Research and Markets : 2006 Research Available on Alcatel, Ciena, Cisco, and Other Metro Edge - SONET Products.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of Metro Edge - SONET product research to their offerings. These reports, written by an objective 3rd party, contain insight and analysis of the product or service strengths and weaknesses, list of buying criteria and how the product or service fares in each category, and a comprehensive table of product or service metrics and specifications. These reports are useful for purchasers who need to evaluate products or as a source of competitive intelligence for vendors.

The following reports are now available:

Alcatel 1677 SL (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c46162)

Alcatel's 1677 SL falls short of competing platforms in most key areas. While the SONET market is not Alcatel's strong suit, the lack of product development in the 1677 over the past year indicates that the vendor is focusing on other areas.

Ciena CN 3620 (OEM of Turin's Traverse 2000) (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reportinfo.asp?r=356143)

Ciena's CN3620 (an OEM of Turin's Traverse 2000) blends strong circuit switching with next- generation Ethernet (NGE) to create a well- rounded platform. However, mechanical issues such as high power consumption add to the product's OpEx burden.

Cisco ONS 15454 (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reportinfo.asp?r=356255)

Cisco's ONS 15454 is one of the most complete metro edge platforms available for SONET markets. However, the lack of high end capacity in several crucial areas holds the product back from being even more threatening to the competition.

ECI XDM 100 (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reportinfo.asp?r=356017)

ECI's XDM-100 is the vendor's new metro edge offering. High-end Ethernet support paired with a limited backplane - not to mention the lack of support for DS-1 circuits - might make it an odd fit at the network's edge.

Fujitsu FLASHWAVE 4500 (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reportinfo.asp?r=355649)

Supported by a well rounded feature set, Fujitsu's FLASHWAVE 4500 is one of the most deployed SONET metro edge platforms on the market. However, the lack of Ethernet switching could spell trouble as switched data services proliferate.

Lucent DMX Access Multiplexer (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reportinfo.asp?r=356013)

The Lucent DMX boasts Ethernet support at 9 Gbps per four-port GbE card or 45 Gbps per shelf, SFP optics, and a four-port SAN card using GFP and VCAT. In addition, it has strong traction among RBOCs, but it still trails in overall port density.

Nortel OME 6500 (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reportinfo.asp?r=356019)

Nortel provides many staples of a robust metro transport solution - strong port counts, ring termination capabilities, and several VT 1.5 switching matrices. However, now common features such as Ethernet switching and transmux are still lacking.

Companies Mentioned:

* Alcatel

* Ciena

* Cisco

* ECI

* Fujitsu

* Lucent

* Nortel