Ciena has introduced Waveserver Ai, designed to offer high capacity and power efficiency for data centre interconnect (DCI) applications together with the established server-like operational model delivered by the Waveserver portfolio.
The ‘easy-to-automate’ Waveserver packet-optical platform is designed to enable ultra-high capacity connections between data centre locations along with reduced network costs for enterprises and content providers. The new Waveserver Ai additionally enables the interconnection of multiple clouds for multi-tenant data centre and cloud providers to offer expanded support for high-speed, high-capacity services.
Ciena’s Waveserver Ai solution allows increased capacity and service densities with minimal footprint in data centres where space may be limited. Leveraging the WaveLogic Ai coherent technology, the platform can scale to 2.4 Tbit/s in a single rack unit of space, representing a claimed 50–100% higher density compared to other compact DCI platforms. Additionally, with low power per bit performance, the solution can also help operators reduce overall energy consumption.
Waveserver Ai can also help to simplify DCI planning and deployment leveraging a programmable coherent chipset that can be tuned from 100 up to 400 Gbit/s to optimise capacity over any distance, ranging from metro and regional to long-haul networks. As a result, with a single Waveserver Ai platform an operator can deliver single wavelength 400 Gbit/s capacity on short-haul links and 200 Gbit/s capacity for long-haul DCI applications.
Additionally, leveraging web-scale attributes the Waveserver Ai platform is designed to enable a simplified lifecycle, from planning and ordering to provisioning and maintenance, combined with a server-like deployment model. Via a suite of open APIs and management interfaces, the platform can be integrated into existing or new DCI networks and existing operational processes. Ciena noted that operators can also use its Emulation Cloud simulation environment to create, test and fine-tune customised applications.
Waveserver Ai is scheduled to be generally available in the second quarter of 2017.
