view printer-friendly version

CIENA LAUNCHES LIGHTWORKS™ ARCHITECTURE FOR BUILDING INTELLIGENT OPTICAL NETWORKS

New Optical Transport and Switching Solutions Raises the Bar for Ultra-Scalable Networks

Ciena Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN) today announces its complete, Intelligent Optical Network architecture called Ciena LightWorks™. In conjunction with this industry-first blueprint for implementing next-generation optical networks, and as part of its LightWorks solution set, Ciena is also announcing plans to introduce its Multiwave CoreStream™, an advanced dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical transport platform that will enable carriers to migrate from Ciena's current MultiWave Sentry products to up to 2 terabits of transport capacity.

Top-tier carriers are experiencing critical business and operational challenges, including the Internet-driven explosion in customer demand, surging bandwidth growth, and competitive pressures. With industry sources placing 1999 traffic growth estimates at rates approaching 100%, service providers face demands that existing network architectures were not designed to meet. LightWorks is positioned to deliver ultra-high scalability, rapid provisioning, multiple protection options and tremendous cost savings.

"Raw capacity isn't the only issue. Intelligent delivery of that bandwidth, from the edge through the network core, is needed by carriers to build resource efficient networks and higher margin services. Ciena fully understands that technology transitioning, rapid service delivery and end-to-end network intelligence are carrier requirements," observes George Peabody, managing director of telecommunications research at the Aberdeen Group. "We think the LightWorks architecture is practical and visionary. It breaks the ironclad rule that physical network growth means higher operations costs. Carriers will applaud its pain relief and breakthrough economics. LightWorks will be heard clearly over the noise in the optical network space."

The LightWorks architecture extends to service providers integrated capabilities in optical transport, optical core switching, automated provisioning and grooming, multi-service access and flexible survivability giving carriers:

• Ten-fold performance lift, at 70% cost savings over current technologies
• Easier, more rapid service provisioning shortening time-to-revenue
• Flexible service delivery enabling increased revenue generating opportunities
• Scalability, to maximize bandwidth growth and granularity
• Simplified networks with fewer network elements
• Flexible recovery and restoration
• Pervasive network intelligence and management capabilities

LightWorks also delivers a compelling roadmap for carriers whose large and complex networks must efficiently integrate SONET/SDH, long and short-haul DWDM, ATM and IP while migrating to tomorrow's high-performance/high-return services.

"Carriers' early interest in Ciena's new architecture signals the market-wide appetite for end-to-end intelligent optical networks," emphasized Ciena president and chief executive officer Patrick Nettles. "Our users are moving beyond raw capacity improvement - they want flexible options for building and managing high performance networks. With LightWorks, Ciena takes its leadership to the full network systems level, spanning integrated transport, core switching, access, network intelligence and management."

"We've raised the bar on optical network performance with LightWorks," details Charles Chi, Ciena vice president of marketing. "Scalability that addresses only capacity growth is not enough. Network growth must be granular, flexible and immediate. Survivability must be efficient and responsive providing multiple options including rings, meshes, and linear protection, to give carriers what they need. Provisioning must be automated, intelligent, and supportive of logical capacity management. Ciena can best serve carrier demands by defining and fulfilling the performance parameters and the technology roadmap applicable to intelligent optical networks."

Ciena's LightWorks architecture will be demonstrated at the SUPERCOMM '99 tradeshow at booth # 7739 in the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia, from June 7-10, 1999.