Ericsson and Ciena will jointly develop transport solutions for IP-optical convergence and service provider software-defined networking (SDN).
As part of this agreement, Ericsson offers Ciena’s Converged Packet Optical portfolio, including the 6500 Packet-Optical Platform and 5400 family.
Ericsson will benefit from Ciena’s optical technology leadership, including its WaveLogic coherent optical processors and global market presence.
Combined with Ericsson’s IP portfolio and Global Services organization, service providers will be able to deploy IPoWDM technology and to evolve their transport network into a SDN-enabled infrastructure. This will result in lower total cost of ownership and faster deployment of new services.
Gary Smith, president and CEO, Ciena, said: “Our SDN-focused joint development activities will enable us to deliver on network transformation strategies that dynamically support changing demands for network-level applications and services.”
Ericsson in a statement said that the convergence between IP and Optical network layers in an Open SDN controlled architecture will enable more flexible and cost efficient networks for telecom service providers.
The agreement positions Ciena as Ericsson’s preferred packet-optical supplier and gives Ericsson access to Ciena’s coherent optical technology for its SSR, a modern edge router capable of integrating L4-7 applications that should be readily adaptable to SDN/NFV.
As part of the agreement, the two companies will collaborate on an open-source Layer 0-3 SDN controller.
Ciena is currently the third-ranked converged packet optical (CPO) vendor globally with 14 percent market share, whereas Ericsson is only ranked eleventh with 1 percent share.
Ron Kline, principal network infrastructure analyst at Ovum, said: “The deal signals that Ericsson is admitting weakness in optical networking after three years of developing its SPO product line. The key to the deal is the collaborative SDN effort that combines resources at both companies.”
“The partnership could also open the door for future collaboration in the mobile backhaul market where both companies are quite strong. A combination of an integrated Ciena packet backhaul and Ericsson microwave radio would be tough to beat especially given Ericsson’s global strength in LTE,” said Kline.
