Ciena 5400 Family To Enable Software-Defined Networking

Network specialist Ciena has announced its new 5400 Family of Reconfigurable Switching Systems, a series of performance-optimised, multi-terabit Ethernet, OTN and TDM switching systems with integrated transport functionality that can be flexibly configured to implement a broad range of network elements including a Carrier Ethernet switch, or a fully-converged packet-optical transport and switching system.

Ciena’s 5400 family leverages common service-aware operating software – Ciena OneOS – to enable automated service delivery, dynamic mesh restoration and massive scale. It also provides the ability to operate across network layers to increase the velocity of service creation, reduce network ownership cost, and improve network resiliency.

Ciena’s 5400 family also introduces re-configurable switching elements that can be used to address immediate service needs, such as in networks today that carry packets across TDM infrastructure, and re-configured in the future to migrate those networks to leverage Ethernet and OTN.

More from Biztech

The 5400 family integrates its technology with configurable components of the control plane of CoreDirector, OTN and FlexiPort technology of the CN 4200 FlexSelect Advanced Services Platform and the True Carrier Ethernet functionality of the Carrier Ethernet Services Delivery (CESD) portfolio. Based on this combination, Ciena’s 5400 family can be configured and re-configured at any time for a variety of high-capacity optical, TDM or packet functions, including optical cross-connect switching, optical transport, Carrier Ethernet switching or converged packet-optical networking.

A key ingredient in the 5400 family is Ciena OneOS, common service-aware operating software that unifies capabilities and behaviours as well as provides network and service awareness. With OneOS, Ciena products work together across the network enabling solutions that span the data, control and management planes to create automated and resilient optical and data services.

Initial products in the 5400 family will include the 5430 Reconfigurable Switching System and the 5410 Reconfigurable Switching System. The first release of the 5430 is a 44 RU, 30-slot system with 3.6 Terabits per second (Tbps) of capacity, while the 5410 is a 22 RU, 10-slot system with 1.2 Tbps of capacity. Both platforms are designed to scale beyond the initial capacities, up to 7.2 Tbps, as market demand evolves.

Initial 5400 Reconfigurable Switching Systems will be in lab trials with customers later this year with general availability in the first half of 2010. Additional enhancements and platforms are expected to be available later in 2010.