America.

https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/aws-local-zones-expansion-taipei-and-delhi/

AWS pursues Local Zones strategy to cut latency

 AWS announced the availability of Local Zones in Boston, Houston, and Miami to serve latency-sensitive and throughput-sensitive workloads. The first AWS Local Zone was previously opened in Los Angeles. AWS has now announced plans to open an additional 12 Local Zones in 2021 in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, and Seattle.Currently, AWS spans 77 Availability Zones...



Equinix expands to Indonesia

Equinix announced its expansion to INDONESIA with plans for an approximately $74 million International Business Exchange (IBX) data center in the heart of Jakarta. 

The eight-story facility is scheduled to open by the second half of 2024, expected to provide more than 1,600 cabinets and more than 5,300 square meters of colocation space when fully built. Located in Jakarta's Central Business District and in close proximity to major internet exchanges, the new IBX data center will provide Indonesian businesses and foreign businesses operating in Indonesia with the digital infrastructure and vibrant ecosystems for optimal performance.

Jeremy Deutsch, President, Asia-Pacific, Equinix said: "Our IBX data center in Jakarta will add a strategically important, high-growth market to Equinix's extensive network of interconnected data centers across the world. Having a presence in Indonesia allows Equinix to provide digital infrastructure that enables local businesses to tap growth opportunities abroad and support global organizations looking to access the expanding Indonesian digital economy. We look forward to working closely with local authorities, network providers and the broader industry ecosystem players to help unleash Indonesia's digital potential."

Inclusive of this recent announcement, Equinix has 50 major projects that are currently underway across 35 metros in 22 countries, including new data center builds in Dublin, Montréal, New York, Paris and Warsaw. Most recently, Equinix entered Chile and Peru with a total of five IBX data centers, with an enterprise value estimated at approximately $735 million. The company has also completed its acquisition of West African data center and connectivity solutions provider MainOne for an enterprise value of $320 million.

In Asia-Pacific, Equinix announced an initial investment of over $86 million to build Equinix's third IBX data center in Mumbai and an investment of over $64 million for its first IBX data center in Chennai.

Equinix now has 248 data centers across 71 metros and 32 countries.

https://www.equinix.com/newsroom/press-releases/2022/10/equinix-expands-to-indonesia-with-74m-data-center-investment

Singtel and Indonesia's Telkomsel partner on data centers

Singtel and its Indonesian partner Telkom, the parent company of Singtel's regional associate Telkomsel, agree dto collaborate on data centre strategy. Singtel has carved out its data center business into a separate Singtel-owned entity with approximately 60 MW of capacity. In addition to securing a site in Tuas for a new integrated cable landing and data centre facility which will be ready in three to four years and add 30-40 MW in capacity,...


AMD says PC sales weak, data center sales on target

AMD released preliminary financial results, saying its third quarter revenue is expected to be approximately $5.6 billion, an increase of 29% year-over-year. The company previously expected revenue to increase approximately 55% year-over-year at the mid-point of guidance, citing lower than expected Client segment revenue resulting from reduced processor shipments due to a weaker than expected PC market and significant inventory correction actions across the PC supply chain.

Revenue for the Data Center, Gaming, and Embedded segments each increased significantly year-over-year in-line with the company’s expectations.

Gross margin is expected to be approximately 42% and non-GAAP() gross margin is expected to be approximately 50%. AMD previously expected non-GAAP gross margin to be approximately 54%. The gross margin shortfall to expectations was primarily due to lower revenue driven by lower Client processor unit shipments and average selling price (ASP). In addition, the third quarter results are expected to include approximately $160 million of charges primarily for inventory, pricing, and related reserves in the graphics and client businesses.

“The PC market weakened significantly in the quarter,” said AMD Chair and CEO Dr. Lisa Su. “While our product portfolio remains very strong, macroeconomic conditions drove lower than expected PC demand and a significant inventory correction across the PC supply chain. As we navigate the current market conditions, we are pleased with the performance of our Data Center, Embedded, and Gaming segments and the strength of our diversified business model and balance sheet. We remain focused on delivering our leadership product roadmap and look forward to launching our next-generation 5nm data center and graphics products later this quarter.”

https://ir.amd.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1093/amd-announces-preliminary-third-quarter-2022-financial

IBM to invest $20 billion in New York State over 10 years

IBM plans to invest $20 billion in New York state over the next 10 years to support its work in semiconductors, computers, hybrid cloud, artificial intelligence and quantum computers.

"As we tackle large-scale technological challenges in climate, energy, transportation and more, we must continue to invest in innovation and discovery - because advanced technologies are key to solving these problems and driving economic prosperity, including better jobs, for millions of Americans," stated Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO of IBM. 

IBM's Poughkeepsie site has helped the country embrace the transformative power of technology since 1941, from manufacturing armaments during World War II to developing and building the latest generation mainframe computers. In Poughkeepsie, IBM builds state-of-the-art mainframe computers that power the global economy. The site also is home to IBM's first Quantum Computation Center –where a large number of real quantum computers run in the cloud. IBM's vision is for Poughkeepsie to become a global hub of the company's quantum computing development, just as it is today for mainframes.

The future of semiconductor technologies also is being created in the Hudson Valley, from Yorktown Heights to Albany and beyond. In Albany, a unique public-private semiconductor ecosystem is where IBM last year announced the first 2 nanometer chip technology, one of the semiconductor industry's biggest breakthroughs of the last decade. The expansion of Albany's collaborative innovation model could be a edge systems and accelerate the pace of discovery across the Hudson Valley.

Orange Business Services delivers SD-WAN for Norauto

Norauto, a leading automotive service company in France that provides multi-brand maintenance, equipment and repairs, selected Orange Business Services to upgrade its network infrastructure to SD-WAN, supporting its digital transformation.

Norauto will use Orange Business Services’ Flexible SD-WAN to  provide individual stores with direct access to cloud-hosted applications. In addition, with cyber risks on the rise, it was key for Norauto to reinforce security at all of its outlets. To meet these challenges, Flexible SD-WAN is based on the Fortinet Secure SD-WAN solution and the expertise from Orange Cyberdefense, European leader in cybersecurity services.

Beyond the SD-WAN technology, the project was co-constructed with Norauto in two stages. Orange Business Services teams first set up hybrid MPLS and broadband internet links before starting the second phase, which is the full migration to broadband internet access links, currently in progress.

“We are delighted to support an innovative company like Norauto and help solve its business requirements. This major project demonstrates our ability to innovate and adapt to the specific needs of each business. Our know-how and understanding of the challenges the IT team faces, has allowed us to build a new robust infrastructure in close collaboration with Norauto. All of this creates a positive impact for their business,” says Nadine Foulon-Belkacémi, Executive Vice President, French Major Clients, Orange Business Services.