Fiber-optic network services provider XO Communications says it will offer bandwidth-on-demand capabilities to its WAN business customers. The feature will enable the network to accommodate unexpected spikes in traffic while maintaining pre-selected quality of service (QoS) characteristics, XO asserts.
XO Communications says the new bandwidth-on-demand capabilities will prove particularly useful to customers of such WAN services as MPLS IP-VPN and VPLS. Such customers will no longer have to ponder whether they should buy additional “over the top” bandwidth as a buffer for their standard service packages. Bandwidth on demand will simplify service planning for customers as well, XO says.
"Companies used to have to provision network connectivity, circuit by circuit, purchasing and maintaining the maximum capacity required at any given moment, a costly and inefficient approach to network design," said Don MacNeil, chief operating officer at XO Communications. "XO Communications takes an innovative approach to networking, allowing the network to flex on-demand. For example, a business can cost-efficiently commit to and pay for a low average usage rate, but have the assurance of increasing bandwidth, on the fly and with assured performance, without having to predict and pre-schedule for anticipated periods of peak usage."
XO believes its customers will find bandwidth on demand useful in a variety of circumstances, such as network connectivity to public, private, virtual private, and hybrid cloud environments. XO Communications also recently announced that it is a Direct Connect Partner of Amazon Web Services (AWS).
"The cloud has gone mainstream and its effect on the network is of paramount importance. A recent study by Forrester Consulting, 'Building for the Future: What the New World of Cloud IT Means for the Network,' found that 75% of enterprises are using or plan to use cloud-based services. Of these, 88% believe that cloud-based services will have an impact on the network, which clearly demonstrates the need for, and the importance of flexible and scalable network designs that include the bandwidth-on-demand capabilities," MacNeil added.
Recent suppliers of optical transport hardware for XO’s network include Coriant (as Nokia Siemens Networks, see “XO Communications chooses Nokia Siemens Networks for nationwide 100G network”), Ciena (see “XO Communications adds Ciena to 100-Gbps roster”), and Transmode (see “XO Communications upgrades metro network capacity with Transmode”). The service provider also installed hardware from Infinera in 2007 (see “XO Communications increases capacity with Infinera's DTN system”); the two companies trialed Infinera’s 500G photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology in 2010 (see "Infinera, XO Communications field trial 100G transmission over 1348 km").
For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.
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