CIENA UNVEILS LIGHTWORKS TOOLKIT FOR NEW
OPTICAL SERVICES
Optical Networking Leader Enables New Optical Services for
the Broadband Internet; CIENA-Built Networks To Deliver
Any-Time, Any-Size, Any-Priority Optical Capacity
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LINTHICUM, MD , January 25, 2000 ?
CIENA Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN) today introduced the LightWorks Toolkit? for Optical
Services, a series of new optics-, silicon- and software-based service enablers from CIENA. With
the Internet driving fast and unpredictable changes in network demands, these tools will allow
CIENA's carrier customers to deliver the next generation of any-time, any-size, any-priority
optical services based on user-signaled needs - previously impossible to offer due to the
inherent limitations of SONET/SDH.
CIENA's LightWorks Toolkit will transition carriers from static provisioning to real-time,
on-demand bandwidth delivery; from bandwidths limited by traditional SONET hierarchy to
optical bandwidths of any size; and from a single wavelength quality of service to a range of
service qualities that can be dynamically configured and monitored. These service-enabling
tools, including Wavelength Binding?, Flexible Concatenation? and VSR Optics?, are
scheduled to be integrated into CIENA's intelligent optical networking solutions this year,
removing the roadblocks to a rich, responsive broadband Internet.
"In today's SONET networks, ordering and provisioning a basic data circuit from New York to Los
Angeles takes months. Given that level of pain with even a simple circuit, talking about
value-added services is almost a waste of time," said George Peabody, managing director of
telecommunications research at the Aberdeen Group. "Customers want bandwidth in Internet
increments on Internet time, provisioned within seconds, and with a Web tool to reconfigure the
service themselves in real time, or with the bandwidth allocated transparently by a router based
on traffic type and a service level agreement. The first carrier to do that is going to scare the
heck out of the competition. CIENA's service enablers are the class of tools carriers need to get
the job done."
"Last year CIENA introduced its LightWorks architecture," Peabody continued. "CIENA's new
software tools let a carrier build the network to that architecture, moving from infrastructure
theory to service delivery. CIENA's focus on services provisioning supports the carrier business
agenda: increased revenue at higher margins."
"We've roughly doubled our installed base in the last year because the LightWorks?
architecture has resonated with carriers, and we've worked closely with them to analyze the true
drivers behind the optical Internet," said Gary Smith, CIENA's chief operating officer. "The
landscape has evolved from being driven primarily by competition to being dominated by growth
in Internet traffic and new applications. Today, demand is less predictable and customers
require more levels of service quality."
"Carriers are telling us that their customers are demanding more customization than ever, but at
the same time, carriers must increase returns on their bandwidth investments. The way to
accomplish both is to turn network intelligence into a higher level of optical services," Smith
continued. "To maximize revenues and minimize opportunity and operations costs, carriers must
be able to deliver flexible, real-time, user-signaled optical services. CIENA is committed to being
the company delivering on this vision."
Delivering on the Vision
Throughout the year, CIENA will be introducing new tools implemented in the company's optical
networking platforms to make service-centric networks possible. These technologies will help
service providers fulfill their need for any-time optical capacity of any size and any priority. Key
technologies announced today include:
Wavelength Binding
With unprecedented traffic growth and changing traffic demands, Internet-centric carriers are
looking for ways to better match the changes in IP router traffic demands with the provisioned
capacities available within their networks. To meet this need, CIENA has developed Wavelength
Binding. Wavelength Binding leverages intellectual property in both hardware and software to
enable a device of any speed to be connected to a network operating at a lower speed by
building "virtual channels" of multiple wavelengths bound together in a single, very high capacity
bitstream. The result is that CIENA's carrier customers will be able to deliver 40Gbps, for
example, without changing their transport infrastructure. Wavelength Binding is scheduled to be
integrated into CIENA solutions by the end of the third calendar quarter 2000.
Flexible Concatenation
In legacy networks, bandwidth demand is arbitrarily shoehorned into SONET/SDH-sized
transport containers (OC-3/STM-1, OC-12/STM-4, etc.). CIENA is using a combination of silicon
and software to redefine how carriers access bandwidth within each bitstream. Flexible
Concatenation will allow carriers to access all time slots within the SONET/SDH frame - even
when fractionally filled. That means carriers can create true OC-"N" services in which "N" can be
any number between 1 and 768. When an end user needs OC-"7" for instance, carriers will
deliver true OC-7 service instead of the traditional SONET-restricted OC-12 - maximizing
bandwidth and delivering more customized service. Flexible Concatenation is scheduled to be
integrated into CIENA solutions by the end of the second calendar quarter 2000.
VSR Optics
For increased profitability, carriers must continually drop their cost per bit. However, to stay
competitive, carriers must continue to increase the value of their services. VSR (Very Short
Reach) Optics enable dramatically lower-cost, high-capacity connections between Internet and
optical networking systems. CIENA will initially apply this data rate-scalable technology to
10Gbps router-to-router and router-to-network connections. VSR Optics leverage VCSEL
(Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) technology and Gigabit Ethernet standards to make
variable-rate optical services not only possible, but highly economical - a valuable service for
unpredictable bandwidth demands. VSR Optics technology is scheduled to be integrated into
CIENA systems by the end of the third calendar quarter 2000.
"The optical marketplace may be hot but its focus on counting wavelengths is wrong. Service
delivery is what the next generation of optical products must provide," Aberdeen's Peabody said.
"Carriers need suppliers who understand their operations and need to offer substantive services
quickly. CIENA has set specific deliverables that should really mean something to the carrier."
About CIENA
CIENA's market-leading intelligent optical networking solutions form the core for the new era of
networks and services worldwide. CIENA's LightWorks? architecture enables next-generation
optical services and changes the fundamental economics of service-provider networks by
simplifying the network and reducing the cost to operate it. Additional information about CIENA
can be found at ciena.com.
ciena.com |
