Enhanced network capabilities: the race for performance is top priority

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise has introduced new models in its OmniSwitch 6900 switching range, designed for enterprise data centres and core networks.

The company continues to improve its portfolio as part of its Digital Age Networking (DAN) strategy to ease the digital transformation of enterprise businesses in key vertical sectors.

Digital Age Networking relies on three pillars:

•       Autonomous network, to automatically and securely connect people, objects, processes and applications

•       Leveraging IoT networking with efficient and secure onboarding of devices using segmentation techniques to minimise the risk of compromising the entire network

•       Business Innovation through workflow automation, simplifying the creation of new, fully automated digital business processes to enable new revenue streams

The digital transformation of businesses is driving IT organisations to redesign their data centre and core networks. The new OmniSwitch 6900 offers high-end performance, suited for mission-critical applications requesting high-availability with simplified provisioning and management. The solution is based on the Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Operating System (AOS), with a large choice of network fabric protocols for virtualisation and micro-segmentation.

ALE high-density, Top-of-Rack (ToR) and core network platforms offer increased connectivity capacity for data centre and core networks with high-density, 100 GigE for the most demanding operations requiring extremely low latency and advanced capacity to support an accelerated digital transformation.

“The new OmniSwitch 6900-V48C8 and OS6900-X48 & T48, ToR supports high-speed bandwidth, with increased 10/25/100 GigE port density and greater virtualisation and segmentation capacities. The solution is particularly adapted to the use of bandwidth-sensitive applications including video surveillance, real time, high-definition video conferencing, and virtual or augmented reality. It is ideal for large campus networks with a high number of users and connected devices such as airports or transportation hubs, universities, hospitals, or government agencies with their own data centres,” says Stephan Robineau, Executive Vice President Networking Business at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise.

As with all Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise network products, OmniSwitch 6900 can be managed using the Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista network management platform, on premises or in the cloud. Key benefits of the data centre network platform include:

Low total cost of ownership

•       Competitively priced switches with integrated full-featured AOS software

•       Low-cost technical support and maintenance

•       Energy cost-saving with Virtual Chassis (VC) of small 1U switches for lower electricity consumption

Simpler operations with an Autonomous Network

•       Zero Touch deployment and maintenance with iFab and self-healing network

•       Zero Touch provisioning for network virtualisation with micro-segmentation

Higher network security

•       Common criteria EAL2+, FIPS 140-2, JTIC-certified hardware and software

•       Protection from cyber-attacks with secure diversified AOS software image

•       End-to-end MACsec encryption of network traffic

High network reliability

•       Virtual chassis architecture with In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU)

•       Devices and virtual machines with multi-link aggregation (LAG) and Dual Home Link (DHL) attachments

•       Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) for autonomous and self-healing network fabric with L2 and L3 service-based micro-segmentation

•       Built for mission-critical networks with Ethernet Ring Protection (ERP)/Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) for less than 50ms network convergence

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise will be announcing a new high density 100G model to its fixed chassis OmniSwitch 6900 range, which will be released by the end of 2021.