Infinera Corp of Sunnyvale, CA, USA, a vertically integrated manufacturer of digital optical network systems incorporating its own indium phosphide-based photonic integrated circuits (PICs), has introduced the Infinera Intelligent Transport Network, an architecture for carriers to exploit the demand for cloud-based services and data center connectivity as they advance into the Terabit Era.
In 2005, Infinera introduced the Digital Optical Network, an architecture based on the firm's 100Gb/s photonic integrated PICs. By integrating PICs into the DTN platform, Infinera says it was the first to converge Optical Transport Network (OTN) switching and wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) in the same chassis. Within 18 months of the DTN's initial deployment, Infinera says it led the long-haul optical transport market in North America. The Intelligent Transport Network builds on the foundation of the Digital Optical Network, says the firm.
Dave Welch, Infinera's executive VP & chief strategy officer, said: "The Intelligent Transport Network takes the Digital Optical Network to the next level with automated control, converged multi-layer switching and scalable super-channel transmission. Unlike the competition, we are not retrofitting legacy 10G and 40G platforms. We have designed the Intelligent Transport Network from the ground up for the Terabit Era."
The Intelligent Transport Network enables carriers to create rich end-user experiences based on efficient, high-capacity transport by combining the following elements:
Scalability: The proliferation of data centers, rise of big data and increasing consumption of video are fundamentally changing traffic characteristics in operator networks. The Intelligent Transport Network delivers 500Gb/s FlexCoherent super-channels today and is designed to scale without compromise to enable terabit super-channels and Terabit Ethernet in the future. Convergence: Networks are growing in complexity with the proliferation of chassis, network layers and fiber interconnects. Complexity increases the time it takes to plan and deploy network services and increases the cost of maintenance, operations, power, space and cooling. By converging packet, OTN and reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM) switching functions the Intelligent Transport Network is designed to reduce complexity while lowering overall network spending without compromising performance. Automation: Network operators face intensifying competition to meet customer demand for immediate bandwidth needs and better visibility into the network. The Intelligent Transport Network features intelligent software control to help simplify multi-layer provisioning, and in the future will support Transport Software Defined Network (SDN). Automation allows end-user control of their own network services and aligns service revenue to transport network growth through capabilities such as Infinera Instant Bandwidth.
Infinera’s Intelligent Transport Network, featuring the DTN-X packet optical transport networking platform, has already enabled TeliaSonera International Carrier (TSIC) to deliver 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and 100 GbE services to wholesale customers in North America, and now TSIC is expanding the network into Europe.
TSIC, a global IP carrier, operates a wholly owned fiber optic network connecting 200 Points of Presence (PoPs) across Europe, North America and Asia. Customers include content providers and network operators globally for IP, DWDM, Ethernet, voice and specialized mobile services.
TSIC is deploying an Intelligent Transport Network to scale network capacity, automate operations and reduce complexity by converging multi-layer switching with the industry’s only commercially available 500 Gigabit per second coherent super-channel transmission.
"Stockholm to Hamburg is an important network route for us both for delivering services to our Nordic and Baltic end-users and for being part of the global long haul routes Europe-Russia and Europe-overland to Asia," said Erik Hallberg, president of TSIC. "Our experience in North America is that Infinera gives us a competitive edge by enabling us to use time as a weapon to deliver 10 GbE and 100 GbE services faster than the competition. We look forward to expanding our Intelligent Transport Network into Europe with Infinera."
"Infonetics surveyed service providers and found almost 90% of them plan to deploy platforms that converge OTN switching and WDM transmission by 2016," says Andrew Schmitt, principal analyst, Optical at Infonetics Research. "The approach Infinera is taking with the Intelligent Transport Network aligns with what the largest global carriers are looking for."
