Carrier Ethernet

Networking major Cisco (News - Alert) announced that US Signal has deployed Cisco ASR 9000 Series to upgrade its Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network (IP NGN).

The new network is designed to support faster virtual Carrier Ethernet services and increase the adoption of its new Managed Data Center service, also known as Infrastructure-as-a-Service, by its enterprise customers, company officials said.  

US Signal manages one of the largest fiber optic networks in the Midwest of the United States, spreading to 12,000 fiber route miles metro rings in 23 strategic markets. The U.S. Signal optical backbone features advanced Cisco Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology in a highly resilient architecture.

US Signal's services delivered over the new protected IP NGN will enable the company to offer virtual Ethernet services up to 100 Gbps and grow its data center customer base. Further the Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers will offer enhanced capacity, high resiliency and robust IPv6 support.

“The Cisco ASR 9000 platform has enabled US Signal to rapidly scale out our next-generation network to meet growing customer bandwidth requirements,” said Aaron Shaver, director of product engineering, US Signal, in a statement. “Our collaboration with Cisco helps us maintain our industry-leading reputation, reduce infrastructure costs and is integral to our continued success.”

Featuring the modular Cisco IOS XR software operating system, the Cisco ASR 9000 Series simplifies network operations while enabling comprehensive system redundancy and intelligent routing for cloud computing-based services.

Additionally, the company has added US Signal Managed Data Center service designed to rapidly provision and host Virtual Private Servers accessible through the upgraded US Signal IP NGN. With this, US Signal becomes one of the first service providers in the Midwest to offer customers the opportunity to build virtual private cloud environments.

Surya Panditi, senior vice president and general manager, core technology group, Cisco, said, “We are pleased that US Signal has chosen the Cisco ASR 9000 Series as the foundation of its business and network. US Signal and Cisco have collaborated on this advanced, service-enabled IP Next-Generation Network that will help US Signal further its innovation of next-generation experiences for their customers.”

Recently Cisco announced that NTT (News - Alert) Plala has installed the Cisco Aggregation Services Router 9000 Series (ASR 9000) for its Internet access service. This service will enable NTT Plala to build a secure wideband Internet service infrastructure while reducing energy consumption.