What is coherent routing?
There’s a surge of new services, content, and applications being created and consumed at the network edge by both business and residential customers. This is driving new and unpredictable traffic patterns across access and aggregation networks—and metro networks must be ready to absorb all this demand. As a result, operators must find a way to rapidly and cost-effectively scale their metro networks to address surges in bandwidth demand and deliver a faster time to market for new services. To achieve this, many operators are considering converging their IP and optical layers. In fact, according to a recent study, 87 percent of providers view IP/Optical convergence as important for their next-generation networks.*
Initial industry thinking around IP/Optical convergence primarily focused on collapsing the IP and optical layers of the network—simply putting a coherent plug in a router. But successful IP/Optical convergence requires more than that. It takes a comprehensive approach that’s driven by multi-layer operations and includes an intelligent programmable optical layer. Without multi-layer visibility and automation, operators are significantly limited in their ability to plan, troubleshoot, and dynamically move traffic flows in a converged architecture. The result is less than optimal network performance and a poor customer experience.
Ciena’s Coherent Routing
Ciena takes a holistic approach to coherent routing, with a strategic focus on multi-layer operations—the key to unlocking your IP/Optical convergence success.
Ciena’s Coherent Routing combines the best of Ciena technology, including:
- Purpose-built coherent routers, including the 5132, 5164, 5166, 5169, 5171, 8110, 8112, 8114, 8140, 8190 and WaveRouterTM.
- A next-gen IP network operating system
- Industry-leading WaveLogicTM 6 Nano and WaveLogicTM 5 Nano coherent pluggables
- Fully-instrumented, use-case-optimized photonic line systems, including Coherent ELS and 6500 Reconfigurable Line System (RLS)
But we didn’t stop there. On the cutting edge of multi-layer operations, our solution takes IP/Optical convergence to the next level. Ciena’s Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) provides integrated planning and powerful analytics that span network layers. In a single pane of glass, Ciena’s Coherent Routing Solution allows you to easily manage your converged network and optimize performance.
Our Coherent Routing is also designed to improve sustainability by leveraging Ciena’s continuous investment to improve the power and footprint efficiencies of our Routing and Switching and Optical platforms. The result is a simplified, converged network that is also environmentally friendly.
While leveraging all Ciena’s technology together drives significant value, our Coherent Routing is also open and disaggregated. Any of our Coherent Routing components can work within an existing legacy environment and with other third-party technologies—giving you maximum flexibility and choice to achieve a converged network architecture.
To guide you in your convergence journey, Ciena Services experts collaborate with you to develop an evolution strategy that meets your business goals. Our network transformation approach is an industry best practice that uses leading network experts, data analytics, and automation tools to reduce your risk and provide the best path forward to ensure you get the most out of your network investment.
Ciena’s Coherent Routing brings together purpose-built routing, leading coherent optics, and intelligent, flexible photonics—all driven by cutting-edge, multi-layer operations to help you achieve a simplified network that delivers optimal performance, dynamic scalability, and improved sustainability.
*IP Optical Convergence Global Survey, Heavy Reading, May 2021, n=220