Windstream, a pure-play wireline operator in the US is deploying Ciena’s Blue Planet orchestration software to automate the delivery of managed wavelength services across the company’s multi-vendor optical network.
By leveraging the open orchestration capabilities of Blue Planet, Windstream is able to utilize its optical network as a programmable resource and accelerate the delivery of managed 1 GbE, 10 GbE, and 100 GbEwavelength services to its wholesale, enterprise, media and web-scale customers.
Windstream transport services include TDM, SONET, Ethernet and optical Wave transport services at speeds from 1G to 100G, delivered over its 125,000 mile, nationwide core network. Windstream adopted an agile, DevOps-style approach to developing and implementing automation in its network. This involved close collaboration amongst multiple vendors that allowed the project to go from concept to production in less than three months.
According to Ciena, Windstream is leveraging Blue Planet’s open architecture to integrate with third-party SDN controllers and enable service orchestration across the company’s long-haul and metro network. The platform provides Windstream with a simplified view of the multi-vendor optical layer, through which it can develop and provision new services, and manipulate existing ones, with greater speed, added Ciena.
Jeff Small, Head of Engineering, Windstream
We selected Ciena’s Blue Planet orchestration solution because of the richness and breadth of the technology, and its ability to grow with us as we automate other layers of the network and deliver agile, virtualized services to our customers.
Francois Locoh-Donou, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Ciena
With Blue Planet, Windstream can automate and program its network for rapid service turn-up and delivery, significantly reducing deployment times, increasing time to market of new services and driving competitive advantage.
