Operators benefit from significant cost, power, and footprint advantages as 10GbE becomes common currency for metro service delivery and aggregation

Ciena® Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN), the network specialist, announced new packet networking solutions designed to help network operators accelerate the adoption of 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) services by changing the economics of metro packet aggregation. Driven by increased capacity requirements to provide everything from mobile data services and backhaul to enterprise data and cloud services – including dynamic bandwidth on-demand – today’s operators are seeking scalable, cost-effective aggregation and service delivery at the network edge. With Ciena’s new 5160 and 5142 Service Aggregation Switches, operators and large enterprises can now deploy robust, small form-factor platforms that enable efficient delivery and aggregation of large quantities of data at speeds of 1GbE to 10GbE while meeting increasingly stringent SLAs.

Delivering on Ciena’s OPnarchitecture approach for creating programmable network infrastructures that deliver much lower cost-at-scale and allow network operators to better monetize their networks, the 5160 and 5142 enable rapid service delivery, agility and assurance while providing distinct operational benefits. These benefits include 10GbE service activation testing, extended temperature range support, full synchronization support, and greatly reduced power and space footprint – all critical aspects of improving customer satisfaction and overall deployment lifecycle costs. These new E-Suite platforms are seamlessly integrated with the latest packet capabilities on the widely deployed 6500 Packet-Optical Platform and leverage the field-proven, full-featured Service-Aware Operating System (SAOS) provided by Ciena’s existing portfolio of packet networking and converged packet optical solutions.

Key Facts:

  • 10GbE and higher speed installations are the fastest growing Carrier Ethernet services in the market today, according to Vertical Systems Group’s Enterprise Ethernet Service Ports by Speed 2012-2017 report, published June 2013.
  • Ciena’s 5160 Service Aggregation Switch (SAS) changes the economics of 10GbE service delivery and aggregation by providing carriers industry-leading 10GbE density with 24 ports in a compact, single rack unit (1RU) form factor. The 5160 provides more than 50 percent reduction in carrier aggregation cost per 10GE port while also supporting a wide range of robust and field-proven packet features. With less equipment to install and manage, operators can reap the benefits of new cost dynamics while accelerating deployment of 10GbE aggregation and services with a differentiated Ethernet feature set.
  • Ciena’s 5142 Service Aggregation Switch (SAS) is a compact edge platform that provides customers efficient 1GbE to 10GbE aggregation density in a 1RU, fixed chassis configuration. The 5142 features four ports of 10GbE and 20 ports of 1GbE, offering network operators significant flexibility to address a middle tier of service applications, networking models, and deployment environments without sacrificing service capabilities.
  • The latest additions to Ciena’s E-Suite family, these new platforms provide an extensive range of operational benefits to enable rapid service delivery, agility, and assurance. Features include Ethernet, Carrier Ethernet 2.0 and MPLS OAM support, service activation testing at line rate, and a complete synchronization solution. The solutions leverage Ciena’s SAOS and OneControl Unified Management System, which allow service providers to improve operational efficiency and seamlessly manage an entire portfolio of Ciena solutions – from edge to core – to quickly address surging demand for Ethernet services and connectivity. With the addition of the SLA Portal, service providers can also enhance their current advanced service offerings by providing transparent SLA visualization to end-users via a secure web portal.
  • Ciena-based packet networks can be deployed in conjunction with the company’s V-WAN Network Services Module, a network virtualization solution that automates the allocation of shared network resources among data centers to create a performance on-demand cloud service environment.

Industry Comments:

  • “Escalating use of bandwidth-heavy applications is creating even more demand for higher speed services, and consequently the need for ultra-high capacity metro infrastructures. Our research shows that 10 Gbps and higher speed installations are the fastest growing Carrier Ethernet services overall. Service providers face many CAPEX and OPEX decisions as they upgrade their infrastructures to meet this rising demand. Ciena’s approach to deploying a cost-optimized platform such as the 5160 addresses the challenges of metro aggregation, while also enabling new gigabit Ethernet service offerings.”
    - Rosemary Cochran, principal at Vertical Systems Group

Executive Comments:

  • “Operators are evolving their networks to keep pace with the need for high-speed, high-capacity Ethernet services. In many instances, one feature, such as small footprint or low power consumption, can be a gating factor for a given customer. By offering operators packet networking solutions that combine all of these features, we’re carving out a new space where cost-effective, carrier-class platforms can have a significant impact on costs while still providing a carrier-class solution.”
    - Francois Locoh-Donou, senior vice president, global products group, Ciena

Upcoming Events:

  • Ethernet World & SDN & Virtualization Summit – Prague, Sept. 30 – Oct. 2 (booth #23) – Ciena’s Mitch Auster, senior director of market development, will deliver a presentation on “Monetizing and Optimizing Software-Defined Networks with Real-Time Predictive Analytics” on October 2 at 3:00 p.m. as part of the SDN & Virtualization Summit. Mervyn Kelly, marketing director for EMEA, will also present on “Fuelling the Cloud Adoption of IT Services with Highly Reliable, Scalable Ethernet Services” on October 1 at 11:45 a.m.
  • Light Reading Ethernet & SDN Expo + Interop – New York, Oct. 2 – 3 (booth #419) – Ciena’s Steve Alexander, chief technology officer, will deliver a keynote address on “True Network Openness” on October 2 at 9:50 a.m. Additionally, Ciena will participate in the following sessions:
    • Kevin Sheehan, vice president of product line management, will participate in a panel entitled “Automating & Accelerating Delivery of Performance Assured CE 2.0 Business & Wholesale Services” on October 2 at 2:10 p.m.
    • Chris Janz, vice president of market development, will participate in a panel titled “Network Solutions Vendor Perspectives — SDN for Packet Optical Networks (Layers 0 — 2)” on October 3 at 10:25 a.m.
    • Marc Cohn, senior director of market development, will participate in a panel titled “Industry Initiatives Update - SDN, NFV, and Carrier Ethernet 2.0” on October 3 at 8:40 a.m. He will also participate in the “Next Generation Networking & SDN” workshop on October 1 at 9:00 a.m.
  • Futurecom – Brazil, Oct. 21-24 – Ciena’s Steve Alexander, chief technology officer, will participate in a roundtable titled “Technology Trends Driving the Future of Society” on October 22 at 2:40 p.m. Additionally, John Hawkins, senior advisor of product and technical marketing, and Patrícia Vello, director of sales, will present on “Network Service Opportunities in the New Cloud World” on October 23 at 2:40 p.m.

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About Ciena
Ciena is the network specialist. We collaborate with customers worldwide to unlock the strategic potential of their networks and fundamentally change the way they perform and compete. Ciena leverages its deep expertise in packet and optical networking and distributed software automation to deliver solutions in alignment with OPn, its approach for building open next-generation networks. We enable a high-scale, programmable infrastructure that can be controlled and adapted by network-level applications, and provide open interfaces to coordinate computing, storage and network resources in a unified, virtualized environment. For updates on Ciena news, follow us on Twitter @Ciena or on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/company/ciena. Investors are encouraged to review the Investors section of our website at www.ciena.com/investors, where we routinely post press releases, SEC filings, recent news, financial results, and other announcements. From time to time we exclusively post material information to this website along with other disclosure channels that we use.

Note to Ciena Investors
Forward-looking statements. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof; and Ciena's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied, due to risks and uncertainties associated with its business, which include the risk factors disclosed in its Report on Form 10-Q, which Ciena filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 11, 2013. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding Ciena's expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," "will," and "would" or similar words. Ciena assumes no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.