Colt chooses Cyan for Carrier Ethernet network upgrade

European fiber-optic network communications services provider Colt has selected Cyan (NYSE: CYNI) to supply the optical transport systems vendor’s Z-Series packet-optical transport systems to upgrade the carrier’s Carrier Ethernet Multi-Service Platform (MSP) network. Colt will use Cyan’s Blue Planet software-defined networking (SDN) platform to orchestrate and manage the Z-Series platforms as well as network interface devices (NIDs) from Accedian Networks. Colt also plans to bring its already fielded optical networking systems from Alcatel-Lucent under the Blue Planet umbrella, according to Cyan sources.

The move toward SDN and network functions virtualization (NFV) via the Blue Planet platform will provide will enable Colt to both improve the efficiency of service and bandwidth provisioning as well as enable the carrier to pursue a best-of-breed strategy when it comes to network hardware, said Cyan’s Chief Marketing Officer Joe Cumello, Director of Software Innovations Nirav Modi, and Director of Solutions Marketing Abel Tong. Accedian is already part of Cyan’s Blue Orbit SDN ecosystem. However, Alcatel-Lucent is not. The Cyan spokesmen said the company is working directly with Colt to bring the Alcatel-Lucent systems into the fold.

The Carrier Ethernet MSP fiber-optic network is designed to maximize scale, simplicity, and service agility while meeting the requirements of service-level agreements (SLAs). Colt believes the new Layer 2 Carrier Ethernet metro network architecture will simplify service provisioning and reduce the number of different types of equipment required. At the same time, where equipment from different vendors is required or where legacy systems are in place, the SDN/NFV approach will enable Colt to provision all its systems via the same platform.

“Businesses count on us to deliver critical managed IT services, cloud services, and communication solutions that provide a superior customer experience,” said Luke Broome, CTO of Colt, via a Cyan press release. “A necessary part of delivering that experience is evolving and automating our network infrastructure and deploying best-in-class technology in a flexible and modular multi-vendor environment that will fuel innovation. Cyan technology is an important element in allowing us to automate, provision, and manage Ethernet transport and Carrier Ethernet services regardless of the vendor equipment we choose, scale our metro network resources, and provides us with a path to future SDN and NFV-based applications and services.”

The Cyan Z-Series platforms will support the connection of data center hosted compute resources with network resources, among other functions. Deployment of the systems has just begun, the Cyan sources say, and should continue throughout Colt’s footprint. Vertical Systems Group estimates Colt operates the fourth largest Ethernet network in the world. It features 20 data centers and direct-line connectivity to more than 19,000 buildings in 39 European cities. Colt delivers services to more than 30,000 organizations in 22 countries.

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