Infinera Announces Availability Of Cloud Xpress 2

Infinera has announced the general availability of the new Infinera Cloud Xpress 2, providing datacentre interconnect (DCI) operators 100 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) services. The Cloud Xpress 2 has already been deployed in major internet content provider (ICP) networks.

The Cloud Xpress 2 is the first platform deployed in live networks featuring the Infinera Infinite Capacity Engine (ICE4), powered by Infinera’s FlexCoherent Processor and fourth-generation photonic integrated circuit (PIC).

The Cloud Xpress 2 is based on ICE4, which incorporates Infinera’s  PIC technology to deliver a 1.2 Tb/s super-channel output. Also, offering extended reach without external amplification, the Cloud Xpress 2 is said to deliver the highest plug-and-play capacity-reach of any compact DCI platform, simplifying system design, deployment and operations.

The Cloud Xpress 2 builds on the success of the market-leading Cloud Xpress Family. According to industry analysts, from its introduction in 2014 through the end of 2016, Cloud Xpress revenue was more than double the rest of the compact purpose-built DCI market combined.

“Infinera raised the bar in the industry with the Cloud Xpress, beating its competition to the market with a platform purpose-built for DCI,” said Andrew Schmitt, founder and lead analyst at Cignal AI. “The general availability of the Cloud Xpress 2 places Infinera in a leadership position to continue meeting the challenging technical, cost and high-volume requirements of cloud and content provider networks.”

“Infinera has taken optical transport to the next level, by integrating ICE4 technology into Intelligent Transport Network platforms,” said Stuart Elby, senior vp of Cloud Network Strategy and Technology at Infinera. “Major ICPs are deploying the Cloud Xpress 2 for its extreme simplicity, multi-terabit scalability and efficiency. The early adoption of the Cloud Xpress 2 underscores our customers’ need for a purpose-built DCI solution to enable continued rapid growth in their hyperscale networks.”

The Infinera Cloud Xpress Family delivers cloud-optimised metro wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) solutions to cloud service providers, ICPs, internet exchange (IX) service providers, enterprise network operators and other large-scale datacentre operators. The Cloud Xpress Family offers customers the choice of 10 GbE, 40 GbE and 100 GbE client interfaces to meet their specific requirements.