Anaheim, Calif. -- Optical Fiber Communications Conference -- Cisco announced a new system that will essentially convert legacy time-division multiplexed traffic so that it can be carried on packet-switched networks. The new transport system was created to enable service providers to migrate their old TDM services to an IP/MPLS infrastructure.

Migrating TDM to packets has been costly and has forced some service providers deploying older transport networks to change or re-engineer their network configuration, Cisco said. The company says its new platform will allow telcos to build packet networks while still delivering their customers' TDM services at a fraction of the cost.

Cisco's Network Convergence System (NCS) 4200 Series, a new element in the company's Evolved Programmable Network (EPN), relies on high-density circuit emulation technology located at the network edge. It converts TDM services into pseudowires that facilitate transport over highly scalable MPLS core networks, Cisco explained.

The idea is to enable service providers to keep their existing operational models and service revenue while running all services over IP and retiring their older networks. In so doing, Cisco said a provider can reduce the space and power required over existing solutions by up to 90%.

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At the same time, Cisco announced it has increased density and flexibility for the Cisco NCS 4000 Series with a new 400G line card that doubles slot bandwidth to 400Gbps. The ports are flexible in terms of supporting OTN, packet, MPLS and coherent DWDM service.

When deployed in the Cisco NCS 4009 and NCS 4016 platforms, chassis density doubles to 3.6Tbps and 6.4Tbps, respectively, Cisco said.

Cisco provided a similar improvement with its NCS 2000 Series with a new line card that provides 400 Gbps of client and 400 Gbps of trunk capacity. The XPonder supports OTN, packet and coherent DWDM, potentially reducing costs for anyone mixing and matching and using a separate line card for each.

Verizon, which is moving to a next-generation 100G metro network in the US, will deploy the Cisco NCS Series on portions of its 100G metro network, the vendor said.

— Brian Santo, Senior Editor, Components, T&M, Light Reading