Ciena builds its IP edge

Part II: IP Routing: Ciena's Vyatta acquisition 

Ciena’s acquisition of AT&T’s Vyatta team is a further step in its campaign to bolster its internet protocol (IP) expertise.

Ciena will gain 60 IP engineers with expertise in network operating systems (NOS).

“If you believe that IP-optical convergence is a trend, and Ciena does, then you need expertise in both areas,” says Joe Marsella, vice president, product line management, routing and switching at Ciena.

Joe Marsella

Ciena has been growing its IP expertise for the last five years. “We are competing against companies that have been doing this for 30 years,” says Marsella. “The more experience we can bring in, the more it helps us.”

Ciena says the deal emerged gradually. ”I can’t say it was a Ciena or an AT&T idea; it was a mutual discussion over time that finally resulted in an acquisition,” says Marsella.

Ciena will also gain its first R&D centre in Europe. The deal is expected to be completed before the year-end.

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Using an open-source model to spur AI adoption

The Linux Foundation’s (LF) Deep Learning Foundation has set itself the ambitious goal of providing companies with all the necessary artificial intelligence (AI) software they will need.

Eyal Felstaine“Everything AI, we want you to take from open source,” says Eyal Felstaine, a member of the LF Deep Learning governing board and also the CTO of Amdocs. “We intend to have the entire [software] stack.”

The Deep Learning Foundation is attracting telecom, large-scale data centre operators and other players. Orange, Ciena, Red Hat, Chinese ride-sharing firm, Didi, and Intel are the latest companies to join the initiative. 

The Deep Learning Foundation’s first project is Acumos, a platform for developers to build, share and deploy AI applications. Two further projects have since been added: Angel and Elastic Deep Learning. 

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OPNFV's releases reflect the evolving needs of the telcos

The Open Platform for NFV (OPNFV) is increasingly focused on supporting cloud-native technologies and the network edge.

Heather KirkseyThe open source group, part of the Linux Foundation, specialises in the system integration of network functions virtualisation (NFV) technology.

The OPNFV issued Fraser, its latest platform release, earlier this year while its next release, Gambia, is expected soon.  

Moreover, the telcos continual need for new features and capabilities means the OPNFV’s work is not slowing down.

“I don’t see us entering maintenance-mode anytime soon,” says Heather Kirksey, vice president, community and ecosystem development, The Linux Foundation and executive director, OPNFV. 

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