AlcaLu debuts terabit-on-a-chip optical switch

Continuing to roll out new products to support its converged backbone/high leverage network strategy for helping carriers control costs while increasing network capacity, Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU) today announced the 1870 Transport Tera Switch (TTS).

The large-scale optical switch supports next-generation Optical Transport Network (OTN) standards while also supporting a mix of Ethernet, SONET/SDH and SAN traffic alongside OTN, at rates ranging up to 40 Gbps (with 100 Gbps support planned for later this year). Overall capacity on the optical box starts at 4 Tbps and is upgradable to 8 Tbps, according to Alberto Valsecchi, VP Marketing for Alcatel-Lucent's Optical activities.

Three things stand out about the switch compared to current and planned optical offerings from competitors, including Ciena, Huawei and others, Valsecchi said in an interview: the highest available capacity in a single box; the product’s universal switch matrix that can mix and match today and tomorrow’s traffic on the same chassis and cards; and Alcatel’s ability to combine IP and optical capabilities across its entire product line and architecture.

“We are beginning to see changes in the way some of our customers look at the network; the data network and transport departments are becoming less separated and the trend is to have a more integrated approach,” Valsecchi said. That convergence not only impacts network planning, but the underlying approach to systems management as well, he said. “Traditionally, the optical and IP service layers were managed with different systems and had autonomous ways of behavior, independent of one another. When you really start optimizing your optical resources and all that fiber, the IP service routing layer needs to be aware of and be able to talk with the underlying transport layer.”

The Alcatel-Lucent 1870 TTS supports multiple transport networking options, including Carrier Ethernet and SONET/SDH, and offers Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching/Automatically Switched Optical Network (GMPLS/ASON) control plane intelligence to enable advanced restoration, resource virtualization and cross-layer automation. It also provides multiple bandwidth management options, letting carriers move transit traffic across lower cost optical infrastructure according to service mix and IP traffic destination. A variable rate “virtual container” called optical data unit flex (ODUFlex) allows universal and incremental traffic grooming between optical transport equipment and IP routers in steps as granular as 1Gbit/s. 

Together, according to Valsecchi, those capabilities result in, greater resiliency and lower complexity, resulting in capex savings via cost reductions in power, space and network operations.

The optical switch is already in trials with several unnamed customers, with general availability scheduled before the end of the second quarter.

Analysts briefed on the new switch noted the need for service providers to cut network costs while supporting new high-bandwidth applications like video and mobile data backhaul. For Alcatel-Lucent, the 1870 TTS “leverage the company’s optical and IP assets to provide needed network scalability while supporting dynamic service creation and delivery helping operators cope with the mismatch between traffic and revenue,” said Ron Kline, Principal Analyst, Network Infrastructure at Ovum.