GlobalConnect deploys Cyan Z-Series, SDN platform

Danish fiber-optic network services provider GlobalConnect has deployed Z-Series packet-optical transport systems and the Blue Planet software-defined networking (SDN) platform from Cyan (NYSE: CYNI), the systems house reveals.

GlobalConnect has been a Cyan customer for years, according to Cyan Vice President of North American Sales Eric Clelland and CMO Joe Cumello. The Danish service provider became interested in the packet-optical transport systems and SDN offering as it moved from a focus on providing dark fiber to adding data services, said Clellan. The Cyan platforms will help GlobalConnect deliver Carrier Ethernet services, he said. The carrier has adopted a cap-and-grow strategy for the network; GlobalConnect has used equipment from Ciena and Transmode in the past (see “Denmark's GlobalConnect taps Ciena for 10-GbE network” and “GlobalConnect chooses Transmode Systems,” respectively).

“Many people think that the name of the game for service providers is simply adding more and more capacity. While capacity is certainly crucial, unless we can drive enhanced capabilities and features into our network we will suffer from bandwidth commoditization,” said GlobalConnect CTO Peter Olsen via a Cyan press release. “Working with Cyan, we’ve been able to architect a next-generation network that is operationally more efficient, delivers the scalability we need, and provides a means to deliver enhanced services to our customers.”

The 12,000-route-km network initially will have a total capacity of 400 Gbps (40 wavelengths of 10 Gbps). But the Z-Series platforms support greater data rates, which opens the door for future capacity increases, Clelland and Cumello point out.

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