Google Cloud suffers widespread outage

Google reported high levels of network congestion in the eastern USA, impacting a wide range of Google services and third-party websites and apps.

The first report on the Google status page was posted at 12:53pm (Pacific) impacting Google Cloud Networking. Google Compute Engine was also impacted

Users across the United States reported slow performance and intermittent outages with Google Cloud, G Suite, Gmail, YouTube and other key services.

At 16:00 (Pacific), Google reported that the network situation was back to nornal for the majority of users.

https://status.cloud.google.com/

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ThousandEyes captures visualization of Google Cloud outage

From its monitoring network of 249 global vantage points, ThousandEyes detected the global outage with Google Cloud Platform beginning around 12-12:15pm PT.

ThousandEyes experienced 100% packet loss trying to reach a service hosted in GCP USwest. All traffic dropped at the edge of Google's network.

Angelique Medina, ThousandEyes product marketing director, stated: “ThousandEyes can confirm Google’s report of network congestion as a likely root cause of Sunday’s massive 4-hour outage, as we started seeing elevated packet loss in Google’s network as early as 12pm PT between sites on the eastern US, including Ashburn, Atlanta and Chicago, and various Google-hosted services. These issues started to impact users globally approximately 20 minutes prior to their public announcement of the issue, showing an early indication of what was to come. For the majority of the duration of the 4+ hour outage, ThousandEyes detected 100% packet loss for certain Google services from 249 of our global vantage points in 170 cities around the world. Starting at around 3:30pm PT, we started to see services slowly become reachable again, and the issue appeared to fully resolve by 4:45pm PT.”

https://www.thousandeyes.com/

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CommScope Advances 10G Broadband Roadmap

CommScope announced several areas of progress on its 10G Broadband roadmap

• A low-latency DOCSIS system deemed crucial to next-generation broadband performance. The company is demonstrating IP video running alongside traditional QAM video over an EPON channel at 10 Gbps. 
• A software-configurable Frequency-Division Duplex (Soft FDD) system with the potential to deliver 10G speeds over traditional coaxial wiring. Soft FDD uses FDX technology and provides a foundation for symmetrical services.
• The E6000 vCore fully virtualized converged cable access platform (CCAP) core. This offers automated provisioning and capacity tools for end-to-end service provisioning and smart capacity additions; and orchestration and intelligence tools to manage multi-access configurations and produce better analytics about network performance.

The three technologies will be demonstrated at the ANGA COM trade show.

CommScope notes that these announcements come fewer than six months after it revealed its role in pioneering the core technologies for 10 Gbps broadband (10G), and just four months after it announced a 8.5 Gbps network trial with Virgin Media.

In addition, Vodafone Germany is underway with a nationwide upgrade to support 1Gbps service. Some 12 million customers will enjoy the high-speed Gigabit service through an ARRIS broadband device when the rollout is complete. Swiss provider Sasag last month became the first European operator to announce upgrading its entire network to use DOCSIS 3.1 (D3.1) for both the upstream and downstream channels.

“As cable operators embark on their far-reaching network transformation, which includes the migration to 10G and virtualization of the CCAP, CommScope is rising to the challenge, delivering the complex solutions they will need such as low latency DOCSIS, soft FDD and virtualized CCAP,” said Liliane Offredo-Zreik, principal digital transformation analyst with consulting and market analysis firm ACG Research. “Operators’ needs in this transformation will be far from homogeneous; they will require a vendor with the depth and breadth of expertise and solutions to meet their evolving needs.”

CommScope completed its acquisition of ARRIS International in April.

Cable industry outlines vision for 10G services

Monday, January 07, 2019  Cable, MSO  

NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, CableLabs and Cable Europe outilined a vision for delivering 10G consumer broadband services in the United States and across the globe in the coming years.

Cable operators in the U.S., whose networks currently pass 85 percent of U.S. homes, including Comcast, Charter, Cox, Mediacom, Midco and others – plus international operators, including Rogers, Shaw Communications, Vodafone, Taiwan Broadband Communications, Telecom Argentina, Liberty Global and more, are implementing the new 10G initiative, with lab trials already underway, and field trials beginning in 2020. 1 gigabit service is currently available across 80% of the cable footprint in the U.S., up from 5% in 2016.

Intel promises 10G-ready technology from the network infrastructure to home gateways.

“With groundbreaking, scalable capacity and speeds, the 10G platform is the wired network of the future that will power the digital experiences and imaginations of consumers for years to come,” said NCTA President and CEO Michael Powell. “As an industry, we are dedicated to delivering an exceptional national infrastructure that will power digital advancement and propel our innovation economy into the future.”

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China drafts list of "unreliable foreign entities"

In response to the U.S. decision to blacklist Huawei, China's Ministry of Commerce will draft its own list of "unreliable foreign entities," which could be companies or individuals who would be banned from doing business in China. The South China Morning Post, which is published in Hong Kong, reports that this list could include all suppliers to Huawei who halted shipments to Huawei due to the U.S. action. Companies appearing on China's entity list would be restricted in terms of sales, investments and business licenses.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3012740/beyond-tariffs-china-looks-new-ways-hit-back-us-tech-and-trade

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IDC: Switching market grows 7.8%, routing up 8.2%

According to IDC, the Worldwide Ethernet switch (Layer 2/3) market grew revenues 7.8% in Q1 2019 to $6.8 billion, while the worldwide enterprise and service provider (SP) router market saw revenues increase 8.2% year over year to $3.6 billion.

"Organizations across the globe are looking to digitally transform themselves in an effort to meet market and competitive needs and improve user experiences. As they do so, enterprises are realizing the critical role the network plays in their broader IT transformation initiatives," said Rohit Mehra, vice president, Network Infrastructure, at IDC. "This has led to continued, and growing, investment in Ethernet switching, routing, software-defined networks (SDN), and SD-WAN platforms and architectures that support the increasing demands of an always-connected world."



Some highlights of the newly updated IDC Quarterly Ethernet Switch Tracker and IDC Quarterly Router Tracker:

• From a geographic perspective, the 1Q19 Ethernet switch market had a strong quarter across the globe. The Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) (APeJ) region grew 8.6% year over year. Notable gains in the region included China, which grew 11.7% year over year, and Taiwan, which increased 15.3%. Meanwhile, Japan's Ethernet switch market rose 1.3%.
• The Middle East and Africa (MEA) region saw growth of 9.5% year over year, led by Egypt, which rose 17.3%. Europe saw more modest growth with Western Europe growing 3.5% and Central and Eastern Europe remaining stagnant with 0.3% year-over-year growth. Notable markets in Western Europe included the United Kingdom, which was down 1.2% from a year earlier, while Germany was up 2.3% and Italy grew 15.5% year over year. In Central and Eastern Europe, Russia declined 13.4% year over year. In the Americas, the United States grew 11.9% while Canada increased 2.6% year over year. Latin America was down 4.5% overall with Brazil's 8.5% year-over-year decline offset by 11.0% growth in Mexico.
• Port shipments for 100Gb switches rose 85.3% year over year to 3.6 million. 100Gb revenues grew 59.0% year over year in 1Q19 to $1.2 billion, making up 17.3% of the market's revenue. 
• 25Gb ports also saw impressive growth, increasing 133.3% to $304.0 million, with port shipments growing 104.8% year over year. 
• 40Gb switches continue to be falling out of favor with revenues declining 21.3% year over year. 
• Lower-speed campus switches, a more mature part of the market, showed moderate growth. 10Gb port shipments rose 8.6% year over year to make up 28.7% of the market's revenue. 
• The worldwide enterprise and service provider router market grew 8.2% on a year-over-year basis in 1Q19 with the major service provider segment, which accounts for 75.3% of revenues, increasing 7.1% and the enterprise segment of the market growing 11.9%. 
• From a regional perspective, the combined service provider and enterprise router market increased 12.0% in APeJ with the enterprise segment up 17.7%. Japan's total market grew 27.1% year over year. Central and Eastern Europe regional revenues rose 19.7% year over year, while the Western Europe combined enterprise and service provider market grew 3.7% year over year. The Middle East & Africa region was up 12.6% fueled by a 15.7% increase in service provider revenues. In the U.S., the enterprise segment was up 15.7% but the service provider revenues fell 5.8%, causing the total market to decline 0.5% year over year. Canada's market rose 28.5% year over year and the Latin American market grew 9.0%.
• Cisco finished 1Q19 with an 8.3% year-over-year increase in overall Ethernet switch revenues and market share of 53.7%. In the hotly contested 25Gb/100Gb segment, Cisco is the market leader with 39.4% of the market's revenue. Cisco's combined service provider and enterprise router revenue rose 15.3% year over year, with enterprise router revenue increasing 16.1% and service provider revenues growing 14.8%. Cisco's combined SP and enterprise router market share increased to 42.4%, up from 37.4% in 4Q18.
• Huawei's Ethernet switch revenue rose 18.9% on an annualized basis, giving the company market share of 8.9%, up from 8.1% a year earlier. The company's combined service provider and enterprise router revenue rose 5.7% year over year with a market share of 24.5%.
• Arista Networks saw Ethernet switch revenues increase 24.0% in 1Q19, bringing its share to 7.5% of the total market, up from 6.5% a year earlier. The company continues to cater to the higher end of Ethernet switch speeds, with 100Gb revenues accounting for 67.6% of the company's total revenue, indicating the company's focus on hyperscale and cloud providers.
• HPE's Ethernet switch revenue declined 5.6% year over year, giving the company a market share of 5.3%.
• Juniper's Ethernet switch revenue declined 23.4% in 1Q19, bringing its market share to 2.6%. Juniper saw an 8.2% decline in combined enterprise and service provider router sales, bringing its market share in the router market to 10.4%.

https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS45119319

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DOCOMO develops 5G glass antenna for 28 GHz

NTT DOCOMO, in partnership with AGC Inc. and Ericsson, has developed an antenna embedded in synthetic fused silica glass for transmitting and receiving 28 GHz 5G radio signals.

The antenna was used to verify 28 GHz 5G mobile communication with downlink speeds averaging 1.3 Gbps within a 100-meter range and reaching a maximum of 3.8 Gbps at 400 MHz.

The verification tests, which used a vehicle fitted with multiple antennas and traveling about 30 km/h, were conducted in the Sumida area of Tokyo between April 22 and May 28.

https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/info/media_center/pr/2019/0529_00.html

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IEEE lifts peer review restrictions on Huawei

Upon further consideration, IEEE updated its policy regarding export control restrictions against Huawei and its affiliates.

IEEE said employees of Huawei and its affiliates may participate as peer reviewers and editors in the publication process.  All IEEE members, regardless of employer, can continue to participate in all of the activities of the IEEE.

"IEEE recognizes that science and technology are a global activity. We are proud of the work our members do around the world and we are dedicated to advancing technological excellence for the benefit of humanity."

https://www.ieee.org/about/news/2019/statement-update-ieee-lifts-restrictions-on-editorial-and-peer-review-activities.html

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Blackberry Messenger shuts down

The consumer version of Blackberry Messenger (BBM) was officially deactivated as of 31-May-2019. Blackberry Messenger was launched in 2005. In 2016, Indonesia-based Emtek Group acquired the licensing rights for BBM.

Meanwhile, Blackberry Limited (formerly Research in Motion) has launched an enterprise-grade messaging platform that promises end-to-end security and privacy in its place.

https://blog.bbm.com/2019/04/18/time-to-say-goodbye-english-version/

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TIM carries 550G wavelength with Nokia's Photonic Service Engine 3

 Nokia, in collaboration with Telecom Italia (TIM), set a new European record for data transmission over a long-distance backbone network -- a wavelength speed of 550 Gbps carried more than 350 km on TIM's operational network between Rome and Florence. In addition, TIM and Nokia carried a 400G wavelength over 900 km between Rome and Milan, and a 300 Gbps wavelength over 1,750 km.

The trial used the new Nokia Photonic Service Engine 3 (Nokia PSE-3). TIM'a DWDM backbone is based on the latest generation of Nokia's 1830 Photonic Service Switch.  The network is fully automated and currently carries optical signals with a capacity of 100 Gb/s over distances of up to 1,800 kilometers, and 200 Gb/s up to 800 kilometers. The backbone, with a coverage of over 16,000 kilometers of fiber, and connecting to 65 national POPs (Point of Presence), has carried over 9,000 petabytes of data traffic in the last year.

Elisabetta Romano, Chief Technology & Innovation Officer at TIM, said: "We are proud of this European record which confirms TIM's technological leadership, the high quality of our network, our commitment to develop innovative solutions in order to guarantee the best experience to our customers. Today's result, which triples transmission speed compared to the current one, confirms that TIM's network is the most advanced infrastructure capable of offering new digital services and platforms, also with a view to developing 5G."

https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2019/05/30/nokia-and-tim-break-european-record-for-long-distance-data-transmission-over-high-speed-network-laying-groundwork-for-5g/

• Nokia has previously announced trials of its PSE-3 chipset, which implements probabilistic constellation shaping (PCS), with Germany's M-net and Poland's Netia.

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Analog Devices debuts mmWave 5G chipset

Analog Devices (ADI) that combines ADI’s advanced beamformer IC, up/down frequency conversion (UDC), and additional mixed signal circuitry. This optimized “Beams to Bits” signal chain represents a unique set of capabilities only available from ADI.

The new mmWave 5G chipset includes the 16-channel ADMV4821 dual/single polarization beamformer IC, 16-channel ADMV4801 single-polarization beamformer IC and the ADMV1017 mmWave UDC. The 24- to 30-GHz beamforming + UDC solution forms a 3GPP 5G NR compliant mmWave front-end to address the n261, n257 and n258 bands. The high channel density, coupled with the ability to support both single- and dual-polarization deployments, greatly increases system flexibility and reconfigurability for multiple 5G use cases while best-in-class equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) extends radio range and density.

“Millimeter-wave 5G is an emerging technology with great potential,” said Karim Hamed, general manager of Microwave Communications at Analog Devices. “It can be extremely difficult to design these systems from the ground up, balancing system-level challenges in performance, standards, and cost. This new solution leverages ADI’s best-in-class technology, long legacy in RF, microwave and mmWave communications infrastructure, and deep expertise across the RF spectrum to simplify the design process for customers, reduce overall component count, and accelerate the path to 5G deployment.”

http://www.analog.com

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Sprint's 5G unlimited plan is priced at $80/month

Sprint activated its first 5G commercial service in areas of Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Kansas City.

Sprint is using 64T64R (64 transmitters 64 receivers) 5G Massive MIMO radios from Ericsson in Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Kansas City. These radios support split-mode, enabling Sprint to simultaneously deliver LTE Advanced and 5G NR service. Sprint's 5G Massive MIMO radios run on its 2.5 GHz mid-band spectrum, and they are deployed on Sprint's existing 4G cell sites, providing a nearly identical footprint for both 2.5 GHz LTE and 5G NR coverage.

Service is available using the LG V50 ThinQ 5G smartphone and the HTC 5G Hub.

A 5G Unlimited Premium plan -- with unlimited data, talk and text nationwide, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Twitch Prime, Tidal HiFi and 100 GB LTE mobile hotspot -- is priced at $80 per month with AutoPay for one line.

Sprint expects to launch 5G service in areas of Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix and Washington, D.C.

Earlier this month, Sprint provided the following network update

• Sprint now has 2.5 GHz spectrum deployed on approximately 80 percent of its macro sites.
• Sprint currently has approximately 30,000 outdoor small cells deployed including both mini macros and strand mounts.
• Sprint has deployed approximately 1,500 Massive MIMO radios, which increase the speed and capacity of the LTE network and, with a software upgrade, will provide mobile 5G service in select cities in the coming weeks.

Sprint activates Samsung's massive MIMO

Thursday, September 13, 2018  5G, MIMO, Sprint  

Sprint has activated Samsung's 5G-ready massive MIMO solutions on its production 2.5 GHz TDD-LTE network.

Samsung said its massive MIMO can provide a way for operators to inject new capacity into their network without having to purchase more spectrum or add new base stations. It is being used by Sprint to significantly boost LTE network speeds and capacity for millions of U.S. customers, while improving network efficiencies through advanced beam-forming. Additionally, this helps provide Sprint with a seamless upgrade path to 5G New Radio (NR), utilizing the carrier’s deep 2.5 GHz spectrum.

“We are excited to see Samsung MIMO solutions in use on Sprint’s current LTE commercial network, which will help their customers experience the full benefits of network innovation,” said Lyle Nyffeler, Vice President, Networks Division, Samsung Electronics America. “Our MIMO solutions are engineered to maximize 4G networks today, while offering a graceful, seamless path to a 5G future.”

In February 2018, Sprint announced its selection of Samsung as a massive MIMO provider for their future 5G mobile network launch in the U.S..

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American Tower to acquire 5,500 sites in five African markets

American Tower agreed to acquire Eaton Towers, which owns and operates approximately 5,500 communications sites across five African markets, for approximately $1.85 billion. American Tower expects to accelerate new build activity across the region due to expanded relationships with multiple key tenants.

The Eaton towers are located in Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Burkina Faso and Niger. Eaton Towers was co-founded in 2009 by Terry Rhodes, CEO. Alongside the majority shareholder, Capital International, investors include Development Partners International, Ethos and Standard Chartered.

American Tower said the Eaton assets are expected to generate approximately $260 million in property revenue and approximately $165 million in gross margin, at current exchange rates, in their first full year in American Tower’s portfolio.

Jim Taiclet, American Tower’s Chief Executive Officer stated, “This transaction will significantly augment our existing footprint in Africa and positions ATC to take even better advantage of the growth opportunity in the region as 4G mobile data technology is deployed to serve millions of Africans over the coming years.”

http://www.americantower.com

• American Tower's global portfolio includes more than 170,000 sites.

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Colt Ethernet Line Encryption leverages ADVA FSP 150

Colt Technology Services is using the ADVA FSP 150 with ConnectGuard security technology to deliver its new Ethernet Line Encryption service at up to 10 Gbps.

ADVA’s ConnectGuard Ethernet technology, which is built on an enhanced version of MACsec, uses cryptographic techniques including dynamic key exchange and hardware tamper protection. It also features comprehensive service assurance and testing functionality.

Colt’s Ethernet Line Encryption is now available in Europe, North America and Asia on metro, national and international Ethernet line circuits. Earlier this year, ADVA and Colt jointly displayed the comprehensive Layer 2 encryption service at the Berlinale Film Festival in a live proof of concept demo.

"We’re using the ADVA FSP 150 with ConnectGuard Ethernet encryption to offer robust protection for data in transport. Our Ethernet Line Encryption solution ensures that all data flowing through the Colt IQ Network is safe from attack. But what makes it especially valuable to today’s businesses is how straightforward it is to implement and that it only adds a few microseconds of latency and barely any impact on throughput,” said Peter Coppens, VP, product portfolio, Colt Technology Services. "

“Our FSP 150 ConnectGuard Ethernet technology enables encrypted connectivity with none of the complexity, latency and bandwidth cost associated with IPSec. Developed in compliance with the most stringent security standards, such as the US FIPS, it’s the ideal basis for an encryption-as-a-service offering,” commented Stephan Rettenberger, SVP, marketing and investor relations, ADVA.

http://adva.li/colt-encryption

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Altran's Network Operating System support Marvell Prestera switches

Altran has developed the first commercial network operating system (NOS) to support the Marvell Prestera CX 8500 family of fully integrated Ethernet switches for data centers.

Altran’s Intelligent Switching Solution (ISS) combined with the Marvell Prestera CX 8500 switch silicon, delivers a feature-rich, production-grade platform that scales up to 12.8 terabits per second.

The Marvell Prestera CX 8500 family features the company's Storage Aware Flow Engine (SAFE) technology and its high-radix switch core technology known as Forwarding Architecture using Slices of Terabit Ethernet Routers (FASTER).

SAFE facilitates virtual storage orchestration on the Marvell Prestera CX 8500 family by providing greater insight into network flows with per flow visibility, advanced telemetry and comprehensive diagnostics that identify and resolve network congestion. The gNMI-enabled advanced network monitoring features of the ISS are designed to optimize the Prestera CX 8500’s dedicated hardware engines, which have programmability to address the latest telemetry packet formats and monitoring data exporting methods such as INT, iOAM and TAM.

Altran's ISS supports a wide range of standards for advanced routing, switching and management features, data center features and 5G mobility infrastructure. It delivers high performance and scalability through containers and micro services-based architecture.

“Altran’s ISS is an integral part of more than 100 products from leading networking and telecom equipment manufacturers. It enhances switching capability, reduces development times and increases focus on advanced application development,” said N. Mohan Rangan, Group SVP and chief engineering officer at Altran North America. “We also have a strong, longstanding relationship with Marvell for developing solutions that usher in next-generation technologies for the entire networking ecosystem.”

https://www.marvell.com

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AWS begins Managed Streaming service for Apache Kafka

Amazon Web Services (AWS) introduced a fully managed service for Apache Kafka that lets developers build and run highly available, secure, and scalable applications based on Apache Kafka without having to worry about managing the underlying infrastructure.

Apache Kafka is used to capture and analyze real-time data streams from a range of sources, including IoT devices, website clickstreams, financial systems, and database logs. While many customers chose to self-manage their Apache Kafka clusters, they often spend a lot of time and expense securing, scaling, patching, and ensuring high availability for Apache Kafka and Apache ZooKeeper clusters, which Apache Kafka depends on for resource management.

Amazon MSK is fully compatible with Apache Kafka, enabling customers to migrate their on-premises or Amazon Elastic Cloud Compute (Amazon EC2) clusters to Amazon MSK with no code changes. There are no commitments or upfront investment required to run Amazon MSK, and customers only pay for the capacity they use.

"Customers who are running Apache Kafka have told us they want to spend less time managing infrastructure and more time building applications based on real-time streaming data,” said Rajesh Sheth, General Manager of Amazon MSK, AWS. “Amazon MSK gives these customers the ability to run Apache Kafka without having to worry about managing the underlying hardware, and it gives them an easy way to integrate their Apache Kafka applications with other AWS services. With Amazon MSK, customers can stand up Apache Kafka clusters in minutes instead of weeks, so they can spend more time focusing on the applications that impact their businesses.”

https://aws.amazon.com/msk

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Nutanix revenue dips to $287.6 million as company shifts to subscription model

Nutanix reported revenue of $287.6 million (at 77.1% non-GAAP gross margin) for its third quarter of fiscal 2019, ended April 30, 2019, down from $289.4 million (at 68.4% non-GAAP gross margin) in the third quarter of fiscal 2018. Non-GAAP gross margin was 77.1%, up from 68.4% in the third quarter of fiscal 2018.

Non-GAAP net loss per share was $0.56, compared to a non-GAAP net loss per share of $0.21 in the third quarter of fiscal 2018.

Q3 FY’19 subscription billings increased to 65% of total billings, up 8 percentage points from the previous quarter, and Q3 FY’19 subscription revenue reached $168.4 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 110%.

“While we faced a top-line impact in our third quarter as we continue to execute our strategic shift toward a recurring revenue business model, our strong foundation and commitment to our customers position us well for the long term,” said Dheeraj Pandey, Chairman, Founder and CEO of Nutanix. “Successful businesses are built over time on a bedrock of exceptional products, outstanding customer support and talented and committed employees. With solid sales hiring in Q3 and increased adoption of our AHV hypervisor, indicating a strong product and enthusiastic customers, I truly believe Nutanix has that foundation in place.”

“We are encouraged by the momentum and growth of our subscription business as we transform to a recurring revenue model, which will enable a more predictable revenue stream over time and provide our customers greater flexibility for their hybrid cloud deployments,” said Duston Williams, CFO of Nutanix. “We believe the actions we have been taking to strengthen lead generation and enhance sales execution will position us well for the future.”

https://ir.nutanix.com/company/financial/

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F5 intros app for Cisco ACI

F5 Networks introduced an app to that combines L2-3 network connectivity with L4-7 application services within Cisco ACI environments.

The F5 ACI ServiceCenter app, which is available through Cisco’s ACI App Center, enhances visibility and control throughout the network and application stack.

It enables joint customers to deploy, configure, and customize application services in ACI environments quickly via declarative APIs. Together, F5 and Cisco engineering teams have built a number of use cases that utilize F5’s broad range of availability, networking and security services, making it uniquely beneficial, easier, and more effective for users to deploy and consume the companies’ technologies together.

“Technology collaboration between F5 and Cisco is a clear win for joint customers,” said Calvin Rowland, SVP of Business Development at F5. “Building on previous partnership efforts, the F5 ACI ServiceCenter app gives organizations the ability to elegantly develop and enhance application and network deployments with a software-defined approach. More broadly, joint efforts like this are emblematic of the ways the two companies integrate capabilities for advanced automation and orchestration throughout the L2-7 stack.”

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Keysight submits 5G NR non-standalone RF test case

Keysight Technologies' 5G Conformance Toolset was first to submit 5G new radio (NR) non-standalone (NSA) radio frequency (RF) test cases for PTCRB validation approval in frequency range 2 (FR2), as well as for 5G NR standalone (SA) protocol test cases in frequency range 1 (FR1), accelerating market introduction of 5G NR mobile devices.

PTCRB is a certification forum consisting of leading U.S. mobile operators.

Keysight’s 5G Conformance Toolset continues to offer unique validation coverage for 5G NR standalone, which also plays an important role in accelerating 5G NR mobile device certification for commercial introductions around the world.

"By being first to submit 5G NR test cases for PTRCB validation approval, Keysight is enabling mobile operators to speed up their ability to deliver on the promise of 5G and capitalize on early commercial 5G NR deployments,” said Kailash Narayanan, vice president and general manager of Keysight's wireless test group. “We’re proud to once again showcase our 5G technology leadership position which was achieved as a result of our close collaborations with market makers, as well as our significant contributions to the 5G NR standards.”

Since the beginning of this year, Keysight has obtained initial GCF approval for validated 5G NR NSA test cases and has enabled the activation of GCF certification for 5G NR standalone devices. Keysight's 5G Conformance Toolset offers the widest range of GCF 5G NR radio frequency and protocol test cases for NSA and SA modes.

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Microchip announces Terabit-Scale Ethernet PHY with MACsec

Microchip Technology introduced its META-DX1 family of Ethernet Physical-Layer (PHY) devices that integrates, onto a single chip, Ethernet ports from 1 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) to 400 GbE, flexible Ethernet (FlexE), Media Access Control Security (MACsec) link encryption and nanosecond timestamping accuracy at terabit capacity.

The META-DX1, which was developed by Microchip's Microsemi division, enables line cards to quadruple in capacity – from 3.6 terabits per second (Tbps) to 14.4 Tbps with 36 ports of 400 GbE or 144 ports of 100 GbE – while supporting key features needed by service providers.


The META-DX1 family uniquely combines MACsec and FlexE into one solution. The META-DX1 MACsec engine secures traffic leaving the data center or enterprise premises, and FlexE enables both cloud and telecom service providers to meet capacity requirements while reducing fiber plant capital expenditures by optimally configuring links beyond today’s fixed-rate Ethernet so they can use low-cost, high-volume optics.

High-performance timestamping enables nanosecond-level accuracy on every port. This will support timing requirements of 5G mobile base stations.

The META-DX1 also brings a flexible crosspoint switching capability that makes it easier for OEMs to navigate the market transition from 25 Gbps NRZ and 56 Gbps PAM-based architectures by enabling them to support a single design or SKU for both 100 GbE (QSFP28) and 400 GbE (QSFP-DD) optics.

“The META-DX1 family was purpose-built to unify into a single hardware and software offering the broad range of capabilities service providers need in their network buildouts that connect enterprise and data center services to the cloud and emerging 5G applications,” said Babak Samimi, vice president for Microchip’s Communications business unit.  “By delivering the highest-density Ethernet ports coupled with MACsec, FlexE and the nanosecond packet timing performance needed for 5G, we’ve introduced an innovative Ethernet connectivity platform for telecom and cloud service provider routers and switches, as well as optical transport equipment.”

Initial META-DX1 family members will sample during Q3 2019.

https://www.microchip.com/
https://www.microsemi.com/META-DX1

Microsemi and Acacia collaborate on Flexible Rate Optical at up to 600G

Thursday, January 24, 2019  Acacia, Microsemi  

Microsemi and Acacia Communications announced interoperability between Microchip’s DIGI-G5 Optical Transport Network (OTN) processor and Acacia’s AC1200 Coherent Module.

Microsemi's DIGI-G5 OTN processor supports FlexE and OTUCn protocols, enabling new terabit scale line cards with flexible rate optical interfaces for packet optical transport platforms. Acacia's AC1200 modules support for metro and data center interconnect networks. Specifically, while the DIGI-G5 processes client traffic into OTN, the 1.2T AC1200—powered by Acacia’s Pico digital signal processor (DSP) ASIC—on the line card will enable the OTN connections over two 600G tunable DWDM wavelengths with flexible transmission three-dimensional (3D) shaping features. These features, which include fractional quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) and adaptive baud rate optimize transmission reach and capacity, approaching theoretical limits on a wide range of network configurations, in a power efficient manner.

The companies said their collaboration enables the first flexible rate system architectures with an established ecosystem to support the market’s transition to 200G, 400G, 600G and flexible rate OTN networks built with new Flexible Ethernet (FlexE) and OTUCn protocols. FlexE was designed to provide up to 30 percent greater bandwidth efficiency compared to traditional Ethernet link aggregation (LAG) with fewer limitations. Combining it with OTUCn and tunable fractional dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) transmission brings service providers the potential to improve their OTN network capacity by up to 70 percent.

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Ethernity delivers Programmable Universal Edge Platform

Ethernity Networks introduced its ENET Universal Edge Platform (UEP) network appliance, an edge-optimized low-space, low-power FPGA-based programmable device with up to 40 Gbps of networking capacity and 10 Gbps of IPSec security performance.

Ethernity's UEP appliance is powered by a dual-core ARM processor that handles the control plane. It can be used as a standalone high-end Network Interface Device that offers rich routing and IPSec security functionalities. The ENET UEP contains an interchangeable mezzanine card that enables the appliance to be designed for XGS-PON connectivity for placement at cellular base stations, to support G.fast for distribution point unit and multi-dwelling unit deployment, or to support Internet of Things (IoT) aggregation elements, for example, a radio modem for the IoT sensor network.

The main board of the ENET UEP comes with two SFP+ interfaces that can be equipped with 10GbE or XGS-PON transceivers, and an FPGA equipped with Ethernity’s ENET Flow Processor, implementing a complete Carrier Ethernet switch, hierarchical QoS, router, IPSec, and optional XGS-PON MAC.

The default ENET UEP offers 8 x 1Gb RJ45 ports in the mezzanine card, but can be designed to support G.fast, enterprise Power over Ethernet (PoE) solutions, radio interfaces, or additional connectivity via GbE/10GbE. The ENET UEP also comes with a unique PCIe connection to any standard server, enabling it to be used for NFVI acceleration.

“After many years of delivering Carrier Ethernet over low-cost, low-power FPGAs, it is exciting to have customers requesting that we apply our field-proven expertise and patented technology to a comprehensive solution for the network edge,” said Shavit Baruch, VP of R&D at Ethernity Networks. “The ENET UEP is the perfect application for our 5G, mobile backhaul and Ethernet access products as a complement to our customers’ solutions in the central office.”

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