The “information superhighway” metaphor is more appropriate than ever for mobile networks today. There are increasingly more and different types of traffic, drivers, and vehicles. And the focus on speed, cost, and efficiency in mobile backhaul is akin to moving more cars through freeway on-ramps and exits faster and with less overhead.

As outlined by Cisco’s Next-Generation Internet architecture, Cisco is working to optimize the service provider roadway with innovative and cost-effective solutions like the new ASR 9000 System.  And just as a better car can offer an improved experience, better safety, and more miles-per-gallon, Cisco’s Unified RAN Backhaul solution provides greater performance, reliability, scale, and power efficiency. Read More »

Tags: asr 9000, ASR 901, ASR 903, ASR9000, M.O.VE, mobile backhaul, monetization, network intelligence, optimization, RAN backhaul, Service Provider

According to Cisco’s Visual Networking Index, network operators will deliver upwards of a zettabyte (1021 bytes) of data to 15 billion fixed and mobile devices by 2015. That will be the challenge of the Next-Generation Internet.

To meet that challenge, service providers will need networks that meet the following requirements:

• Support for mobile, business and residential services over a converged infrastructure
• Unprecedented scale and density
• High service availability
• Increased service velocity
• Reduced network complexity Read More »

Tags: ASR 901, ASR 903, ASR9000, Cisco, network virtualization, nV, Service Provider, system, visual networking index, vni

There’s an interesting dynamic taking place in the Service Provider industry these days:  The simplest devices are becoming more capable and complex.  The simplest applications are becoming more specialized and personalized.  And the networks that enable both are becoming more inefficient and ineffective.

I don’t want to come off sounding like Dana Carvey’s Grumpy Old Man, but I think I’m echoing many of my colleagues within Cisco and the Service Provider industry when I express a growing desire for simpler times.

Maybe not direct-connection, crank-phone, Pennsylvania 6-5000 simpler times – I’m no more willing to give up my iPhone or iPad than the rest of you – but it seems to me we need to rethink the way we design and build networks, develop and deploy services over those networks, and manage and maintain those networks to ensure those services consistently and continuously deliver the types of Internet experiences consumers demand, or rather, expect. Read More »

Tags: asr 9000, ASR9000, Cisco, mobile market, mobile networks, network virtualization, next generation interneet, next generation internet, nV technology, Service Provider

Yesterday we announced that Charter Communications, a leading broadband communications and entertainment provider and the 4th largest cable company in the United States selected the Cisco CRS-3 and ASR 9000 as part of a major network upgrade. This of course brings up the question our readers often ask – why? What is driving these investments? While we have our perspective (which we share regularly on the SP360 blog and other forums), it’s even better when we get the view directly from the customer.  To that end, we had the opportunity to  interview Bob Hunt, Charter’s VP of Network Engineering on Charter’s perspective on the network upgrade, the drivers, and the growth in DOCSIS 3.0 usage and the network efficiencies he’s forecasting. Read More »

Tags: ASR9000, Bob Hunt, Charter Business, Charter Communications, Cisco, CRS, CRS-3, DOCSIS3.0, ExerciseTV, mobile backhaul, NFL Network, OnDemand, Redzone

The Edge of the network is a major focus for our customers, the market as a whole, and certainly for us at Cisco.  The ASR 9000 System is the leading Service Provider Edge router in all three cases, and admittedly, the system is on quite a roll.

In our June ASR 9000 blog, we announced to the market the newest innovations in the platform – nV technology and the ability to scale the system to a whopping 96 Tbps (more than 36 times the capabilities of the nearest competitive platform and enough bandwidth for man, woman, and child in Beijing, London and Moscow to watch a streamed High Definition movie simultaneously).  Along with that news, we had the honor of announcing five new customers joining the 500+ strong ASR 9000 family — China Telecom, NTT Playa in Japan, Tata Communications in India, Fastweb in Italy, Cox and Comcast in the US. Read More »

Tags: 3 Scandinavia, ACG, ASR9000, Charter, china telecom, Cisco, comcast, Consolidated Communiations, Cox, Fastweb, Kabel Deutchland, North State Communications, NTT Plala, Service Provider, Synergy, tata communications