Cyan unveiled its N-Series Open Hyperscale Transport Platform (OHTP), a new family of high-density, high-capacity transport products designed for the rapidly growing need of cloud and providers to deploy large numbers of 100G connections between data centers over campus or metro regional distances.
Cyan is using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) silicon and photonic components combined with an open, carrier-grade Linux network operating system in a modular shelf. The company says this approach will appeal to data center operators who need an easy-to-deploy platform supporting many 100Gs in limited rack space. Unlike traditional optical transport solutions that are vertically integrated, the modular and COTS-based N-Series architecture will enable the platform to fully leverage advances in best-in-breed optical networking technologies and standards as they emerge to
further increase performance and reduce costs. Cyan expects the market for 100G components will gain momentum. The slim form factor enables a “rack and stack” for scaling data center interconnect (DCI) capacity.
The carrier-grade Linux network operating system (NOS), called Cyan Linux, can leverage Linux applications and facilitate rapid integration of third party applications. Cyan believes cloud and content companies will find this familiar to managing their compute resources.
The first member of Cyan’s N-Series family is the modular N11, which packs 800 Gbps of total line and client capacity in one rack unit (1RU), or up to 34 Tbps in a seven-foot rack. The N11 is focused on transponding and 100G client interfaces and also supports selectable 200G coherent line interfaces. It can also be paired with Cyan’s Z-Series 96-channel ROADM to drive up to 19.2Tbps on a single fiber and enables Cyan’s SDN capabilities.
“Cloud services, video, Big Data and social media are all contributing to a massive surge in data center and cloud traffic,” said Mike Hatfield, president, Cyan. “The N-Series’ COTS-based and modular architecture addresses this need and will significantly reduce the cost of high-capacity optical transport when compared to traditional approaches while eliminating the vendor lock-in and complexity typically associated with proprietary, vertically integrated solutions. The N-Series will further expand Cyan’s addressable market within the cloud and content space and will fully interoperate with our Z-Series packet-optical platforms, which are optimized for metro and regional services and transport.”
