Infinera, provider of Intelligent Transport Networks, has introduced the Infinera Cloud Xpress family of metro optical platforms, designed for network operators delivering cloud-based services to consumers and businesses worldwide. The Cloud Xpress is optimized for the metro cloud, the transport network that interconnects multiple data centers within a metro area. In addition, the Cloud Xpress is designed to simplify the deployment of high-bandwidth connections while lowering the power and space required to scale metro cloud networks.
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.
Consumers and businesses increasingly rely on the cloud for their application needs. As cloud adoption increases, large network operators are reporting a magnification effect on incoming traffic, such that a single request from an end user can generate 10 times the amount of traffic between data centers than was contained in the request. This magnification effect is accelerating the deployment of high-capacity transport solutions into the metro cloud. The Cloud Xpress is a small, stackable platform designed specifically to address this need. We believe Cloud Xpress is the first to offer a combination of operational simplicity, massive transmission capacity and low power consumption.
The Infinera Cloud Xpress is designed to provide the following benefits for the metro cloud:
- Hyper-scale density – The Cloud Xpress delivers one terabit per second (Tb/s) of input and output capacity in just two rack units (RU) with up to 500 gigabits per second (Gb/s) of line-side capacity and a mix of 10 gigabit Ethernet (GbE), 40 GbE and 100 GbE client- side interfaces. For network operators that need to scale the metro cloud in the least amount of space, the Cloud Xpress leads the industry with an unprecedented 21 Tb/s of input and output capacity per 42 RU rack.
- Simplified operations – Cloud data centers use a different operational model than traditional service provider central offices. 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.
- Low Power – The Cloud Xpress consumes half as much power as the current leader of the market for comparably-sized metro cloud solutions.
“As cloud applications and services have grown in importance, the need for high-speed data center interconnection (DCI) has grown at a very high rate,” said Paul Parker-Johnson, practice lead, cloud and virtual system infrastructures at ACG Research. “This has generated the need for new transport solutions with leaner form factors, higher densities and superior operating efficiencies. Infinera is bringing important innovations to DCI with its Cloud Xpress platform, extending its strength in core transport networks to DCI deployments. Cloud Xpress is well-positioned to participate in the emerging service provider DCI transport market, which we expect to reach $4 billion by 2019.”
“Our customers expect a highly-reliable, high-performance infrastructure that can support their cloud needs today, as well as scale into tomorrow,” said Steve Orchard, senior vice president and general manager, data center and network services at Internap. “Platforms like Cloud Xpress offer great promise to improve the overall cloud experience and enable hybridization at scale, and we look forward to rigorous testing to ensure it delivers the performance and reliability we’ve come to expect from Infinera.”
“Internet Content Providers accounted for roughly 15 percent of North American spending in the second quarter of 2014, as they face large traffic growth, not just to customers but between the data centers themselves,” said Andrew Schmitt, principal analyst, carrier transport networking at Infonetics Research. “Their unique networks combined with growing budgets for networking hardware create an opportunity for equipment purpose-built for the metro cloud. With the Cloud Xpress, Infinera is applying its proven in-house photonic integration technology to meet these new requirements with a unique system for customers who have large-scale data center interconnect needs.”
Infinera also continues to enhance the Infinera DTN-X platform with the introduction of the Infinera PXM, a packet switching module enabling highly-efficient packet-optical transport network architectures. 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 Cloud Xpress is currently in customer trials, orderable now and planned for general availability in December 2014. The Infinera PXM solution is planned for general availability in the first quarter of 2015. For more information on Cloud Xpress, visit www.infinera.com/go/cloud. For more information on the Infinera PXM solution, visit www.infinera.com/go/packet.
