Infinera is expanding its reach from the long-haul, optical transport core to the metro and cloud data center interconnect space with the introduction of its Cloud Xpress family of metro optical platforms.
The Cloud Xpress is a compact, high-density, optical system optimized for the transport network that interconnects multiple data centers within a metro area. It leverages existing Infinera technologies, including its Photonic Integrated Circuit (PICs) and super-channel aggregation, to provide massive bandwidth in a form factor that data center operators can rack-n-stack and easily integrate into their operations.
In a press event in Santa Clara, California, Infinera predicted that hyper-scale cloud operators now building data centers packed with hundreds of thousands of servers, will soon need vast numbers of 100G connections between their metro data centers. The Cloud Xpress aims to provide point-to-point hyper-scale bandwidth over distances of up to 200km without amplification. On the client side, it supports 10GbE, 40GbE, 100GbE interfaces and on the line side its offers 500 Gbps WDM super-channels. It can be managed with a wide range of tools: CLI, the Infinera Network Management System—DNA as well as an API-driven SDN control. The Cloud Xpress is currently in customer trials and commercial release is expected in December 2014.
Infinera said the key benefits of its Cloud Xpress for the metro cloud include:
- Hyper-scale Density – The Cloud Xpress delivers one terabit per second (Tb/s) of input and output capacity in just two rack units (RU). This means a single 42 RU rack can support an industry leading 21 Tbps of input and output capacity.
- Simplified Operations – The Cloud Xpress is designed with a rack-and-stack form factor and a new software approach that will enable it to plug into existing cloud provisioning systems using open SDN APIs. By offering an experience similar to the server and storage infrastructure currently deployed in the cloud, the Cloud Xpress enables smooth integration into existing operational processes enabling cloud providers to scale quickly, reduce human errors and lower operational costs.
- Lowest Power – The Cloud Xpress consumes half as much power as the current leader of the market for comparably-sized metro cloud solutions.
“The introduction of the Cloud Xpress for the metro cloud shows that Infinera is again bringing the right 100 Gb/s solution to market at the right time, marking our initial entry into the rapidly growing metro transport market with a unique solution for cloud data center interconnection,” said Tom Fallon, chief executive officer at Infinera. “At the same time, the introduction of the Infinera PXM underscores our continued investment in the long-haul market and our core business of building Intelligent Transport Networks for service providers around the world.”
Infinera also announced upgrades to the Infinera DTN-X packet optical network transport platform with the Packet Switching Module (PXM) for Carrier Ethernet and MPLS. The PXM enables service providers to reduce the number of expensive router ports required to offer a portfolio of services based on Carrier Ethernet and MPLS. The Infinera PXM solution is planned for general availability in the first quarter of 2015.
