CIENA CORP. HAS COME OUT WITH A MULTISERVICE TRANSPORT AND SERVICE aggregation solution with software-configurable ports. The CN 4200 FlexSelect Advanced Services Platform supports SONET/SDH, ESCON, Fibre Channel, gigabit Ethernet, digital video and optical transport unit technologies at any speed up to 10gbps and on any port on the box.
This enables service providers to transition from TDM to packet-based services as needed with faster service provisioning, better network utilization and lower sparing expenses because there’s no need to keep an inventory of service-specific line cards.
According to Ciena, the CN 4200 delivers a 95 percent reduction in new service provisioning and/or service migration times from an average of more than 45 days down to two. The company says there’s also a 66 percent reduction in line card spares, based on having one programmable line card that can support multiple services and speeds versus individual service cards for each.
“This product creates the appropriate balance, so you can mix those services on the same platform and do it in a way that is flexible,” says Tom Mock, Ciena’s vice president of strategic planning.
Each port on the CN 4200 can be programmed to function as a transponder, muxponder, ADM or cross connect. The product allows several services to ride on the same wavelength by using the ITU standard known at G709, or “digital wrapper.” According to Ciena, the CN 4200 provides reduction in wavelength use of up to 78 percent as compared to competing ROADM-only solutions. At a later date, Ciena expects to extend the CN 4200’s current sub-wavelength ROADM capabilities with “Dynamic Wavelength Routing” reconfigurable OADM technology for full 10gbps wavelength services.
| Links |
| ADVA Optical Networking www.advaoptical.com Alcatel www.alcatel.com BT www.bt.com Ciena Corp. www.ciena.com Lucent Technologies Inc. www.lucent.com Swisscom www.swisscom.com |
