Cisco Advances Global Leadership in Optical Multiservice Transport Upgrades; New Features to Cisco ONS 15454 Platform Help Enable TietoEnator and DataGroup Improve Operational Efficiencies and More Rapidly Launch New Services.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Cisco Systems(R) (NASDAQ:CSCO) today unveiled hardware and software upgrades for its Cisco ONS optical networking portfolio that give service providers and enterprises greater flexibility in delivering new services as well as more ability to scale their networks and manage their optical infrastructures.

Available today on the industry-leading Cisco(R) ONS 15454 Multiservice Transport Platform (MSTP), the latest hardware and software features will help users generate new revenue streams and move toward more efficient, flexible, Internet Protocol (IP) and Ethernet-based networks, helping them reduce capital and operating expenses.

TietoEnator, an international information technology (IT) services provider based in Finland, has deployed the most recent Cisco ONS 15454 platform upgrades. TietoEnator aims to provision new high speed customer site connections much more rapidly using software and the reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexing (ROADM) capabilities of the new solution. For more information, refer to separate Cisco news releases issued today entitled, "TietoEnator to Deliver Managed Data, Storage and Mainframe Connectivity Services with Cisco Multiservice Optical Networking Solutions."

DataGroup, a Ukrainian telecommunications company, recently introduced a new portfolio of high-capacity services based on the Cisco ONS 15454 Multiservice Transport Platform (MSTP). The new 6500-kilometer countrywide fiber-optic network provides the dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) backbone for delivering Ethernet-based services in all regional centers of Ukraine. In addition, it will help enable DataGroup to take advantage of the ROADM capabilities of the Cisco solution to speed service delivery.

"In evaluating the Cisco portfolio, we recognized that the flexible reconfigurable nature of the Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP would help us considerably lower operational costs by allowing us to easily provision new services," said Alexander Atamenko, Fibre Optic Network Deployment Project Manager for DataGroup. "In a geographically diverse area such as Ukraine, the ability to reduce total cost of ownership by modifying our network configuration remotely with limited manual intervention or service interruption was one of the major factors in our choice."

"Upgrading our optical solutions is significant because it provides features that give service providers like TietoEnator and DataGroup competitive edges," said Kelly Ahuja, Cisco vice president and general manager, core routing business unit. "These enhancements are part of our commitment to service providers and enterprises during their transitions to Internet protocol-based infrastructure, all driven by the Cisco IP NGN architecture."

The Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP provides ROADM and intelligent DWDM functions, which help ensure the flexibility and ease of use that are now characteristics of today's photonic layer of metropolitan and regional networks.

Customer-Focused Features for Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP

Ahuja said many of the new features available today on the Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP will give service providers and enterprises greater control of their businesses and help them succeed against competitive and market threats. Those features include:

--10-Gbps data muxponder; a unit that provides data and storage services aggregation over a 10 Gbps wavelength, allowing a variety of data and storage services to be efficiently bundled and transported over a single optical wavelength;

--32-channel ROADM-based long-band (L-band) solution, which includes ROADMs and optical amplifiers, transponders and muxponders. These units allow up to 32 wavelengths (100 GHz-spaced)to be transported in the L-band region of the transmission spectrum;

--Full center-band (C-band) and L-band tunability for 10-Gbps transponder and muxponder cards on 50GHz channel grid;

--Enterprise systems connection (ESCON) support on 2.5-Gbps data muxponder;

--Multi-shelf management, which allows centralized provisioning and management of multiple shelves at each DWDM node location;

--Network-level alarm correlation, which provides simplified trouble-shooting capabilities for an MSTP-based DWDM network, resulting in quicker root cause determination and problem resolution;

--Future in-service mesh/multi-ring upgrade capability for ROADM-based networks requiring multi-degree applications; and

--Alien lambda support, which allows for insertion of 10 Gbps or 40 Gbps non-ONS wavelengths into the ROADM network. This means the possible direct interconnection of routers and switches, enabling the elimination of transponders in some cases

Product Availability

The Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP is available now and varies in price based on configuration. For more information on the Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP hardware and software upgrades, visit Cisco at www.cisco.com/go/opticalr7.

About Cisco Optical Networking

The Cisco optical networking portfolio is a part of the Cisco's IP NGN, an architecture that enables telecom services providers -- such as TietoEnator and DataGroup -- to migrate and deliver services to IP-based networks. By adopting Cisco IP NGN, these service providers can deliver innovative new services to their customers with greater velocity. Also, service providers can improve their operational and capital expenditure efficiencies while advancing the network technology and service control that they and their customers need for long-term business success.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Information on Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

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