Infinera launches new ‘disruptive’ network architecture

Today Infinera announced a new end-to-end network architecture said to enable instantly scalable, self-optimizing networks that adapt to the demands of specific users and applications.

Toting the name 'The Infinite Network', the architecture expands the power of the company's Infinite Capacity Engine (ICE) and Instant Bandwidth operational model by introducing the newest generation of ICE technology, extending ICE and Instant Bandwidth to the network edge and integrating them into a new framework of open, disaggregated, packet-optimized solutions with network automation and machine learning.

"The Infinite Network builds on the innovations and advantages of Infinera's vertically integrated technology, delivering a powerful solution for our customers to meet the transformational demands of emerging next-generation services such as 5G, DAA and cloud-based services," says Infinera chief technical officer Parthiban Kandappan.

Kandappan says The Infinite Network has been designed to equip operators with the necessary tools to scale their networks efficiently to support bandwidth growth and new bandwidth-intensive and latency-sensitive applications including 5G services, Distributed Access Architectures (DAA), data center interconnection and cloud-based business services.

The architecture consists of three segments - the Infinite Core, The Infinite Edge, and Cognitive Networking - which Infinera asserts together provide end-to-end intelligence and automation from edge to core.

The Infinite Core, according to Infinera, provides powerful optical performance from metro to subsea, including 600 gigabits per second (Gb/s) per wavelength transmission, record-breaking capacity-reach performance and scalable software-defined capacity on demand with Instant Bandwidth.

Building on these capabilities, Infinera also announced today ICE6, its latest generation of vertically-integrated optical engine technology that is engineered to deliver up to 800 Gb/s per wavelength and an expanded toolkit of advanced coherent technologies

"Infinera continues to lead industry innovation with ICE6, delivering the first coherent 800G per wave solution to the market ahead of schedule," says Infinera founder and chief innovation officer Dr Dave Welch.

"Similar to the launch of ICE4, ICE6 will transform the market by delivering cutting-edge technology, designed in house, enabling network operators to respond to the insatiable demand for capacity quickly while optimizing costs.

As for the Infinite Edge, Infinera says it is designed to deliver comprehensive solutions for fiber-deep architectures, including 5G and DAA, as new services and cloud-based applications move closer to the edge.

Infinera also announced today a vision for extending ICE optical innovation and Instant Bandwidth to the network edge, encompassing a family of pluggable coherent optics that can be deployed deep into edge networks and virtualized lasers, a disruptive technology innovation that promises to dramatically reduce the cost and increase the flexibility of edge networks.

And finally Cognitive Networking, a technology Infinera says addresses operators' need to transform their operational models to increase efficiency and service agility. Today Infinera provides operators with software solutions supporting multi-layer, multi-vendor network automation and optimization across The Infinite Core and The Infinite Edge, powered by Infinera's Transcend software suite.

The Cognitive Networking vision is to integrate these real-time applications with real-time activation of Instant Bandwidth from edge to core, and add machine learning to continuously optimize application performance and network efficiency.