Packet-optical transport and software-defined network (SDN) platform developer Cyan Inc. (NYSE: CYNI) has unveiled a new suite of applications for its Blue Planet SDN offering (see "Cyan offers Blue Planet OpenFlow-based SDN capabilities"). The Planet Inventory applications will support multivendor physical and, in future, logical asset management and reporting, says a company source.

The Planet Inventory applications build on the element adapters Cyan has created to make its Blue Planet OpenFlow-based SDN platform applicable to multivendor environments, as well as the Blue Planet’s northbound communication capabilities, asserts Nirav Modi, manager, service provider solutions at Cyan. The Planet Inventory platform has direct access to network assets, including systems, shelves, and optical transceivers/transponders. The network itself becomes the primary data base, Modi says, which enables accurate accounting and reporting of what’s in place and where additional hardware capabilities can be added. Blue Planet users therefore can streamline adding new services and capabilities to their networks, Modi says. They also can leverage a built-in set of reports or create their own.

The company plans to add logical element management, such as individual services and wavelengths, to the Planet Inventory suite in the future, Modi says. He declined to predict when this ability would be available.

Cyan will offer Planet Inventory in two formats. A cloud-based version will be available as a “software as a service” (SaaS) option, where Cyan will host the main elements of the platform and provide a portal through which the operator can access Planet Inventory’s features. A customer-hosted version, called Planet Inventory Plus, is being marketed as well; Modi expects larger operators with complex network environments will be the most likely customers for this option. Not surprisingly, Modi says that Cyan can make the SaaS version available more quickly than Planet Inventory Plus. However, the latter should be available no later than this summer, he says.

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