Earlier this week Fujitsu Network Communications Inc. introduced another version of its FLASHWAVE Packet Optical Networking platform to add simplicity, density, and versatility to service provider transport networks. This product, the FLASHWAVE CDS Micro Packet Optical Networking Platform (Packet ONP), is described thusly:

Built on in-house designed OTN technology for superior performance, the FLASHWAVE CDS 6.1 complies with industry standards while exceeding the competition by providing 80G of non-blocking (any to any) ODU0/1/2 switching within a 2RU rack space -- the highest available density in the industry.

"The product is part of a new trend we are seeing in OTN moving closer to end customers -- from the core, initially, to the metro, and now from the metro edge," writes Heavy Reading analyst Sterling Perrin, in an email to Light Reading. Perrin notes that the product could help carriers save operational expenses because it is designed to transport and switch bits "at the lowest effective layer -- in this case using Layer 1 OTN instead of Layer 2 Ethernet." The density is needed to handle the growth of Ethernet traffic in service provider networks. For more

• Fujitsu Unveils Dense OTN Edge Switch
• OTN Switching Poised for Growth

— Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading