SP360: Service Provider July 2009 Archives

Century’s Longest Solar Eclipse Broadcast Live Over Cisco’s Most Powerful Routing Platform

Astronomy has always fascinated me. The thrill of exploring space and its deep mysteries gripped me in my growing years, but this curiosity never really turned into a full-time career. So last week I was really excited to know that Cisco’s platforms took part in a rare celestial event, occurring next only in 2132 A.D.

While here in the US, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the moon walk on July 20, 2009, two days later our celestial neighbor showed off its prowess across Asia & Japan. It blotted out the sun for the longest total solar eclipse in this century even as millions watched it.

In Japan, the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) in collaboration with Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Ultra-Realistic Communications Forum (URCF) took the initiative of broadcasting this event live over the JGN2Plus network. The event was captured at Amami-Oshima (where the totality was at the maximum) and broadcast to various locations throughout Japan - Keihanna Plaza, ABC Hall, Tsukuba Expo Center, Osaka Science Museum.

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Posted by Mike Capuano at 07:57AM PST

Cisco Unified Service Delivery Underscores Industry’s Focus on Data Centers

I came across this article published by CIOZone on July 20, 2009 - “IT Spending Forecasts Improve, Cisco Popular”; and obviously, am pleased by the positive results around Cisco’s Unified Computing System (UCS).

An impressive number - “77 percent of respondents in the UBS survey said that they expected to buy or evaluate Cisco’s Unified Computing System…in the next 18 months”; and that they see this system as being more likely to succeed than the competition. This is great news, since the UCS forms the foundational building block for the Unified Service Delivery solution and it is a testament to our engineers for building such an innovative product.

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Posted by Simon Aspinall at 10:40AM PST

The Michael Jackson Effect

So, readers of this blog may well remember my thoughts on the late Michael Jackson - Innovator, Trendsetter, the King of Pop - and one of the most iconic figures of my youth. No other entertainer, in my opinion, has ever had such global stature, and certainly no one else could have inspired me in junior high to spray Pledge on my kitchen floor to better practice gliding dance moves.

We’ve talked about how lessons learned from his approach to music are applicable in principle to the ones service providers around the world are facing. Following the unexpected news of his passing, I couldn’t help but wonder what effect it would have on the network, especially considering his worldwide recognition.

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Posted by Doug Webster at 12:28PM PST

Listen to the Benefits of Cisco’s CRS-1 in a Cable Network at Cisco Live

Our roving reporter, Zoya Fallah, caught up with Pravin Mahajan, Marketing Manager of the Core Solutions at Cisco Live and asked him about the benefits of Cisco’s CRS-1 in a cable network. Check out this audio interview to hear his response. You can also get a peek at the interactive diagram they had at the show below.

audio and image after the jump >

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Posted by Peggy Ballard at 11:13AM PST

Business Imperative for Virtual Private Cloud Services

Apparently attorneys, corporate security consultants and numerous other industry pundits have discovered the cloud services phenomenon. Some are actively promoting fear, uncertainty and doubt about the “potential” for growing security, transparency and data portability concerns.

However, there’s a compelling precedent that alleviates most irrational anxiety. It’s helpful to recall that more than four decades of corporate computing started with the adoption of time-sharing services in the 1960s. All is still well, and the sky has yet to fall.

The recent calls for renewed caution are clearly being heeded with due diligence, and then promptly disarmed by the proven track record of addressing these issues, as needed.

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Posted by Simon Aspinall at 10:44AM PST

Economic Stimulus Opportunity for Service Providers

Broadband Stimulus programs represent an unprecedented opportunity to improve the economic vitality of unserved and underserved communities throughout the United States. These programs will drive incentives around the creation and implementation of next generation broadband networks and, as a result, will serve as a foundation for future applications and services. This will drive an increase in quality of life while boosting economic growth and job creation for years to come.

In this video (after the jump), I discuss how the network can be a strategic asset in efforts to save energy and create jobs.

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Posted by Doug Webster at 11:54AM PST

NoFA Finally Arrives - What Now?

Well, the long awaited Notice of Funding Availability (NoFA) from the FCC is here.

Of course, the headlines will (with good reason) focus on the $4B being set aside as well as the the (very) short 45-day window required to meet the August 14th first round deadline.

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Posted by Doug Webster at 12:37PM PST

The March to a Truly Global Inter-carrier Intercompany TelePresence

(aka:  the Virtual Frequent Flyer)

Like many of you, I am a recovering “road warrior” able to recite airport code names backwards and the exit row numbers for all types of aircraft (rows 20 & 21 for the “nerd bird” flights from Austin and San Jose, btw). For awhile in fact, I checked my frequent flyer account more than my bank account (which is unfortunately far less than the other…) Like many, though, my travel is far less now as I’m basking in the newfound benefits of Cisco TelePresence™ and other collaborative tools that make meetings near life-like, efficient, and permit more time with my family.

How many of you remember when airline frequent flyer programs expanded and began to work with one another - accepting each others miles and allowing us more freedom to choose? Now such alliances, whether they be OneWorld or StarAlliance, are part of a flyer’s expectation. Well, somewhat analogous to this are new, global inter-carrier and intercompany TelePresence capabilities available from Cisco and several service provider partners.

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Posted by Doug Webster at 10:12AM PST