May 21, 2013 Leave a Comment
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SP360: Service Provider

DukeNet Communications Makes the Leap to 100G

Just on the heels of our Packet Optical Networking Conference last week in San Jose we’re thrilled to announce another network operator has selected Cisco to make the transition to 100G. Last time was in the upper mountain state of Wyoming. This time it’s DukeNet Communications, a leading regional fiber network provider offering data and high-capacity bandwidth services to enterprise, data center, government and carrier customers. Primarily serving the southeastern United States, DukeNet controls an 8,000 route mile fiber-optic network now capable of delivering 100 Gbps services using Cisco’s nLight™ coherent Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology. The Cisco ONS 15454-powered solution provides 40/100Gbps capabilities across DukeNet’s Tier 1 footprint in the Carolinas, as well its Tier 2 and 3 markets throughout the Southeast. These have been some of the fastest growing states in the USA – and the amount of network demand in this region has been surging. This network investment proactively positions DukeNet to meet their customer demands right away.

Critically, this enhanced network was deployed without the need to replace existing fiber infrastructure which had been originally engineered for 10G – drastically reducing the cost of deployment. Cisco recognized years ago that as bandwidth consumption soared that a cost-effective way of enabling operators to deploy 100G would be essential to ensure that the Internet didn’t run into any growth bottlenecks. Now with Cisco nLight™ technology available on platforms such as the ONS15454 M6 DWDM and the Cisco CRS for the core many carriers are finding it to be a simple solution to their bandwidth needs that can work in over 95% of existing fiber in the ground (or underwater for that matter).

Tony Cockerham, DukeNet Communications, Chief Operating Officer says:

“Upgrading our legacy infrastructure to allow for 100G connections across key routes in our footprint is critical to our ability to continue meeting our customers’ growing demand for high-bandwidth services in an efficient manner.”

This isn’t the first time that DukeNet selected Cisco to expand their services. They had already set the stage for high speed IP traffic last year – including for IPv6 – with the deployment of the Cisco ASR 9000 for IP and MPLS services. “The growth of IP traffic driven by video, mobile and cloud applications requires network operators to ensure their infrastructure is ready for the growth in Internet-enabled devices, services and applications,” notes Cisco’s Bill Gartner, vice president and general manager, High End Routing and Optical. “We continue to enable new ways for our service provider customers to simplify the deployment of 100G services over existing fiber. It’s rewarding to see DukeNet leveraging our solutions to meet its own customer demand for greater bandwidth and services.”