Ciena launches the 8700 metro Ethernet-over-WDM platform

• The 8700 Packetwave is an Ethernet-over-DWDM platform 
• The 8700 is claimed to deliver double the Ethernet density while halving the power consumption and space required.

Source: Ciena

Ciena has launched the 8700 Packetwave platform that combines high-capacity Ethernet switching with 100 Gigabit coherent optical transmission.

The platform is designed to cater for the significant growth in metro traffic, estimated at between 30 and 50 percent each year, and the ongoing shift from legacy to Ethernet services.

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WDM and 100G: A Q&A with Infonetics' Andrew Schmitt

The WDM optical networking market grew 8 percent year-on-year, with spending on 100 Gigabit now accounting for a fifth of the WDM market. So claims the first quarter 2014 optical networking report from market research firm, Infonetics Research. Overall, the optical networking market declined 2 percent, due to the continuing decline of legacy SONET/SDH.

In a Q&A with Gazettabyte, Andrew Schmitt, principal analyst for optical at Infonetics Research, talks about the report's findings.

Q: Overall WDM optical spending was up 8% year-on-year: Is that in line with expectations?

AS: It is roughly in line with the figures I use for trend growth but what is surprising is how there is no longer a fourth quarter capital expenditure flush in North America followed by a down year in the first quarter. This still happens in EMEA but spending in North America, particularly by the Tier-1 operators, is now less tied to calendar spending and more towards specific project timelines.

This has always been the case at the more competitive carriers. A good example of this was the big order Infinera got in Q1, 2014.

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Apps over packet-optical: Ciena boosts 6500's packet handling

Source: Ciena

Ciena has enhanced its packet-optical equipment portfolio by adding packet support to its flagship 6500 platform.

Cards and software from Ciena's established Carrier Ethernet packet platforms have been added to the 6500, a packet-optical platform that features reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexing (ROADM), WaveLogic3 coherent transponders, Optical Transport Network (OTN) switching and SONET/SDH aggregation.

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ECI Telecom demos 100 Gigabit over 4,600km

• 4,600km optical transmission over submarine cable
• The Tera Santa Consortium, chaired by ECI, will show a 400 Gigabit/ 1 Terabit transceiver prototype in the summer
• 100 Gigabit direct-detection module on hold as the company eyes new technology developments

"When we started the project it was not clear whether the market would go for 400 Gig or 1 Terabit. Now it seems that the market will start with 400 Gig."

Jimmy Mizrahi, ECI Telecom

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Cisco Systems demonstrates 100 Gigabit technologies

* Cisco adds the CPAK transceiver to its mix of 100 Gigabit coherent and elastic core technologies
* Announces 100 Gigabit transmission over 4,800km

"CPAK helps accelerate the feasibility and cost points of deploying 100Gbps"

Stephen Liu, Cisco

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Fibre-to-the-NPU: optics reshapes the IP core router

Start-up Compass Electro-Optical Systems has announced an IP core router based on a chip with a Terabit-plus optical interface.

Asaf Somekh, vice president of marketing, showing Gazettabyte Compass-EOS's novel icPhotonics chip

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Cisco Systems' intelligent light

Network optimisation continues to exercise operators and content service providers as their requirements evolve with the growth of services such as cloud computing. Cisco Systems' announced elastic core architecture aims to tackle  networking efficiency and address particular service provider requirements.

“The core [network] needs to be more robust, agile and programmable”

Sultan Dawood, Cisco

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