Friday, November 3, 2023

Ampere: AI Workload Scalability

 How will data centers scale for AI workloads? Sean Varley, VP of Product Marketing from Ampere, shares a perspective:

- AI is emerging as a major workload in data centers, but models are in flux.

- Despite the prevalence of proprietary technology, there's a shift towards open technology in AI deployment, with Ampere forming an AI Platform Alliance to encourage this.

- The AI Platform Alliance aims to bring vendors together to create platforms for the entire ecosystem, focusing on open technology, AI acceleration, and sustainability.


https://youtu.be/hPet6B6BRpQ

Filmed at OCP Summit 2023 (#OCPSummit23) in San Jose.

Want to be involved our video series? Contact info@nextgeninfra.io

Check out OCP Summit 2023 videos here: https://ngi.fyi/ocpsummit23yt


Thursday, November 2, 2023

Nokia brings Natural Language Processing to Network Management

Nokia Bell Labs is bringing natural language processing and AI/ML models, enabling network operators to use simple text or speech requests to manage network resources.

Natural-Language Networking is a component of UNEXT, a Nokia Bell Labs research initiative that will redefine network software and systems. UNEXT, which is named after UNIX, the legendary operating system (OS) invented by Bell Labs, aims to redefine network software and systems the same way UNIX reshaped computing.

Nokia showcased a proof-of-concept for the first time at this week’s Brooklyn 6G Summit in New York.

Csaba Vulkan, Network Systems Automation research leader, Nokia Bell Labs, said: “Operators won’t need to explore technical catalogues or complex API descriptions when they configure networks. Instead, a simple statement like ‘Optimize the network at X location for Y service’ will work. Those requests could be used to configure a wireless network in a factory for robot automation or optimize networks at a concert for a barrage of social media uploads.”

https://www.bell-labs.com/research-innovation/projects-and-initiatives/unext/

Power Efficiency of Next Gen CPO Data Center Switches

Wondering how AI and ML are revolutionizing network architectures and what role co-packed optics (CPO) could play in lowering power consumption of data center switches? 

Max Simmons, Chief Marketing Officer from Micas Networks, and Andy Chen, Application Engineer at Broadcom, show off the new platform based on Broadcom's “Bailly” 51.2 Tbps CPO Switch:

- Max discusses the increasing need for bandwidth and networking due to the rise of AI and ML technologies.

- Max introduces Micas Networks' CPO-based switch which boasts significant power savings, developed in collaboration with Broadcom.

- Andy highlights the benefits of co-packaged optics used in the Bailly chip, demonstrating high-speed traffic traversing the switch.

https://youtu.be/E4gE8XEoGrQ

Filmed at OCP Summit 2023 (#OCPSummit23) in San Jose.

Check out OCP Summit 2023 videos here: https://ngi.fyi/ocpsummit23yt

Want to be involved our video series? Contact info@nextgeninfra.io
https://ngi.fyi/ocp23-micas-Max

CXL Memory Expansions Will Transform Data Centers

The emerging CXL standard could be the key to scaling AI platforms and cloud infrastructure effectively. Thad Omura, SVP, Business and Corporate Development from Astera Labs, provides a tour of Astera Labs' booth at #OCPSummit23:

  • - Discover how Astera Labs is accelerating and enabling PCI Express infrastructure to scale, especially as the number of GPUs and AI accelerators increase. With their industry-standard retimer technologies, you can extend the scale of AI cabling solutions by 3x, connecting more GPUs at a wider distance and at a much easier pace.
  • - Learn about the interest in Astera Labs' CXL memory expanders and controllers. In partnership with Lenovo and AMD, they have achieved unprecedented memory capacity in a dual processor system, offering 133% more capacity of DRAM loaded into a volume dual socket server.
  • - Explore Astera Labs' Ethernet retimer used for active electrical cases. These retimers allow 200, 400, and 800 Gbps connectivity in the rack and from switch to switch, enabling a variety of cabling solutions for customers and providing them with the most innovative test platform for volume production.

https://youtu.be/95C68NUqcH8


Filmed at OCP Summit 2023 (#OCPSummit23) in San Jose. Want to be involved our video series? Contact info@nextgeninfra.io


Check out OCP Summit 2023 videos here: https://ngi.fyi/ocpsummit23yt


Texas Instruments breaks ground on 2nd 300-mm wafer fab in Utah

Texas Instruments commenced construction on its second 300-mm wafer fab in Lehi, Utah.

LFAB2 will complement TI’s existing 300-mm wafer fabs, which include LFAB1 (Lehi, Utah), DMOS6 (Dallas), and RFAB1 and RFAB2 (both in Richardson, Texas). TI is also building four new 300-mm wafer fabs in Sherman, Texas (SM1, SM2, SM3 and SM4), with production from the first fab as early as 2025.

TI’s manufacturing expansions, with anticipated support from the CHIPS and Science Act, will provide reliable supply of analog and embedded processing products. 

In February, TI announced its $11 billion investment in Utah, marking the largest economic investment in state history. LFAB2 will create approximately 800 additional TI jobs as well as thousands of indirect jobs, with first production available as early as 2026.

https://news.ti.com/

Momentum deploys Ciena’s 400ZR for Azure ExpressRoute interconnect

Momentum, a managed cloud services provider based in Atlanta, is utilizing Ciena's (Waveserver 5 compact interconnect platform, for connectivity to cloud computing platforms, such as Microsoft’s Azure.

The Ciena platform is powered by WaveLogic 5 Nano (WL5n) 400ZR coherent pluggable transceivers, .

Momentum is moving to 400G technology to address strong growth in the metro and increased opportunities stemming from its work as a Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute partner. 

“Our enterprise customers have to move very large data sets and files to the cloud for analysis and manipulation in real time. With Ciena’s innovative coherent pluggable technology, we can satisfy their rigorous bandwidth needs—and do so both efficiently and sustainably,” said Ande Hornig, Executive Vice President, Network Services, at Momentum.

Momentum is also using Ciena’s edge-optimized, compact Coherent ELS open line system to achieve lower latency and operational simplicity while delivering higher-quality experiences to its customers. End-to-end network visibility and assurance is provided by Ciena’s Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) domain controller.

“As cloud connectivity demands continue to grow, Ciena’s WL5n 400ZR and Coherent ELS allow Momentum to rapidly add capacity and turn up new circuits and services without costly truck rolls or major infrastructure upgrades. This is central to nimbly meeting the rigorous needs of cloud customers while keeping capex and opex in check,” said Kevin Sheehan, CTO of the Americas, at Ciena.

https://www.ciena.com

Portugal’s LigaT deploys 400GE-capable backbone based on Nokia 7750

LigaT will deploy  a 400GE-capable network across Portugal using Nokia’s 7750 Service Router (SR) and 7250 Interconnect Router (IXR) systems.

The new infrastructure allows LigaT, a regional ISP offering multi-play media services to consumers throughout Portugal, to connect its sites from different cities for the delivery of its internet services.

Pau Nadeu Rabat, founder and CTO at Network Hero, said: “It is a pleasure to work with innovative companies like LigaT who push the envelope of innovation and demand to deploy networking solutions that are built from cutting-edge routing technology.”

https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2023/11/02/nokia-selected-by-ligat-to-power-its-national-ip-core-and-transport-network/


Windstream Enterprise offers SASE and SSE with Cato Networks

Windstream Enterprise (WE) has launched Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and Security Service Edge (SSE) solutions  powered by Cato Networks for U.S.-based companies that operate internationally. Through these solutions, customers with a worldwide footprint gain access to a single, integrated network security infrastructure to protect their data, resources and employees domestically and overseas. This gives customers the assurance that all of their locations are secure in whichever country they operate.

Windstream Enterprise’s cloud-native and fully managed SASE and SSE services, powered by Cato SASE Cloud, leverage Cato Networks’ dedicated, private backbone with more than 80 points of presence (PoPs) worldwide to provide users everywhere with optimized secure access to corporate resources and websites. Security has become more effective and easier to maintain because SASE from Windstream Enterprise unifies security policies governing users in and out of the office, regardless of device or location—domestically and internationally. 

Windstream Enterprise is the first North American-based managed service provider to offer this international solution.

As part of the global SASE and SSE offerings, organizations also gain access to Windstream Enterprise's WE Connect customer portal for monitoring, configuring, analyzing and automating every element of their network and its security framework, including:

  • Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN)
  • Firewall as a Service (FwaaS)
  • Secure Web Gateway (SWG)
  • Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)
  • Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)
  • Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
  • Next-Gen Anti-Malware (NGAM)
  • Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)
  • Managed Detection & Response (MDR)
  • Remote Browser Interface (RBI) 

“Many companies based in the U.S. that operate internationally are relying on multiple security solutions, which creates vulnerabilities in their networks and increases management headaches,” said Art Nichols, chief technology officer, Windstream Enterprise. “By unifying network and security components across borders with Cato, these enterprises get a more reliable, secure network with the added benefit of reduced management needs.”

Cloudflare’s Q3 revenue rises 32% yoy to $336 million

Cloudflare reported Q3 revenue of $335.6 million, representing an increase of 32% year-over-year. Non-GAAP net income was $55.3 million, compared to $19.1 million in the third quarter of 2022. Non-GAAP net income per diluted share was $0.16, compared to $0.06 in the third quarter of 2022.

“We delivered another strong quarter, growing revenue by 32% year-over-year to $335.6 million and delivering our fifth consecutive quarter of record operating profitability,” said Matthew Prince, co-founder & CEO of Cloudflare. “In our third quarter, we relentlessly innovated and accelerated our efforts in AI, announcing the most complete platform to deploy fast, secure, compliant AI inference at scale with Workers AI—along with several partnerships and collaborations with the who’s who of AI. We believe inference is the biggest opportunity in AI, and inference tasks will largely be run on end devices and on connectivity clouds like Cloudflare. By the end of 2024, we expect to have inference-optimized GPUs running in nearly every location where Cloudflare operates worldwide—within milliseconds of every Internet user.”


Viavi sales dropped 20% yoy in latest quarter

Viavi posted net revenue of $247.9 million for its first fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2023, down $62.3 million or 20.1% year-over-year.

Non-GAAP operating margin was 12.4%, down 930 bps year-over-year, slightly below the low-end of the company’s guidance range.

Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.09, down $0.14 or 60.9% year-over-year.

"VIAVI end markets spend environment continued to be challenging during the September quarter, particularly with the service providers in North America.  In view of these continued headwinds, our revenue came in slightly below the mid-point of our guidance with stronger OSP demand helping to offset weaker telecom revenues. Our EPS came in at the low end of our guidance range, driven by lower volume and higher taxes due to less favorable geographic revenue mix," said Oleg Khaykin, VIAVI's President and Chief Executive Officer.

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Colt takes over Lumen’s European networks

Colt Technology Services, headquartered in London, completed its acquisition of Lumen Technologies’ European, Middle Eastern, and African (EMEA) business. Colt paid US$1.8 billion cash for the assets, which included Lumen’s entire terrestrial and subsea networks, data center and network services in the region. The deal also includes Lumen’s trans-Atlantic subsea networks, the regional employees and customers contracts.

Regarding the Internet backbone (Autonomous System 3356), this IP infrastructure will be owned regionally by a respective Colt or Lumen affiliate, but it will be co-managed by multiple entities. Rather than split the AS3356 along the physical asset ownership boundaries, Lumen and Colt are building a long-term commercial relationship to maintain and operate this IP network globally.

"We're excited about what this transaction does for our customers and for Lumen," said Kate Johnson, Lumen CEO. "Our focus on building deep relationships with strategic partners allows us to simplify our business while delivering a seamless networking experience for our multinational customers. Through our strong relationship with Colt, both companies are well positioned for future growth."    

https://www.lumen.com

Colt: New Business Outcomes with NaaS

There are many definitions of Network as a Service (NaaS) floating around. Is really something new or just a new umbrella term for existing services?  Mirko Voltolini, VP Innovation from Colt, explains:

  • NaaS is a groundbreaking approach that allows the orchestration of services across multiple domains and providers, enabling the creation of diverse business outcomes. It combines connectivity, cloud solutions, security, and IoT from various providers to create specific solutions for industries like manufacturing.
  • APIs play a crucial role in NaaS, enabling the composition of different service components and avoiding manual stitching. Colt started building its NaaS proposition, Colt on Demand, in 2015, and has been pushing the industry to adopt the MEF LSO APIs as a common way to connect with each other.
  • The response from customers and partners has been positive, as NaaS solves the complex problem of telecom industry fragmentation. The ecosystem is growing, with more providers adopting automation and the MEF LSO APIs, and Colt believes the momentum will continue to build.

https://youtu.be/dSV8fL7V6Uc

Join Mirko and Jim Carroll on a walk around MEF's Global NaaS event in Texas as they discuss the future of NaaS, the role of APIs, and how Colt is participating in this innovative field. #MEFGNE

Have a tech update that you want to brief us on? Contact info@nextgeninfra.io!

Lumen expands NaaS from 23 data centers to 136 across North America

Lumen Technologies has expanded its  Network-as-a Service (NaaS)   from 23 data centers to 136 across North America.  Through data center partners, Lumen has extended its NaaS reach to Digital Realty and Equinix Fabric customers in several key markets, including Ashburn, Va., Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, San Francisco, Seattle, and Toronto. 

Lumen Internet On-Demand is now available to these data center customers and in Lumen on-net enabled locations. 

"We've created a brand-new customer experience. In just a few clicks and minutes, businesses are getting an on-demand service in a simplified and differentiated way," said Andrew Dugan, Lumen CTO. "With every new data center and on-net enabled business location, we continue to build on our vision to cloudify traditional telecom and disrupt the industry. We're seeing customers across key verticals turning to our consumption-based Network-as-a-Service model to help solve their most pressing business challenges."


In 2024, Lumen NaaS plans to add additional features, including port activation and automation activation. Upcoming new NaaS services will include Private IPVPN, Ethernet Cloud Connect services and security services, such as DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) and SASE (Secure Access Service Edge).

https://www.lumen.com/en-us/networking/internet-on-demand.html

Ericsson enhances 5G Standalone capabilities

Ericsson introduced a number of new  5G Standalone network capabilities for enabling premium services with differentiated connectivity such as lag-free mobile cloud gaming, video conferencing, live broadcasting, remote-controlled machines/vehicles, public safety services and future XR applications.

Ericsson’s new software toolkit offers enhanced features for Massive MIMO, Advanced RAN Slicing, Time-Critical Communication and 5G Core. It supports a three-pronged approach to delivering a network platform that turns performance into loyalty, value and growth: ensuring superior performance for mobile broadband services; offering differentiated experiences for new and advanced consumer and enterprise use cases and, with these two building blocks, create programmable network performance on-demand through network APIs.

The software toolkit offers the following key capabilities:

  • Enhanced Massive MIMO software algorithms for channel-aware Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MU-MIMO) pairing and optimal beamforming selection based on user velocity. These further boost capacity in mid-band deployments with up to 10 percent incremental user throughput gain in high load, allowing for smoother introduction of new services that require high reliability and low latency.
  • RAN Slicing advancements with intent-based automation for Automated Radio Resource Partitioning and Rate and Delay Control Scheduling to meet target delivery on a 1 millisecond (ms) basis. Efficient service-level agreement (SLA) fulfillment enabled by real-time automation.
  • Improved consistent low latency capabilities of Time-Critical Communication, with Uplink Configured Grant and L4S (Low latency, Low loss, Scalable Throughput) for superior quality of experience even during network congestion and under poor radio conditions. Up to 90 ms latency improvement in high load scenario.
  • Data boost upsell and L4S support in 5G Core which allows users to purchase a boost on top of their existing subscription through notification to the device as well as new capabilities to enable and monetize L4S for selected subscription packages.

Sibel Tombaz, Head of Product Line 5G RAN, Ericsson, says: "Ericsson is at the forefront of global 5G network leadership, extending connectivity to all corners of the world. We're reshaping connectivity and facilitating a seamless transition from ‘best-effort’ mobile broadband to premium experiences with service-level agreements. Our new innovative software toolkit empowers our customers to unlock advanced 5G applications through differentiated connectivity. This not only guarantees on-demand service excellence but also propels us toward our vision of networks as a platform.”

Verizon carries terabit wavelength over 205km

Verizon carried a 1.0 Tbps single wavelength over the Cisco NCS 2000 line system over 205km traversing 14 fiber central offices. 

The trial was conducted over Verizon’s live production network using Cisco’s NCS 1014 transceiver shelf and Acacia’s Coherent Interconnect Module 8 (CIM 8). The CIM 8 is Acacia’s 8th generation solution, an improved generation of silicon semiconductor chips with increased transistor density. The CIM 8 combines 5nm complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) digital processing and 140 Gbaud silicon photonics optics using advanced 3D packaging technology.

Additionally in the trial, 800 Gbps transmission was achieved over 305km through 20 offices and a 1.2 Tb/s wavelength traversed three offices.

“This trial demonstrates our commitment to continuous innovation aimed at increasing wavelength capacity and reducing costs.” said Bill Gartner, SVP/GM Cisco Optical Systems and Optics. “The Verizon infrastructure built with the Cisco NCS 2000 open line system supports multiple generations of optics thus protecting investments as technology evolves.

https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-fiber-technology-advancement-results

Brookfield to acquire Cyxtera for $775 million

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners will acquire substantially all of Cyxtera’s assets for $775 million.

In connection with the APA and the court supervised process, Brookfield will purchase from several landlords the real estate at which seven of Cyxtera’s U.S. data centers are located. These transactions will allow Cyxtera to increase existing facility ownership, secure expansion opportunities in support of robust customer demand, and strengthen its data center platform by giving Cyxtera more control over its cost structure.

Separately, Cyxtera has entered into an agreement with its landlord, Digital Realty, to amend the terms of its current leases at three U.S. sites and three international sites, to allow Cyxtera to exit those sites in 2024 while providing a seamless transition for customers.

Lastly, Cyxtera has signed an agreement to sell its business in its Montreal and Vancouver data centers to Cologix.

“We are pleased to reach this agreement with Brookfield, which represents a favorable path forward for our customers, partners, and employees,” said Nelson Fonseca, Cyxtera’s Chief Executive Officer. “Throughout our restructuring process, our business has continued to perform well, a testament to our customers’ confidence in our team and our innovative data center platform. This agreement and the changes to the data center portfolio, most importantly our increased facility ownership, will enable us to build on our business momentum and better position Cyxtera for the future.”

Fonseca added, “With Brookfield’s deep global infrastructure expertise, experienced team, and demonstrated track record, we will move ahead with a partner that recognizes the strength of our business and will provide the guidance and resources to drive our next phase of growth. We remain firmly committed to making this transition as seamless as possible for all our stakeholders and we look forward to continuing to serve our customers with the innovative services and high levels of support they have come to expect from Cyxtera.”


Vodafone to sell its Spanish subsidiary for €5 billion

Vodafone Group agreed to sell 100% of its Spanish subsidiary to Zegona Communications plc for at least €4.1 billion in cash and up to €0.9 billion in the form of Redeemable Preference Shares.

In addition, Vodafone and Zegona have entered into an agreement whereby Vodafone will provide certain services to Vodafone Spain for a total annual service charge of c.€110 million.

Margherita Della Valle, Chief Executive of Vodafone, said: “The sale of Vodafone Spain is a key step in right-sizing our portfolio for growth and will enable us to focus our resources in markets with sustainable structures and sufficient local scale. I would like to thank our entire team in Spain for their dedication to our customers and relentless determination to improve our organic performance. However, the market has been challenging with structurally low returns."

https://www.vodafone.com/news/corporate-and-financial/sale-of-vodafone-spain

SiTime acquires clock products from Aura Semiconductor

SiTime agreed to acquire the clock products of Aura Semiconductor, a multinational fabless semiconductor company based in Bangalore. TUndet the deal, SiTime will also license all of its clock IP. This is an all-cash transaction, comprised of fixed payments totaling $148 million, and earnouts capped at $120 million. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2023.

“SiTime’s vision is to transform all categories of the $10 billion timing market,” said Rajesh Vashist, CEO and chairman of SiTime. “Since our IPO in 2019, our singular focus has been on solving the most difficult problems in the oscillator category, and that has paid off. In these four years, we’ve grown from 60 to 150 unique products, and the price of our highest-value oscillator has grown tenfold. With this acquisition, we bring our focus to the category of clocks, adding 20 best-in-class clocks now, and another 20 by the end of 2024.”

“We’ve leveraged our strong balance sheet to accelerate by several years our clocking revenue, while also increasing our oscillator revenue,” continued Vashist. “These clocks have gross margins that are higher than our corporate target and are used with our Elite TCXO and Epoch OCXO families. Before today, customers were forced to deal with separate Clock and Oscillator vendors. Uniquely, SiTime will offer both categories, standalone and engineered to be optimized with each other, for our core markets of communications, datacenter, and AI. With this deal, we significantly advance our vision, becoming the only provider with complete and differentiated precision timing products.”

https://www.aurasemi.com/product/timing.htm

OIF announces 2023-2024 Board and Officers

 

The OIF announced election results for its key leadership positions: 

Board of Directors: 

  • Jeff Hutchins, Ranovus, was re-elected to the Board and continues as Physical & Link Layer (PLL) Working Group – Co-Packaging Vice Chair
  • Mike Li, Intel, was re-elected to the Board
  • Jeffery Maki, Juniper Networks, was re-elected to the Board and continues as Physical Layer User Group Working Group Chair
  • Nathan Tracy, TE Connectivity, was elected to the Board and will serve as President

Continuing in their positions are:

  • Ian Betty, Ciena, continues to serve on the Board
  • Cathy Liu, Broadcom Inc., continues to serve on the Board and will serve as Vice President
  • Gary Nicholl, Cisco, continues to serve on the Board as Secretary/Treasurer and as PLL Working Group – Management Co-Vice Chair

 Officers: 

  • Karl Bois, Nvidia, was elected as Technical Committee Chair
  • Dave Brown, Nokia, continues to serve as Director of Communications
  • Tom Issenhuth, Huawei Technologies, was elected as Market Awareness & Education Committee Co-Chair, PLL
  • Lyndon Ong, Ciena, was re-elected as Market Awareness & Education Committee Co-Chair, Networking
  • Klaus-Holger Otto, Nokia, was elected as Technical Committee Vice Chair

“Congratulations to both the new and returning Board of Directors and Officers, we extend tremendous gratitude for their unwavering dedication and commitment of time to OIF,” said Nathan Tracy, President of OIF. “As a member-driven and volunteer-powered organization, these individuals hold pivotal roles in helping advance OIF’s mission to foster innovation and promote interoperability in today’s marketplace.”

https://www.oiforum.com

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Google Fiber advances to 20G symmetrical residential service

Google Fiber is deploying Nokia’s 25G PON solution to enhance its existing fiber network and deliver a new 20 Gig broadband service to customers through GFiber Labs.

Gfiber expects to be offering residential 20 Gig + Wi-Fi 7 an early access offering to a small group of GFiber customers in select areas by the end of the year.

Nokia’s 25G PON solution enables GFiber to reuse its existing optical fiber cables and active equipment deployed in their network to quickly deliver a 20 Gig symmetrical broadband service to customers.   

Liz Hsu, Senior Director, Product & Billing at Google Fiber, said: “The age of multi-gig broadband services is here and we’re committed to ensuring all of our customers can benefit from the incredible potential it brings. We believe investments in advanced network technologies like Nokia’s 25G PON solution will help catalyze change, drive innovation and revolutionize the user experience. We’re thrilled to be working with Nokia to move our industry and customers forward.”  

Geert Heyninck, General Manager of Broadband Networks at Nokia, said: “It’s an exciting time to be a Google Fiber customer as we work to help them usher in a new era of connectivity that’s capable of delivering lightning fast 20 gigabit services. With our 25G PON solution Google Fiber can reuse its existing fiber network to quickly and cost effectively deliver the next generation of gigabit services to their customers. We’re proud to continue supporting Google Fiber on its quest to build the foundation of tomorrow’s internet.”   


https://fiber.google.com/blog/2023/10/gfiber-labs-announces-first-project-20.html