KVH leverages Cyan SDN for etherXEN burstable Ethernet service

Japanese network service provider KVH Co., Ltd. says it will use the Blue Planet software-defined networking (SDN) capabilities of the Cyan (NYSE: CYNI) Z-Series metro packet-optical transport platform to enable dynamic bandwidth allocation capabilities as part of its new “etherXEN” Ethernet services suite. In addition to the bandwidth allocation capabilities, which will enable customers to “burst” to higher data rates when requirements warrant, the use of SDN will also enable KVH to turn up services faster than its competition and at reduced costs that KVH can pass to customers, sources at Cyan say.

KVH will roll out etherXEN this month in Tokyo, Kawasaki, Yokohama, and Osaka. The service provider says it will begin to offer the burstable capabilities this August and 100-Gbps data rates next year. The services suite includes Ethernet private line and virtual private line, the Multi-Connect E-LAN multipoint-to-multipoint connectivity service (available this August), and dedicated private network connections to Amazon Web Services. KVH will offer both “Dual Class” services with guaranteed end-to-end connectivity and “Single Class” that offers network redundancy in the network core.

Thanks to the capabilities of the Z-Series and Blue Planet, KVH will be able to differentiate itself via rapid service turnup, Cyan Chief Marketing Officer Joe Cumello and Abel Tong, director of solutions marketing say. KVH estimates that it can launch new services to on-net buildings in as little as 10 business days. The cost of creating services also is lower than with conventional technologies, the Cyan sources asserted; KVH says it can offer etherXEN services at prices up to 30% lower than those of current service providers.

In addition to its activities in Japan, KVH also provides connectivity to major financial markets worldwide. Cumello and Tong expect KVH to roll out etherXEN across its global footprint, but declined to confirm that this would entail deploying the Cyan technology on an equivalent scale.

In addition to the Cyan products, KVH will deploy Accedian’s MetroNODE LT and GT networking nodes in the four Japanese cities.

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