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Ciena Expands CN 4200 FlexSelect Advanced Services Platform Family

Edge-optimized CN 4200 MC Extends Any Service on Any Port Programmable Networking for Carrier Managed Services and Private Enterprise Networks

Ciena® Corporation (Nasdaq: CIEN), the network specialist, today announced the CN 4200™ MC, a compact version of its CN 4200 FlexSelect™ Advanced Services Platform that extends its FlexSelect Architecture to the network edge. Designed for deployment at enterprises and carrier locations with space restrictions, the CN 4200 MC significantly reduces the cost to deliver a variety of service backhaul and metro transport applications, including business services, managed wavelength services, video distribution and wireless infrastructure.

Ciena’s CN 4200 family of platforms, with FlexiPort optical interfaces, offers individual, remotely-programmable ports that support any optical service type and can function as either client or network interface. The CN 4200 MC, specifically, extends this value in an edge-optimized platform that network operators and large enterprises can deploy as far out as the wiring closet with full services management capabilities.

“The heart of today’s WDM market growth is in the metro-regional applications, and encompasses a vast array of service types, from enterprise and government to multiservice backhaul,” said Scott Clavenna, chief analyst, Heavy Reading. “The ability to support a wide range of interface types that can be provisioned rapidly will continue to be a critical factor for success in the marketplace.”

Operational in point-to-point, linear add/drop or ring topologies, the CN 4200 MC supports Ciena’s entire family of CN 4200 line cards and DWDM/CWDM channel plans and can even sit on the same network as the standard CN 4200 with seamless management across both platforms. In addition, the compact WDM platform combines full support for ITU G.709, also known as optical transport network (OTN), with an intelligent switch architecture that enables multiple optical services to be groomed onto any wavelength, improving bandwidth utilization by as much as 78 percent.

The CN 4200 MC features FlexSelect management enabled by ON-Center®, Ciena’s network management system that combines point-and-click ease of use and automation with industry-leading service management tools, including service level agreements (SLAs), user-defined thresholds and sophisticated reporting. Combined with ON-Center, the CN 4200 MC simplifies the operational complexity of the service edge and significantly reduces on-going costs associated with service and customer churn and the strenuous requirements of manual provisioning processes.

“Any service on any port has long been the holy grail for service providers and large enterprises that want to eliminate the need for constant equipment upgrades, which is especially important as they migrate toward more packet-based services,” said Steve Alexander, chief technology officer of Ciena. “Our FlexSelect Architecture and CN 4200 platform have proven to be significant milestones in offering any service on any port flexibility, and the addition of the CN 4200 MC enables customers to extend that FlexiPort technology to the network edge.”

In less than a year since its introduction, Ciena’s CN 4200 has been selected by more than 40 organizations around the world, including leading telco and cable service providers, enterprises, government agencies and research and education (R&E) organizations, due to its flexibility, ease of deployment and significant capital and operational savings. The applications supported across these deployments range from Ethernet private lines, VOD, digital simulcast for video, storage extension, OTN transport, among others further underscoring the multiservice flexibility of the platform.

Further product information about the CN 4200 FlexSelect Advanced Services Platform family and FlexSelect Architecture can be found on Ciena’s web site at http://www.ciena.com/FlexSelect.