Recent Cisco news highlights two prominent service providers – Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica – who have chosen Cisco IP Next-Generation Network solutions.

Deutsche Telekom subsidiary Hrvatski Telekom – Croatia’s largest telecommunications company – is using Cisco solutions in its new TeraStream cloud-enabled IP architecture.

Key elements include all-IPv6 streamlined routing architecture; fully converged IP and optical layers with 100G coherent technology; integrated cloud service centers, enabling virtualized network services and applications for rapid service innovation; programmatic interfaces aligned with the software-defined networking architecture for real-time automation and OSS; and customer self-service management capabilities.

Cisco has delivered the following technologies in this landmark deployment:

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Tags: 100G_coherent, ASR_9000, Cisco, cloud, CRS, ip, IPNGN, IPv6, operator, Optical, service_provider

When Cisco announced the CRS (Carrier Routing System) in 2004, many analysts and other observers thought it overkill.   Some said that Cisco would not sell more than 50.

To date, the number is greater than 8000.

That would seem to fall into the category of “Exceeding Expectations”.

And just how did Cisco do this?  In part, by continually staying ahead of the game with enhancements – never waiting for traffic loads, customer demands or other circumstances to force it into catch-up mode.

Today, Cisco continued that practice with further enhancements to the industry-leading CRS platform.

Cisco announced that GTS Central Europe (GTS CE), a leading provider of integrated telecommunications solutions and data center services in Central and Eastern Europe, has deployed the CRS for its Next-Generation Internet core.  Cisco new elastic core networking capabilities enable service providers such as GTS CE to cost-effectively launch and scale revenue-generating services within minutes instead of months.  The solution includes the industry’s first integrated coherent 100 Gbps IP over DWDM and Cisco’s nLight™ technology for the CRS.

Cisco’s nLight technology converges IP and optical transport networks by introducing programmability to minimize network complexity while maximizing service intelligence and monetization opportunities.  This capability significantly reduces network total cost of ownership and is a key element of the Cisco Open Network Environment (ONE) framework. 

Also, in recent related news, Cisco and BT recently conducted a landmark 100G DWDM trial

Tags: Carrier_Routing_System, Cisco, core_routing, CRS, DWDM, ip, ONE, Optical, service_provider, SP, tco, total_cost_of_ownership

In a blog post last week, Cisco cited its recent landmark 100 Gbps IPoDWDM trial with BT, which demonstrates ways to create a Next-Generation Internet, one that can handle a million minutes of video every second without having to trench new fiber or dig up streets. However, there is more behind this story because faster alone doesn’t represent a complete solution to the enormity of the challenge facing network operators.  Carriers such as BT need the solution to be bigger, stronger, and smarter.

Take for example, the complexity of traffic flows. To a basic user, the Internet “Information Superhighway” of yesteryear had essentially one on-ramp and one off-ramp.  Traffic traveled largely in a very straightforward pattern. Due to the growing popularity of mobility and cloud computing, traffic is quickly becoming multidirectional. According to Cisco’s recent Visual Networking Index (VNI) forecast, the mobile Internet will increase 18-fold by 2016 and cloud services will expand 12-fold by 2015. What’s more, VNI research indicates that by 2016 there will be nearly 19 billion global network connections. That’s 2.5 connections for every per person on earth!

To keep up, service providers must deploy networks that are more elastic to more easily grow and keep pace with these shifts. Like exercise, these innovations are vital for the heart of the Next-Generation Internet, the service provider core network.  Today we announced several innovations for the Cisco Carrier Routing System (CRS) to Read More »

Tags: 100G, BT, CESNET, Cisco, CRS, CRS-1, CRS-3, elastic core, GTS CE, IPoDWDM, Service Provider, Surya Panditi

“Video changes everything”.

We laugh at silly cat movies.  We learn to dance Gangnam style.  We cheer for the underdog in an obscure sport (or perhaps even the Spice Girls reunion) at the 2012 London Olympics. Doctors use video to save lives. Cops use video to catch the bad guys. Video (TelePresence) means we can spend the night at home instead of getting on a plane.

Regardless of the content however, the amount of video travelling on the Internet continues to set records every year.  By 2016, the latest Cisco Visual Networking Index forecasts video to exceed one million minutes -- the equivalent of nearly 700 days ―every single second.

This has caused service providers to upgrade existing 10G transmission speeds in the network to 100G and beyond. How do they do this without breaking the bank?  Just because you need a bullet train between two cities doesn’t mean you want to replace the track.

This is why one of the world’s largest network operators, BT recently completed a Read More »

Tags: 100G, BT, Cisco, CRS, IPoDWDM, Service Provider

Cisco in the Hot Seat Addressing Alcatel-Lucent’s  Core Network Offering

Service provider core networking has been a very difficult market segment for technology providers to penetrate based on its importance to global service providers and because it requires costly, ongoing innovation and investment to meet ever-changing customer requirements. While many vendors have attempted to enter this market – Avici and Caspian Networks come to mind – most have failed. In fact, Alcatel introduced a product in this space in the 2000s with the 7770. It was unsuccessful and ultimately discontinued.

While Cisco continues to be No. 1 in the core, we are not sitting on our hands by any means.  In fact, our innovation engine is in high gear, and we are confident that we’ve got the right strategy to lead our customers into the next decade and beyond. Our architectural approach was designed to enable the best delivery of video and mobility by leveraging the network intersection points of the cloud, network, and client.

Recently, Read More »

Tags: ACG Research, Alcatel, Cisco, core, CRS, CRS3, IOS XR, Ray Mota, rethinkthecore, Sanjeev Mervana, Service Provider