Lucent Technologies announces new capabilities for core router, new multiservice packet core switch
Last week at SuperComm, Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) announced new optical networking capabilities for its Internet Protocol (IP) core router that help service providers offer advanced IP services and better network efficiency.
Enhancements to the Lucent NX64000TM IP Core Router include a high-speed optical interface card to connect traffic moving at speeds of 10 gigabits per second (gbps). The card - known as an OC -192c/STM-64 card - enables the NX64000 to handle the intense bandwidth demands of large IP and optical data networks.
In addition, Lucent announced a new 2.5 gbps optical line card with four connections per card. Each Lucent NX64000 now can accommodate up to 64 streams of 2.5 gbps traffic, four times as many as before. The NX64000 has a capacity of 160 gigabits per second, the equivalent of simultaneously transmitting about 32 million one-page emails.
Available now, new 10 gbps and 2.5 gbps optical interface cards have been shipped to customers for trials and also are being used in the NX64000 "throughput" demonstration at SuperComm in booth 4147. Using Agilent Technologies Router Tester, Lucent is demonstrating that the NX64000TM is among the leaders in throughput -- the amount of IP traffic that passes through the router as compared to the amount that enters the router. Operating with 140 to 160 gbps of two-way traffic, the Lucent IP core router delivers throughput of nearly 99 percent for traffic traveling at 2.5 gbps. It demonstrates 95 percent throughput for traffic traveling at 10 gbps. A router with throughput of 95 percent or above is among industry leaders in this category.
A key component in Lucent's IP services strategy, the NX64000 is designed for large Internet service providers, for service providers building new data networks, and for large, established carriers upgrading or enhancing their networks to carry multiple types of voice and data traffic. The product has four announced customers and also is in 20 trials with customers globally.
The NX64000 supports IP, frame relay, multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) termination. Also, the NX64000 can deliver the quality of service that enables service providers to support differentiated services, including premium services such as virtual private network services for secure remote access to a corporate Intranet.
As a component in Lucent's end-to-end, multiservice solution, the NX64000 operates with the company's multiservice core products - the GX 550TM Multiservice WAN Switch and MSC 25000TM Multiservice Packet Core Switch - and optical networking core products including the WaveStar LamdaRouter and WaveStar OLS 1.6T. Lucent is showing the systems interoperability through a wavelength provisioning demonstration at SuperComm.
Lucent also introduced a new multiservice packet core switch that delivers 10 times the capacity of existing switches and enables service providers to deliver more reliable and more profitable voice, video and data services over converged networks. The MSC 25000 Multiservice Packet Core Switch, Lucent's new flagship product in its multiservice switch portfolio, is a scalable, carrier-class platform with multiservice capability and voice-level reliability. This new product enables service providers to consolidate their existing, separate voice and data networks into one packet-based multiservice network, reducing the expense and complexity associated with managing and growing multiple networks.
Available to customers for testing by the end of September and in controlled introduction by the end of December, the MSC 25000 will enable service providers to evolve and grow their multiservice networks.
The MSC 25000 offers 320 gigabits per second (gbps) of redundant, two-way traffic and non-blocking capacity. This equates to 15 million virtual circuits per system and 50 thousand call set-ups per second. With this capacity, service providers can expand existing revenue generating services, as well as voice and video services over asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) circuits and multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) label switched paths.
The MSC 25000 can process 750 million packets per second, a significantly greater rate than current multiservice switches, greatly improving network efficiency. This new multiservice switch also offers service providers a broad range of optical interfaces at speeds ranging from 155 megabits per second to 10 gigabits per second. This enables service providers to offer both lower-speed edge and high-speed core services on a single platform, thereby reducing network management complexity and overall operating expenses.
As demand for services increases, driving more traffic onto networks, the MSC 25000 system can scale to 2.5 terabits per second.
The MSC 25000 is designed to provide 99.999 percent availability, purportedly the highest ever achieved in a multiservice switch and a level of reliability usually associated only with voice networks. Based on a full range of hardware and software protection, the switch's reliability is a key to offering voice and data services on a converged network. An integrated SONET/SDH cross connect enables the MSC 25000 to provide automatic protection switching (APS) on all optical interfaces to re-direct traffic without sacrificing service bandwidth. In addition, if necessary, the MSC 25000 can shift to the built-in back-up switch fabric without data loss. The multiservice switch includes fully redundant hardware on all shelves and shelf elements, and integral hardware and software-based fault detection and service restoration capabilities.
The MSC 25000 has a protocol-independent architecture that supports Internet Protocol (IP) packets, ATM cells, and time division multiplexing (TDM) services equally well. The MSC 25000 extends the Quality of Service classes and service level guarantees of the existing Lucent multiservice wide area networking (WAN) switches to IP services, enabling service providers to offer high-revenue services with guaranteed QoS.
The MSC 25000 also will support standards-based MPLS and Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) User-Network Interface (UNI) signaling, allowing service providers to dynamically provision optical bandwidth, enabling 'bandwidth on demand' services.
Service providers can integrate the MSC 25000 into their network rapidly because the switch uses the same Navis network management software that supports current Lucent multiservice WAN switches. Using Navis software, service providers can rapidly provision ATM and IP/MPLS services across their edge and core networks with simple, automated point and click commands. Navis network management software also supports network capacity planning, service design and creation, network inventory management, performance and fault management, as well as the management of service level agreements and QoS, all from a unified service management platform. Using Navis software to manage the core network allows service providers to accelerate revenue generation, reduce operational costs, and protect existing investment while accommodating future expansion.
Lucent's next generation multiservice core solution complements the company's end-to-end networking portfolio, aggregating in the core wireline, wireless, optical and IP traffic. The multiservice core switching products can operate with Lucent NX64000 IP Core Router and WaveStar LambdaRouter and the Lucent metropolitan optical networking systems.
About Lucent Technologies:
Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU), headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., designs and delivers systems, software and services for next-generation communications networks for service providers and enterprises. For more information, visit www.lucent.com.