Products and Services
We offer a portfolio of communications networking products that form the building
blocks of resilient and automated, next-generation networks. Our product portfolio
consists of our Packet-Optical Transport, Packet-Optical Switching and Carrier
Ethernet Service Delivery products, as well as the embedded and network management
software that supports these platforms.
We have focused our product and service offerings to address the following
network priorities: core and metro network modernization, managed services and
enterprise applications, Carrier Ethernet-based mobile backhaul and high-capacity
submarine networks. In the network’s core, we deliver high-capacity transport
and switching products that create an automated, dynamic optical infrastructure
supporting a wide variety of network services. In the metro portion of the network,
we deliver a comprehensive, converged transport and switching solution that
manages circuits, wavelengths and packets. In managed services applications
and enterprise networks, we enable enterprise-oriented services including storage,
data connectivity, video and business Ethernet services. In mobile backhaul
applications, we provide wireline and wireless carriers with the tools to migrate
their networks to support mobile data applications and enable Ethernet-based
backhaul. In submarine networks, we enhance existing submarine network fiber
assets, increasing bandwidth capacity and enabling higher-availability services
and differentiated customer-focused offerings.
Packet-Optical Transport
Our Packet-Optical Transport portfolio includes industry leading, high-capacity
transport platforms such as our ActivFlex 6500 Packet-Optical Platform, which
features coherent, 40G and 100G optical transport. Our Packet-Optical Transport
platforms include flexible, scalable wavelength division multiplexing (WDM)
solutions that enable cost-effective and efficient transport of voice, video
and data related to a variety of services for core networks as well as regional
and metro networks. We offer scalable Packet-Optical Transport platforms, including
several chassis sizes and a comprehensive set of line cards, that can be utilized
from the customer premises, where space and power are critical, to the metropolitan/regional
core, where the need for high capacity and carrier-class performance are essential.
By automating optical infrastructures, our Packet-Optical Transport products
support the efficient delivery of a wide variety of consumer-oriented network
services, as well as key managed service and enterprise applications.
Our Packet-Optical Transport family of products focuses on high-capacity optical
transport and includes reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM) capability.
In addition to our CN 4200® FlexSelect®Advanced Services Platform (now
“ActivSpan 4200”) and our Corestream® Agility Optical Transport
System, our Packet-Optical Transport portfolio includes the following products
acquired from the MEN Business:
• Optical Multiservice Edge 6500 (now “ActivFlex 6500 Packet Optical
Platform”)
• Optical Multiservice Edge 6110 (now “ActivFlex 6110 Multiservice
Optical Platform”)
• Optical Metro 5200 (now “ActivSpan 5200”)
• Common Photonic Layer (now “ActivSpan CPL”)
• Optical Multiservice Edge 1000 series (OME 1000)
• Optical Metro 3500 (OM 3500)
Our Packet-Optical Transport solutions also include legacy SONET/SDH products
and legacy data networking products, as well as certain enterprise-oriented
transport solutions that support storage and LAN extension, interconnection
of data centers, and virtual private networks.
Packet-Optical Switching
Our Packet-Optical Switching family of products provides TDM switching and
packet switching capability. Our principal Packet-Optical Switching product
is our CoreDirector® Multiservice Optical Switch. CoreDirector is a multiservice,
multi-protocol switching system that consolidates the functionality of an add/drop
multiplexer, digital cross-connect and packet aggregator, into a single, high-capacity
intelligent switching system. CoreDirector’s mesh capability enables more
efficient and more reliable networks. In addition to its application in core
networks, CoreDirector may also be used in metro networks for aggregation and
forwarding of multiple services, including Ethernet/TDM Private Line, Triple
Play and IP services. We are in the early stages of a technology transition
within our Packet-Optical Switching platform, from our CoreDirector platform
toward our ActivFlex 5400 family of Reconfigurable Switching Systems. These
multi-terabit OTN and packet switching systems with integrated transport functionality
can be flexibly configured to implement a broad range of network elements, including
a scalable optical cross-connect, feature-rich Carrier Ethernet switch, or a
fully converged packet-optical transport and switching system. These new platforms
provide the capabilities and reliability of CoreDirector, while providing service
providers the ability to scale to higher capacities and transition to packet-based
networks.
Carrier Ethernet Service Delivery
Our Carrier Ethernet Service Delivery products have applications from the
edge of metro and core networks to the customer premises. These products allow
customers to utilize the automation and capacity created by our Packet-Optical
Transport products in core and metro networks and deliver new, revenue-generating
services to consumers and enterprises. Our Carrier Ethernet Service Delivery
offering primarily consists of our ActivEdge service delivery switching products,
ActivEdge service aggregation platforms and legacy broadband access products
for residential services.
Our ActivEdge service delivery and aggregation switches provide True Carrier
Ethernet, a more reliable and feature rich type of Ethernet that can support
a wider variety of services. These products support the access and aggregation
tiers of communications networks, and are typically deployed in metro and access
networks. Service delivery products are often used at customer premises locations
while aggregation platforms are used to combine services to improve network
resource utilization. Employing sophisticated carrier Ethernet switching technology,
these products deliver quality of service capabilities, virtual local area networking
and switching functions, and carrier-grade operations, administration, and maintenance
features. In 2010, we introduced several additions to our service delivery and
aggregation offering intended to increase capacity for higher bandwidth user
connections and a broader set of aggregation and switching capabilities, such
as enterprise locations, backhaul from wireless cell sites, multi-tenant unit
buildings and outside plant cabinets. Initial deployment of these products have
principally been in support of wireless backhaul deployments, including, in
large part, 4G WiMax, and business data services.
Our principal product for consumer broadband is our CNX-5 Broadband DSL System.
This broadband access platform allows service providers to transition legacy
voice networks to support next-generation services such as Internet-based (IP)
telephony, video services and DSL, and enable cost-effective migration to higher
bandwidth Ethernet network infrastructures.
Unified Software and Service Management Tools
Our Packet-Optical Transport, Packet-Optical Switching and Carrier Ethernet
Service Delivery products include a shared suite of embedded operating system
software and network management software tools that serve to unify our product
portfolio and provide the underlying automation and management features. Our
embedded software is a robust, service aware framework that improves network
utilization and availability, while delivering enhanced performance monitoring
and reliability. By increasing network automation, minimizing network downtime
and monitoring network performance and service metrics, our embedded software
and network management software tools enable customers to improve cost effectiveness,
while increasing the performance and functionality of their network operations.
To consolidate our software offerings, we have introduced the Ciena One software
suite. This suite will be the framework for harmonizing the embedded software
and the network management software from the pre-acquisition Ciena portfolio
and the MEN portfolio.
ON-Center® Network & Service Management Suite, our pre-acquisition
Ciena integrated network and service management software, is designed to simplify
network management and operation across our portfolio. ON-Center can track individual
services across multiple product suites, facilitating planned network maintenance,
outage detection and identification of customers or services affected by network
troubles. The MEN Acquisition added network and service management products,
such as OMEA and Preside, which are specific to the products of the MEN Business
and are included in our combined product portfolio.
Consulting and Support Services
To complement our product portfolio, we offer a broad range of consulting
and support services that help our customers design, deploy and operationalize
their communications services. We provide these services through our internal
resources as well as through qualified, third party service partners. Our services
and support portfolio includes the following offerings:
• Network analysis, planning and design;
• Network optimization and tuning;
• Project management, including staging, site preparation and installation
activities;
• Deployment services, including turnkey installation and turn-up and
test services; and
• Maintenance and support services, including:
o helpdesk, technical assistance and training,
o spares and logistics management,
o engineering dispatch and on-site professional services,
o equipment repair and replacement, and
o software maintenance and updates.