Telesystem is migrating its network to a software-defined networking (SDN) approach, based on packet-optical transport systems from Cyan. The upgraded network will extend through sections of northwest Ohio and southern Michigan.
Telesystems said the goals are to create a path toward increasing network capacity while also increasing network reliability.
The company is deploying Cyan’s Z-Series packet-optical transport platforms, specifically, the 2.8 Tbps Z77 and 600 Gbps Z33 platforms, configured for complete component redundancy. Cyan said this level of redundancy will ensure 99.999 percent availability for Telesystem’s IP-based services (no more than 5.26 minutes of downtime per rolling year).
This configuration also delivers the capacity headroom required to scale the network as bandwidth demands increase, Cyan said.
Telesystem also will take advantage of Cyan’s Blue Planet apps such as Planet Operate, Planet View, and Planet Inventory to further enhance operational efficiencies. Cyan’s Blue Planet products are the basis of the SDN system, devised to improve service orchestration and network visualization.
Doug Ward, director of network operations with Toledo-based Telesystem, stated that, “It is of paramount importance that we deliver services to our customers exhibiting the highest possible levels of reliability. Many of our customers, healthcare for example, simply cannot operate effectively without the critical and always-on network services Telesystem provides. Cyan was able to satisfy our requirements not only through state-of-the-art packet-optical technology, but also with sophisticated software tools that allow us to move toward a software-defined network architecture.”
Telesystem caters to commercial customers primarily in the northwest/north central Ohio and southeast Michigan areas on its fiber and carrier-grade Ethernet core network. Telesystem is a subsidiary of Block Communications, whose other holdings include Buckeye CableSystem, the Toledo Blade, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette daily newspapers.
