Juniper to acquire Mist for cloud managed, enterprise Wi-Fi

Juniper Networks agreed to acquire Mist Systems, a start-up offering a cloud-managed, enterprise wireless platform, for $405 million in cash and equity awards.

Mist, which is based in Cupertino, California, has developed an AI-driven wireless platform for making Wi-Fi more predictable, reliable and measurable. Mist has also developed an AI-driven virtual assistant, Marvis, to simplify wireless troubleshooting and provide unprecedented insight into client and network behavior. In addition, Mist uses patented virtual Bluetooth LE technology in conjunction with Wi-Fi and IoT to deliver scalable and cost-effective location-based wireless services to customers, such as indoor wayfinding, proximity notifications, traffic analytics and asset tracking. All operations are managed via Mist’s modern cloud microservices architecture.

Mist’s Wireless LAN (WLAN) platform will be combined with Juniper’s wired LAN, SD-WAN and security solutions. Juniper said the deal also enables it to extend cloud-based management and end-to-end AI-driven visibility across the end-to-end enterprise network (from access to the WAN) to offer an industry-leading, software-defined and highly differentiated solution for simplifying operations, improving user experience and lowering total cost of ownership (TCO).

“Mist Systems is a great fit for Juniper and for our enterprise customers,” explained Rami Rahim, CEO of Juniper Networks. “Juniper and Mist share a common strategic goal. We believe in the Software-Defined Enterprise and Mist’s focus on bringing AI to IT is consistent with our core belief that we need to simplify operations and improve customer experience while lowering costs. With Mist, we are adding a market leading solution to complement our portfolio, drive the cloud transition within the enterprise and accelerate our enterprise growth.”

“Mist Systems has developed a unique blend of wireless, AI and cloud expertise that has enabled us to stand out from the competition and bring much needed innovation to the wireless space,” said Sujai Hajela, CEO of Mist Systems. “By combining these proficiencies with Juniper’s expansive channel reach, world-class support and best-in-class networking and security products, we believe we will be well poised to change the IT landscape by ushering in a new generation of AI-driven products.”

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Elenion debuts Silicon Photonic BGA Packaged Coherent Optical Sub-Assembly

Elenion Technologies, a start-up developing silicon photonics-based System-on-Chip solutions, announced its next-generation Coherent Silicon Transmitter and Receiver CSTAR optical BGA platform for transmission of up to 600G on a single wavelength, as well as new small form factors for compact pluggable modules such as OIF 400G ZR QSFP-DD.

The CSTAR-200 is a DSP agnostic, coherent optical engine that enables pluggables such as CFP2-DCO and on-board applications, from data center interconnect to long haul in 100/200G coherent optical communication links.

“We are excited to be partnering with Elenion on our award winning CFP2-DCO. Elenion’s CSTAR platform allows us to offer differentiated coherent solutions to our customers,” said Siraj ElAhmadi, President & General Manager, Menara Networks.

The CSTAR platform comprises a multi-chip-module (MCM) and integrates Elenion’s advanced Silicon Photonics and RFICs. Integrated into a non-hermetic BGA package, CSTAR offers the next generation coherent optical engine for todays and future 100 to 600Gb/s Network applications.

“From the beginning at Elenion, we’ve built our silicon photonic chips in a production CMOS fab, which enables us to build complex optical devices. Having leveraged on-chip complexity to eliminate all of the isolators, lenses, and other free space optics from our package, Elenion is taking these chips and having them assembled in a production electronics-attach environment, reusing the infrastructure investment from the ASIC industry. We believe that this is a milestone for the silicon photonics industry, and represents an inflection point with regard to the cost of packaging for silicon photonics and integrated photonic components in general,” said Michael Hochberg, CTO, Elenion.

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UC Berkeley develops 240x240 silicon photonics switch

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have demonstrated an experimental, silicon photonics switch with 240 inputs and 240 outputs.

In a paper presented at OFC, researchers Tae Joon Seok and colleagues will report the successful scale up of a 240x240 integrated silicon photonic switch.

The switch was manufactured at the Marvell Nanofabrication Laboratory at UC Berkeley using a process known as lithography stitching, creating a wafer-scale 240x240 silicon photonic switch by stitching together nine 80x80 switch blocks in a 3x3 array, with three input and three output coupler blocks.

The research team demonstrated signal loss lower than any previously reported, said Seok, who is assistant professor at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea and a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley. The on-chip loss to port-count ratio  was measured at 0.04 dB/port.

"Recently, many research groups competitively reported silicon photonic switches with large input/output port counts," said Seok. However, the physical size of a silicon photonic chip has been limited to 2 to 3 cm because of the limitations of the lithography tools necessary to etch the required geometric patterns on the silicon wafers used as a base for the integrated chips.

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TE Connectivity demos 400G connector and cable assemblies

TE Connectivity (TE) is showcasing its lineup of high-performance connectors, sockets, cable assemblies and power solutions.

TE products are showcased in the 100G and 400G active demonstrations in the Ethernet Alliance booth with SFP56, QSFP56, OSFP, QSFP-DD connectors and QSFP-DD-to-OSFP cable assemblies based on signaling at 25G and 50G individual pair signaling rates, along with an operating 800G capable OSFP cable based on 100G individual pair signaling.

In the OIF booth, TE will participate in active 100G individual pair signaling demonstrations with an OSFP to QSFP-DD cable assembly, an OSFP connector and cage, and a QSFP-DD connector and cage.

The COBO booth will include TE's demonstration of its 100Gbps capable Sliver COBO connector in partnership with Credo.

The following TE products will be featured in these demonstrations and displays:

• I/O connectors: SFP56, SFP-DD, QSFP56, OSFP and QSFP-DD 400G interconnects, Nano-Pitch I/O connectors (NPIO), and COBO as well as thermally enhanced versions of all these pluggable interconnects. A demonstration of 800G OSFP will be included.
• Copper cable assemblies: SFP56, SFP-DD, QSFP56, OSFP, and QSFP-DD direct attach cables, including a demo of 800G OSFP cables. In addition, Sliver cables (SFF-TA_1002, GenZ), and STRADA Whisper cables will be shown.
• Board to Board: STRADA Whisper, Z-PACK Slim UHD, Z-PACK HM-eZd+ backplane connectors, and backplane cable assemblies.
• Sockets: LGA 3647 (Socket P) and XLA 3800+ position sockets
• Power Delivery: Open Compute Power, MULTI-BEAM HD
• Internal Interconnects: Sliver Interconnects (SFF-TA-1002, GenZ, EDSFF, OCP NIC 3.0, DDIMM, COBO), Nano-Pitch I/O connectors (OCuLink), and STRADA Whisper in an internally cabled system.

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MACOM announces drivers for Single-Lambda 100G and 400G

MACOM Technology Solutions announced the availability of a new family of drivers for Single-Lambda 100G and 400G applications. These 2nd generation EML and Silicon Photonic drivers in low-cost SMT packaging include:

• MAOM-005321: Single-channel EML driver in 3x4mm package
• MAOM-005324: Single-channel Silicon Photonics driver in 3x4mm package
• MAOM-005421: Quad-channel EML driver in 7x7.2mm package
• MAOM-005424: Quad-channel Silicon Photonics driver in 5x6mm package

“To date we’ve had multiple design wins at 100G and 400G, and with customers expected to
ramp, MACOM’s goal is to continue our leadership in the datacom segment by providing optimal driver solutions to our customers,” said Rajiv Somisetty, Senior Product Marketing Manager at MACOM. “Our new driver family underscores our ability to do exactly that. Whether it’s an EML or SiPh based module solution our customer is working on, MACOM’s second-generation driver family with improved performance at lower cost is the ideal solution.”

http://www.macom.com/applications/optical-networking

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MACOM expands 400G PAM-4 with Low Noise Transimpedance Amplifiers

MACOM Technology Solutions announced availability of production versions of its four-channel (4 x 100G) 56/106 Gbit PAM-4 linear transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs) optimized for use in 400G optical modules targeting cloud data center applications.

MACOM's new MATA-03820 and the MATA-03819 are available in flip chip and wire bonding packaging options, respectively, for fast, flexible deployment in single-lambda 400G-FR4 and DR4 format QSFP-DD and OSFP optical modules. The devices deliver low noise performance less than 1.5 uA RMS typical and support bandwidth up to 35 GHz.

“In the rapid evolution to single fiber 100G and parallel fiber 200G and 400G connectivity, we believe that MACOM has again affirmed its leadership position in delivering the high-performance, power-efficient optical components needed to maximize bandwidth density in the Cloud Data Center”

“Molex is excited to collaborate with MACOM. Leveraging MACOM’s technical support along with its broad portfolio of TIAs we are able to ensure the availability of industry leading 400G optical modules,” said Adit Narasimha, Vice President and General Manager, Molex Optoelectronics. “The low noise performance of MACOM’s TIA along with its flexible programmability, enable delivery of industry leading low bit error performance when implemented with a DSP for 400G modules.”

https://www.macom.com/products/product-detail/MATA-03820
https://www.macom.com/products/product-detail/MATA-03819

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DustPhotonics ships 400Gbps QSFP-DD SR8

DustPhotonics announced sampling availability and pre-production ramp of 400G QSFP-DD SR8 optical transceiver for short reach, high-density applications over multi-mode optical fiber. The 400Gbps module incorporates DustPhotonics' AuraDP optical engine with unique fiber integration and manufacturing technology .

Dust Photonics notes that 400G QSFP-DD SR8 transceivers support both 400G switch to switch and breakout options for high-radix configurations.

DustPhotonics claims its AuraDP light engine enables reduced power consumption, higher reliability, and superior module performance. The optical packaging design results in improved sensitivity and efficient coupling. The QSFP-DD optical transceiver is designed for use with cost effective multimode fiber and supports reaches of up to 100 meters using OM4 fiber. The SR8 module features; 8 parallel 50Gbps PAM4 optical channels, supports the latest CMIS Management Interface, and is compliant to the latest QSFP-DD MSA and IEEE 802.3bs 400GBASE SR8 standards.

The 400G QSFP-DD module is part of the DustPhotonic's family of 400G multimode transceiver and AOC product line. The 400G QSFP-DD SR8 has an expected production release date in the second half of 2019. DustPhotonics is currently sampling and accepting orders for evaluation of 400G QSFP-DD SR8 transceivers.

"QSFP-DD SR8 is the most versatile 400G module for the large enterprise and hyperscale cloud data center markets supporting fanout to 200G and 50G," says Ben Rubovitch, CEO and co-founder of DustPhotonics. "With the majority of fiber lengths in hyperscale data centers being less than 100 meters, multimode is the economic choice supporting high-radix interconnection networks. This offers significantly better cost/performance solutions needed for broad market adoption of 400Gbps data rates."

http://www.dustphotonics.com

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Evertz Microsystems Selects Ranovus’ 200G CFP2 Direct Detect Transceivers

Evertz Microsystems, which supplies technology solutions for the broadcast, media and entertainment industries, will deploy Ranovus’ 200G CFP2 Direct Detect transceiver product into the Evertz Software Defined Video Networking switch and routing infrastructure.

Ranovus transceivers employ quantum dot laser (QDL) and micro-ring resonator Silicon Photonics technologies. Highlights:

• Fully compliant with Telcordia GR-468 Standard
• DCI, metro access, 5G Mobility and multi-access edge computing applications
• Transmission distances of 15km, 40km and 80km+
• Platform capable of supporting Industrial Temperature Range
• 96 DWDM channels in the C-band now and L-band in the future
• 1.6 Tb/s 1RU Shelf Density
• Form factor and compatible electrical interface with CFP2-DCO
• 56Gb/s PAM4 PHY with multiple programmable FEC options to optimize link performance
• Full diagnostics and self-monitoring capabilities to enable high-reliability networks

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Previewing OFC 2019 demos

This week's OFC in San Diego, which is expected to draw over 15,000 attendees, will feature several live multivendor interoperability and technology demonstrations including FlexE (Flex Ethernet), 400ZR, 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE), 25GbE, 50GbE, 100GbE, 400GbE; Open Source Open ROADM SDN Controller; pluggable CFP2-ACO and CFP2-DCO modules; and Common Electrical I/O (CEI)-112G.

“The exhibit floor at OFC is the ideal venue for vendors and open source community representatives to demonstrate the interoperability of their technologies and how they can be implemented into network and data center operators’ infrastructure,” said Jörg-Peter Elbers, ADVA Optical Networking SE, Germany, and OFC General Co-Chair. “The technologies being demonstrated by these groups represent the latest advancements and their interoperability is vital to driving our industry forward.”

Coherent Transceiver Demo, Booth #6421

This demonstration will show live interoperability of pluggable CFP2-ACO and CFP2-DCO modules from multiple vendors (Acacia, Fujitsu Optical Components and Lumentum) operating at 100Gbps. The modules will be plugged into a white box switch from Edgecore, and transmit and receive HD-FEC coded 100Gbps DP-QPSK optical signals traversing optical fiber over distances covering data center interconnects. This demonstration is being coordinated by NTT Network Innovation Laboratories.

Ethernet Alliance Ethernet Demo, Booth #4749

The Ethernet Alliance will display an interoperable multivendor next-gen technology demo that will encompass 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE), 25GbE, 50GbE, 100GbE and 400GbE technologies and solutions from 18 companies, ranging from interconnect providers, to switches and routers, to test and measurement equipment. The Ethernet Alliance will also showcase a live 400GbE infrastructure connecting multiple booths on the show floor. The Ethernet Alliance is also celebrating the success of those companies winning the Ethernet Alliance Holy Cup Challenge, for their successful first public demonstration of transmitting 100GbE per lambda. Join the celebration at a Wednesday afternoon social in their booth.

OIF Demos, Booth #6215

This year’s OIF booth will feature live multi-vendor interoperability demonstrations showcasing its work in the industry’s hottest areas - Common Electrical I/O (CEI)-112G, FlexE (Flex Ethernet) and 400ZR. The live demos with 13 system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors will demonstrate critical insight into how key technologies interoperate within the industry’s ecosystem.  Amphenol, Cisco Systems, Credo Semiconductor (HK) LTD, Finisar, Inphi, Juniper Networks, Keysight Technologies, Molex, Spirent Communications, TE Connectivity, VIAVI Solutions, Xilinx and YAMAICHI ELECTRONICS will demonstrate the interoperability of their products and technologies in OIF’s booth, #6215.

400ZR Demo
OIF’s 400ZR project is critical in facilitating the reduction of cost and complexity for high bandwidth data center interconnects and promoting interoperability among optical module manufacturers. Currently in progress, the project will result in an implementation agreement for 400G ZR and short-reach DWDM multi-vendor interoperability. The 400ZR demo consists of real-time Error Vector Magnitude measurements demonstrating the maturity of the methodology used for transmitter specifications. In addition, a hardware-based 400ZR installation will show how participants communicate a typical application case.

CEI-112G Demo
OIF is taking a lead role in moving the industry to the next generation with its development of electrical interface specifications for 112 Gbps per differential pair. Multiple live demonstrations featuring interoperability clearly prove the key role OIF provides. The CEI-112G demonstrations in the OIF booth will feature multi-party silicon supplier interoperability over mated compliance board channels and direct attach copper cable channels, all demonstrating the technical viability of 112 Gbps operation, along with multiple industry form factors including OSFP and QSFP-DD.

FlexE Demo
OIF continues to lead in FlexE aggregation architectures through its newest FlexE 2.1 project for FlexE over 50GbE PHY applications, an extension to its FlexE 2.0 Implementation Agreement (IA). The FlexE 2.0 demo will show off the bonding, subrating, and channelization features that allows FlexE-enabled hardware to support non-standard Ethernet rates over standard Ethernet optics. Realistic multi-vendor deployment scenarios, client rate reconfiguration, and in-band messaging features will be demonstrated on a network built from a variety of Ethernet optics and interconnecting the OIF and Ethernet Alliance booths.

OIF is celebrating 20 years of advancing new technologies and interoperability work effecting progressive change in the industry.

Open ROADM MSA SDN Demos, Booth #6139

This demo will use an open optical layer (Open ROADM MSA compliant) to turn up a wavelength with an Open Source Open ROADM SDN Controller, transfer a large number of Virtual Machines from one data center to another data center over this wavelength using a master orchestrator and turn down the optical connection afterwards. The demo is a collaboration of the University of Texas, Dallas, with Ciena, Fujitsu, Orange and AT&T. It will also demonstrate other Open ROADM MSA compliant hardware from ECI, Infinera and Juniper.

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Consortium for On-Board Optics showcase at OFC - 400G and 800G

At the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition (OFC) in San Diego, the Consortium for On-Board Optics (COBO) will showcase the first-ever on-board optical ecosystem of its kind as its demonstration brings together a wide range of innovative developments including optical switch, adapter, modules, and compliance board products for industry leading suppliers.

“The Consortium for On-Board Optics released its industry breakthrough on-board optical module specification at OFC 2018. The panel members will share their experiences and developments during the past year since the specification release,” said Brad Booth, President, COBO. “COBO continues to bring a wide variety of industry perspectives and expertise to the development of on-board optics, and we look forward to sharing that knowledge through the panel and with our presence at OFC.”

http://onboardoptics.org/

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MACOM hosts InnovationZone at OFC 2019

At OFC 2019, MACOM is hosting an InnovationZone featuring key industry vendors demonstrating interoperability with live and static modules, including:

• 64 GBaud Coherent for Long-Haul, Metro and DCI
• 400 Gbps PAM-4 for FR4/DR4
• 200/400 Gbps for SR-8 and AOC
• 200 Gbps Analog CDRs for CWDM4
• 100 Gbps for DR/FR and CWDM4
• 25/50 Gbps Optical Connectivity for 5G
• 10/25 Gbps PON

Participating companies include Accelink, Alpha, CIG, Colorchip, Cube Optics, Delta, Dust Photonics, FOC, Hisense, Innolight, Intel, Lumentum, Luxhsare-ICT, Mentech, Molex, NeoPhotonics, OE Solutions, Potron Tech, Ruigu, T&W, Tibitcom, Tsuhan, W Optics and YSOD.

“MACOM’s InnovationZone represents the best of today’s innovative solutions for Cloud Data Center and 5G connectivity,” said Preet Virk, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Networks, MACOM. “Featuring MACOM’s leading components and technology in industry solutions, the InnovationZone showcases the ongoing progress component suppliers and module vendors are making towards enabling the next-generation of optical connectivity, demonstrated in the newly popular PlugFest event style.”

“Intel is pleased to join in the industry’s first ever InnovationZone at OFC with MACOM,” said Scott Schube, Director of Strategic Marketing, Intel Corporation. “This event showcases leading solutions for supporting next-generation optical networking, including Intel’s 100Gbps silicon photonics-based CWDM4 modules.”

http://www.macom.com/applications/optical-networking

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Foxconn Interconnect Technology demos 400G BiDi

Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT) will demonstrate its 400 Gbps Bi-directional (BiDi) QSFP-DD multi-mode fiber (MMF) transceiver module for 400 Gigabit Ethernet Applications.

The module is designed to facilitate an easy upgrade path from 100 Gbps to 400 Gbps by reusing existing MPO fiber cable infrastructure used in 40G SR4 QSFP+ and 100G SR4 QSFP28 deployment with 8-fibers ribbon cable. The 400G BiDi modules support link distances up to 70m OM3 and 100m OM4.

FIT cited the following advantages for the 400G BiDi transceiver compared to alternative solutions, including:

• Extended use of installed MPO MMF cabling to support the transition to 400 GbE:   An upgrade path for millions of 100G QSFP28 SR4 MMF transceivers deployed in the field to FIT's new 400G BiDi QSFP28 transceiver. 400G BiDi enables customers to reduce their Capex and Opex costs when they transition to 400G by utilizing existing MMF cable infrastructure.
• Endorsed by Major OEM's: 40G BiDi QSFP+ and 100G BiDi QSPF28 transceivers have already been widely adopted in the industry. 
• Lower Cost Solution: 40G BiDi, 100G BiDi and 400G BiDi efficiently use 2 VCSEL wavelengths (850nm and 910nm) per link, instead of more complex and costly solutions using 4 VCSEL wavelengths (850 – 950nm range).  This enables customers to use existing MMF cable infrastructure.
• Fully Compliant to IEC 60793-2 Effective Modal Bandwidth (EMB) specifications: Alternate solutions with 4 VCSEL wavelengths will require fiber infrastructure with a higher EMB
• 4x100 Gbps breakout capability: 400G BiDi can be operated in either an aggregate point to point mode or a breakout mode. In the 4x100 Gbps breakout mode, the 400G BiDi will interoperate with 100G BiDi solutions allowing backward compatibility to 100 Gbps network applications
• The 400G BiDi transceiver solution is based on Broadcom's industry leading optical ICs and components including 400G 8:8 PAM-4 PHY and an array of 4x50G VCSEL and PIN photodetector components plus complementary 4x50G transimpedance amplifier (TIA) and laser driver ICs. The solution delivers unprecedented performance and power efficiency enabling high volume deployment of 400 GbE MMF links for datacenter and cloud networks.

"The 2 million 40G and 100G BiDi transceivers we have shipped to date demonstrate the success and market acceptance of these optical solutions enabling customers to realize further cost savings by reusing their existing OM3 and OM4 MMF cable infrastructures. The new 400G BiDi transceiver module leverages proven FIT BiDi technology and builds upon that success story by offering a higher speed product for link distances below 100 meters for hyperscale data centers, enterprise, and fabric interconnects of 5G wireless infrastructures," said Adam Carter, Chief Commercial Officer in FIT's Fiber Optics Communications Business.

https://www.foit-foxconn.com

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Crehan: 100GbE Data Center Switch Shipments passed 40GbE in '18

Customer adoption of 100 gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and 25GbE data center switches increased significantly in 2018, with shipments of each technology more than doubling year-over-year, according to the latest report from Crehan Research Inc.

This increase drove the overall data center Ethernet switch market to its strongest shipment growth since 2015 as well as to record revenue results. Furthermore, as shown in the accompanying figure, annual 100GbE data center switch port shipments surpassed those of 40GbE, a transition that has occurred approximately just three years after initial high-density 100GbE switch silicon-based systems started production shipments.

“10GbE and 40GbE data center switch shipments each declined in 2018, while 25GbE and 100GbE continued to grow significantly, signaling that we are now solidly in the 100/25GbE era,” said Seamus Crehan, president of Crehan Research. “Because of its compelling
value propositions, this modern data center architecture is now being widely deployed across public, private, and hybrid cloud data centers to handle a broad and diverse set of application workloads.”

Other noteworthy results from Crehan’s data center switch report include:

• Overall market average selling prices were (once again) very stable in 2018. In fact, over the past four years, overall data center Ethernet switch market average selling prices have fallen by less than five percent in total.
• Cisco accounted for about half of total branded data center Ethernet switch revenues in 2018, driven by very strong customer adoption of its Nexus 9000 series 100GbE and 25GbE data center
• switching products.
• Arista gained the most data center Ethernet switch revenue and shipment share in 2018, picking up three share points in both of those areas.
• Despite a significant slowdown in 4Q18, both Huawei and H3C also had annual data center Ethernet switch share gains in 2018.
• Although total 10GbE data center switch shipments declined in 2018, 10GBASE-T shipments continued to grow, even with weakness in this segment in the latter half of the year.
• “The wide deployment of 100GbE switching, with an annualized port shipment run-rate now approaching the tens of millions, sets a very solid foundation for the upcoming 400GbE ramp likely starting in the second half of this year," Crehan said. 

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Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) Market Forecast

The worldwide use of handheld Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) and associated devices reached $407.33 million in 2018, up from $397.8 million in 2017, according to a new study published by  ElectroniCast Consultants, a leading market and technology research consultancy addressing the fiber optics communications industry. An Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) is a fiber optic test instrument used as a troubleshooting device to find faults in the optical fiber link.

Some highlights:

• Telecommunications reached $289.63 million, representing a 72.5 percent market share, last year.
• The Cable TV sector is forecast to increase in volume (quantity/number of units) at over 5% annually during the forecast period (2018-2028).  
• The consumption value of OTDRs in the Private Networks is forecast for very impressive “double-digit” annual growth over most of the next 10-years, due to the increase in optical fiber deployment in LANs (local area networks), campus (LAN extension inter-building, LAN-to-LAN and redundant lines), and (very large) Data Centers (DCs), driven by critical high-speed data applications. 

https://www.electronicastconsultants.com/

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Verizon acquires ProtectWise for cloud network detection/response

Verizon has acquired ProtectWise, a Colorado-based company which provides cloud-delivered Network Detection and Response. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"Integrating ProtectWise's capabilities with Verizon's leading global network services further enhances our ability to detect and respond to security threats," said Alex Schlager, executive director, product management and development, Verizon. "In addition, as we rapidly expand our 5G footprint, increasing our capacity and capabilities in network detection and response will secure our customers as they adapt and expand with the next generation of connectivity."

“ProtectWise has dedicated the last five years to building a next-generation Network Detection and Response platform that’s been recognized as one of the leading technologies in the cybersecurity industry,” said Scott Chasin, ProtectWise CEO and Co-Founder. “Our technology and the outstanding team behind it will be great assets to Verizon as the company expands its enterprise security offerings. We look forward to becoming a part of Verizon to deliver immediate value to our customers, partners and team based on the company’s strong security market presence and global reach.”

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MWC19 Barcelona attendance hits record 109,000

Attendance at MWC19 Barcelona was 109,000, up slightly from recent years:

2019 - 109,000
2018 - 107,000
2017 - 108,000
2016 - 101,000

Visitors came from 198 countries and territories, and more than 55 percent of this year’s MWC attendees held senior-level positions, including 7,900 CEOs.

More than 2,400 companies participated at MWC19 across more than 120,000 net square meters of exhibition and hospitality space at Fira Gran Via.

Today we celebrate another highly successful MWC Barcelona, which brought together attendees, governments and regulators across the global ecosystem, spanning multiple sectors and reflecting the expanding role of mobile connectivity,” said John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA Ltd. “With the theme of ‘Intelligent Connectivity’, 5G was prominent at MWC19 and it was exciting to see a glimpse of that new world, with 5G-enabled handsets launched, new products and services, and even the first demonstration of live tele-monitored surgery over 5G technology. The mobile industry continues to make strong progress with 5G and MWC Barcelona continues to showcase the best and most creative elements of our connected world.”

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VMware builds its telco portfolio, partners with Ericsson

VMware announced expanded relationships with AT&T and Vodafone, along with an expanded alliance with Ericsson and a new partnership with T-Systems.

“5G is at a massive inflection point, and planning decisions made today will have far reaching financial and operational ramifications for CSPs going forward,” said Shekar Ayyar, executive vice president, strategy and corporate development and general manager, Telco NFV Group, VMware. “By moving away from the inflexible, hardware-defined architectures of the past, and rolling out 5G as a fully-virtualized architecture right out of the gate, telcos will be able to beat competitors to market with new value-added services and improve the performance and operational efficiencies of their networks. VMware today provides the best foundation for the 5G-ready telco cloud.”

Highlights of the announcements:

• AT&T is working with VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud to implement 5G capabilities into its SD-WAN. The collaboration targets 5G.
• Ericsson and VMware have signed a global alliance agreement that will simplify deploying and running a combination of Ericsson applications and VMware’s vCloud NFV platform for CSPs. The alliance agreement solidifies the close cooperation between the two companies, ongoing since 2012, and enables CSPs to accelerate time to revenue for new telco-grade services.
• T-Systems is providing customers with a managed services offering for VMware Cloud on AWS. Together with its long-standing partner, VMware, the Deutsche Telekom IT service provider is connecting clients’ private clouds with VMware Cloud on AWS.
• Vodafone has expanded its footprint of VMware’s cloud infrastructure to power its network and to capture operational agility and cost efficiency at scale. VMware is Vodafone’s primary strategic partner for telco cloud infrastructure services. VMware’s services are used across Vodafone’s operating markets around the world; they are live in 15 countries, in more than 50 sites, carrying increasing amounts of subscriber traffic on more than 300 core network functions.

VMware also announced new and enhanced solutions across its telco portfolio.

VMware Smart Assurance: provides full integration with VMware vCloud NFV, VMware’s NFV Infrastructure (NFVI) platform, along with new carrier-oriented advancements in VMware NSX-T Data Center. These advancements will give CSPs a strong foundational NFV platform with advanced networking features, accelerated data plane performance, intent-based assurance and support for a broad set of certified VNF applications to deliver multiple services and applications today and bridge the gap to tomorrow’s 5G networks.

Evolution of Networking in vCloud NFV: VMware NSX-T Data Center is a core component of vCloud NFV that provides a software network overlay across the complete NFV infrastructure and supports multiple telco use cases. The new VMware NSX-T 2.4 release delivers even higher levels of cloud-scale, operational simplicity, resiliency, and performance. This includes IPv6 support, near line-rate speed, high availability, and scalability to tens-of-thousands of unique networks per NSX-T Data Center instance. With Network Service Header (NSH)-based service chaining, service providers can deliver new services faster while significantly reducing CapEx and OpEx.

Expanding VMware Ready for NFV Certification Program: provides CSPs with the commitment that VMware partner VNF solutions will seamlessly and effectively deploy, run and interoperate with VMware vCloud NFV. VMware now has certified more than 105 Virtual Network Functions from 85 vendors worldwide. VMware’s broad ecosystem of certified partners creates a true marketplace that helps CSPs remove barriers to successful NFV implementations.

VMware HCX Enables Seamless Migration and Multi-Cloud Mobility for the 5G-Ready Telco Cloud:   delivers migration capabilities that can be integrated into Day 1 and Day 2 operations, helping CSPs seamlessly mobilize the applications to 5G with minimum downtime. VMware integrated OpenStack (VIO), with VMware’s support for Kubernetes orchestration capabilities complement VMware HCX in delivering easy migration and multi-cloud connectivity.

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Etisalat UAE selects Ericsson for 5G

Etisalat selected Ericsson to deploy a 5G radio network in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Etisalat is preparing to offer 5G enhanced mobile broadband and fixed wireless access - among the first 5G use cases - and will provide subscribers with higher throughput and better experiences.

Saeed Al Zarouni, Senior Vice President, Mobile Network, Etisalat, says: “Our ability to provide 5G services is due to our commitment to invest in line with our strategy to ‘Drive the Digital future to empower the society’ with solutions and services that are at the forefront of the digital journey. This is an opportunity for Etisalat to provide customers futuristic digital services and a truly transformative, nationwide 5G network they deserve."

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Marvell intros silicon for 5G infrastructure

Marvell, whose 3G and 4G solutions are widely deployed in 3G and 4G networks worldwide, announced an end-to-end silicon platform for 5G infrastructure.

Whereas initial deployments of 5G NR have been dominated by FPGA-based solutions, Marvell said its 5G solution encompasses baseband DSPs, Arm multi-core SoCs, purpose-built hardware accelerators, Ethernet connectivity engines and system-level security solutions.

Marvell's 5G NR Platform includes:

• Radio Access SoCs: The OCTEON Fusion-M product line is optimized for cost/power and programmable with a 3GPP protocol stack split and massive MIMO capabilities. Marvell's SoCs set the performance benchmark for both LTE-A and 5G NR, with multiple deployments through key industry partners.
• Transport/EPC Core Processors: Multi-core OCTEON processors that are optimized to address the most demanding use cases of 5G NR. Marvell's scalable data-plane acceleration makes its embedded processors ideal for 5G Core/EPC applications at the heart of the network as well. Marvell uniquely offers a single unified architecture for both transport and EPC core.
• Ethernet Networking: switches and PHYs for carrier infrastructure. Marvell Prestera switches contain hierarchical traffic management for mobile infrastructure. In addition, Marvell's differentiated switching solutions allow advanced flow identification and access control to enable user-level security.
• Wi-Fi Connectivity: Marvell is ramping high volume production of 8x8 and 4x4 Wi-Fi 6 solutions. The 802.11ax engines include full MU-MIMO and OFDMA uplink and downlink, multi-gigabit peak speeds, precision location, cloud management, best-in-class beamforming and integrated Bluetooth 5 technology. 
• ThunderX2 Arm-based Server: Marvell has introduced workload optimized ThunderX2 server processors to augment and enhance its 5G portfolio. 

"Marvell is uniquely empowering our network infrastructure customer base to accelerate their 5G systems via our highly integrated solutions," said Raghib Hussain, chief strategy officer and executive vice president of the Network and Processors Group at Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. "Specifically, our 5G Ready portfolio is an order of magnitude better in terms of performance, power efficiency and overall implementation cost versus unoptimized field programmable pre-5G architectures. In short, the depth and breadth of Marvell's technology offers OEMs the flexibility to tailor their infrastructure solutions to specific carriers and global end markets."

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U.S. Cellular picks Ericsson for 5G

U.S. Cellular awarded a multi-year contract to Ericsson for 5G network deployment. Under the contract, Ericsson will provide U.S. Cellular with 3GPP standards-based 5G New Radio (NR) hardware and software.

Niklas Heuveldop, President and Head of Ericsson North America, says: “We look forward to enhancing our strong relationship with U.S. Cellular and supporting the 5G network rollout to their customers. We work constantly to ensure our customers have access to the latest 5G solutions, and U.S. Cellular customers will certainly reap the benefits of innovative applications that 5G networks will enable.”

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