Hitachi enters packet optical space

Hitachi Communication Technologies America got into the packet optical networking game this week with a late entry that the company says will nevertheless leapfrog rivals using the latest generation of component technologies.

“We’ve had packet systems, transport systems and WDM systems, but this is the first time we’ve built a box that can do any and all of the above,” said Scott Wilkinson, Hitachi-CTA’s vice president of product management and system engineering.

Hitachi’s 16-rack-unit AMN6400, generally available by next year’s second quarter, handles 100 Gb/s per slot. With a switch taking up two slots, the product’s remaining 10 slots give it a total capacity of 1 terabit per second, though the company says it will later be upgradable to 2 Tb/s in a single shelf. With transponders, a switch is not needed.

Though Hitachi is entering the space late – other vendors have been introducing packet optical platforms for the last two or three years – the company says it is leapfrogging competitors such as Fujitsu Network Communications, Tellabs and Alcatel-Lucent with the use of the latest generation of backplane and transceiver technologies from suppliers Hitachi declined to name. A similar claim was also made by Cyan Optics, a new startup in the packet optical space that emerged last month.

Hitachi isn’t yet saying exactly which services the 6400 will support, but it does include OTN switching, ultralonghaul optics and pre-standard MPLS-TP features. “One of the nice things about having an MPLS-TP-type switch fabric is that it’s designed to be able to handle all the others. It’s a matter of putting the service on the outside depending on what the customer wants. There’s no reason why a box based on MPLS-TP couldn’t do things like a connection-oriented or standards-based Ethernet service.”

Hitachi expects to find particular interest in the 6400 among existing users of its DWDM gear (Global Crossing is one), which Wilkinson said is “a little long in the tooth.”