Ciena WaveLogic Coherent Optical Processors Power Next Phase of High Capacity Networking

Company to highlight advanced chipset that builds on 10 year R&D investment in coherent technologies at OFC/NFOEC with technology demonstrations and leading expert speakers

LINTHICUM, Md. — 03/01/2011

Ciena® Corporation (NASDAQ:CIEN, news, filings), the network specialist, today detailed its family of silicon chips that empower optical transmission systems to scale the capacity and reach of existing networks with operational simplicity. The company’s WaveLogic^™ coherent optical processors enable 40G and 100G coherent transmission for terrestrial and submarine networks across ultra-long haul distances and are exclusively available inside Ciena’s market-leading optical systems. The latest generation of the chipset – WaveLogic T2 and R2 – is currently shipping inside Ciena’s ActivFlex 6500 Packet-Optical Platform and will be shipping inside the ActivSpan 4200 Advanced Services Platform by mid-year, with other platforms planned for later in the year.

While much of the industry’s focus on coherent optics has been targeted solely on scaling capacity, Ciena’s unique approach to coherent optical processing has broader advantages for improving network economics and offering more flexible architectures. Ciena’s WaveLogic processors provide cost-effective ways to mitigate optical impairments, take advantage of existing fiber plants and scale network capacity quickly and easily. To further improve network flexibility, performance, spectral efficiency and reach, future versions of Ciena’s WaveLogic coherent optical processors will implement advances such as integrated coherent digital signal processors (DSP) for both transmit and receive as well as soft-decision forward error correction (FEC) that will result in more programmable infrastructures and new ways to design networks.

“The development of coherent optics has significantly increased optical performance and reduced the complexity and costs of deploying 40G and 100G data rates in carrier networks,” said Ron Kline, principal analyst, Network Infrastructure at Ovum. “The technology has quickly become a critical feature for network operators and provides a distinct competitive advantage for suppliers with proven deployment records.”

Building on more than 10 years of R&D investment into using silicon electronics to manage optical transmission, the company’s WaveLogic coherent optical processors have driven its market leadership position in coherent technology. The company’s key achievements include:

• First electronic dispersion compensation in 2005 and first coherent processor in 2008

• Industry-leading spectral efficiency allowing up to 8.8 Tb/s on a single fiber pair

• First commercially deployed coherent optical systems, including 40G coherent in 2008 and 100G coherent in 2009

• 40G/100G coherent deployments with more than 70 service providers and network operators

• More than 5,565,000 coherent kilometers deployed

• Identified as the #1 vendor in 40G/100G technology in the 2010 Optical Equipment Features and Vendor Leadership Service Provider Survey from Infonetics Research

“In the last twenty years, we’ve seen how transformative optical technologies can change the course of fundamental network design to enable greater efficiency and performance. Today, we are on the brink of the next phase of game-changing technology advances as we enter the ‘coherent era’ of optical networking, where innovation in coherent optical processing will be paramount to successfully navigating the challenges of network scale and reach,” said Rick Dodd, senior vice president, global marketing at Ciena. “With broad market acceptance that coherent technology is essential to scaling capacity to terabit levels, the focus must now turn to how to best implement coherent in a way that offers even greater impact on network operations and efficiency — like automated power consumption controls and better bandwidth utilization – where Ciena’s experience and technology advances lead the market.”

Ciena @ OFC/NFOEC 2011
Ciena’s significant presence at OFC/NFOEC 2011 will highlight its optical networking systems featuring the WaveLogic T2 and R2 chipset and the company’s continued momentum as the leader in coherent, high-capacity optical networking. The company will offer technology demonstrations on the exhibit floor in its mobile Innovation Lab, including:

• 100G Transmission: In this demonstration, a 100G wavelength riding on Ciena’s ActivFlex 6500 will be transported from Ciena’s mobile Innovation Lab across the show floor to Corning’s booth over a single stretched span consisting of 250km of Corning® SMF-28® ULL fiber, using an ActivSpan Common Photonic Layer line system equipped with Raman amplifiers. All equipment in this demonstration is commercially available.

• Terabit and 400G Transmission: Ciena will show 400G performance data from a 400G demonstration and a video from a Terabit demonstration from a customer event held in October 2010 that are powered by pre-production versions of future WaveLogic coherent optical processors.

• Packet-Optical Switching: Ciena will showcase the technical features of the ActivFlex 5430 Reconfigurable Switching System, including its protocol-agnostic switch fabric with SONET, SDH, OTN and packet switching capabilities and newly available high-capacity service interfaces.

Ciena will also be displaying its Carrier Ethernet Service Delivery portfolio and OneControl Unified Management software. Key technologists from the company are participating in numerous technical sessions, workshops and panel discussions at the conference on topics including 100G, coherent optics, control plane and Ethernet in metro networks.

Follow Ciena’s activities at OFC/NFOEC 2011 on the Ciena Insights blog, ‘CienaEvents’ Twitter feed andCiena YouTube channel.

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