Cyan Inc., Software Defined Networking and Network Function

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks Cyan Inc., Software Defined Networking and Network Function

Previous 10 Next 10

From: FJB	2/11/2015 6:36:20 PM
	of 47

Cyan Targets DCI With 34 Terabit Platform lightreading.com Cyan is launching an ambitious play for the burgeoning data center interconnect (DCI) market Wednesday, targeting the largest Internet content providers with a new hyperscale transport platform and Linux-based software management tools. The Cyan Inc. N-Series Open Hyperscale Transport Platform is a new family of high-density, high-capacity optical transport boxes that compete immediately with Infinera Corp. (Nasdaq: INFN)'s CloudExpress -- launched last September -- and a host of other metro optical company products expected in the months ahead. (See Cyan Launches Hyperscale Transport Platform.) Cyan is touting two specific advantages -- fully loaded with 200-gig line interfaces, it can support 34 terabits per second per rack at a 30% energy savings for the lowest cost per gigabit, and the system is built on best-of-breed open hardware versus proprietary hardware for greater flexibility and faster upgrades. (See {doc710946}.) That maximum 34 Tbit/s compares with the CloudExpress max of 21 Tbit/s, says Cyan CMO Joe Cumello. The savings gained from that advantage matter greatly to Internet content providers operating at massive scale to deliver the rapidly growing volume of content over data networks, he says. "The N-Series offers the lowest cost per gig when moving traffic between data centers, which is what the hyperscale ICPs care about," Cumello says. It also operates in a single rack unit, versus Infinera's two rack units, with 800 Gbit/s per RU. Cyan is already selling into this market, which includes the likes of Google(Nasdaq: GOOG), Facebook and Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX), and has one large customer, who refuses to be named, Cumello says. Sterling Perrin, Heavy Reading analyst on all things packet-optical transport, says Cyan's N-Series does have the advantage over Infinera in terms of capacity and density "if they run with their 200-gig channels, which is what they talk about." "By using 16 QAM [modulation], they are able to crank up to 200-gig on what would otherwise be a 100-gig card," Perrin adds. That could help Cyan play well in the metro market where the distance limitations on 200-gig of about 600km aren't a problem. In ultra-long-haul applications, Infinera running 100-gig channels has the advantage, because of the distances involved, Perrin notes. "Infinera's CloudExpress is based on PIC [photonic integrated circuit] technology giving significant density and power consumption versus discrete components that were out there," he says. "Cyan is at least matching and in some cases exceeding in terms of what can be done with discrete components. It is interesting how fast the components technology has progressed and what can be done with it." Cyan also maintains it can increase density and capacity at a 2X pace every 12-to-18 months, in a COTS-based system, which would be much faster than is possible in a PIC-based approach, given the time cycles on PICs. By using COTS hardware, Cyan is building an infrastructure for interconnecting data centers that models the existing data center infrastructure, Cumello notes. "They have adopted white boxes and bare metal systems for their servers and top-of-rack systems; now they are looking to apply those same concepts to data center interconnection," he says. Proprietary network operating systems and Ethernet switches have given way to Linux-based operating systems and COTS-based Ethernet switches. "Cyan is basing N-series on best-in-breed COTS hardware combined with what is called Cyan Linux and Linux-based apps that sit on top of the hardware that allow the Internet content provider or cloud provider to operate this device in the same way that they operate their data center infrastructure," Cumello says. "This is all based on feedback from our customers and we think Cyan is the first to innovate in this area." Traditional management of data center interconnection is based on more closed telecom operating systems whereas the Linux-based approach will enable Internet content providers to develop their own Linux-based apps for greater flexibility and faster innovation, according to Cyan. "We are doing things the way data centers want to operate," says Abel Tong, director of solutions marketing for Cyan. "For data configuration and control in their networks, they are using tools like Ansible and Puppet -- maybe Chef also -- and the idea here is, because we are Linux and we are open, we allow data center operators to use these tools to manage their end-series devices: their servers, their switches, their storage infrastructure and their network infrastructure all the same way with the same set of automation tools they are used to." As part of that approach, Cyan is supporting the Open Computing Project's Open Network Install Environment (ONIE) specification for managing devices in an open disaggregated network. Perrin credits Cyan with building the N-Series from the ground up as a product specifically designed for the DCI market -- an area where he expects to see many more product announcements in coming months, given its rapid growth. "Our Metro 100G forecast shows that market growing at a 72% compound annual growth rate over the next few years and a big part of that is data center interconnection," Perrin says.

Share	RecommendKeepReply Mark as Last Read Read Replies (1)

To: FJB who wrote (18)	2/11/2015 6:43:23 PM
From: FJB	of 47

This article talks about CloudExpress as much as Cyan's new gear.

Share	RecommendKeepReply Mark as Last Read

From: FJB	2/12/2015 10:20:03 AM
	of 47

Cyan makes data center interconnect play with N-Series February 11, 2015 Author Stephen Hardy Editorial Director and Associate Publisher Cyan has emphasized an open, SDN-friendly approach in the design of the N11 Open Hyperscale Transport Platform Packet-optical transport and software-defined networking (SDN) platform developer Cyan (NYSE:CYNI) has unveiled the first member of the N-Series Open Hyperscale Transport Platform (OHTP) family. The N11 is designed to offer high-capacity, low cost, and small footprint for cloud, content, and data center operators who are interested in a rapidly scalable platform based on 100G interfaces and compatible with SDN frameworks. The N11 delivers 800 Gbps of transport capability in a 1RU package. It will offer both 4x100G client-side and 2x200G coherent line-side optical transceiver interfaces. The platform will support optical reaches of greater than 2,000 km; it is compatible with the company's Z-Series packet-optical transport systems to enable multiplexing of multiple N11-generated wavelengths, if necessary, for a total transmission capacity per fiber of 19.2 Tbps. The box, built with as much commercial off-the-shelf technology as possible, runs via the new Cyan Linux Network OS. The OS, built using the Ubuntu version of Linux, is engineered to provide an open gateway between Linux-based applications and both current and future optical platform advances â€“ including, potentially, optical transport platforms not developed by Cyan. The design is in the spirit of the "white box" movement within the SDN realm; Cyan's Joe Cumello, Kevin Wade, and Abel Tong called the hardware platform a "Lite-Box." The N11 also conforms to the Open Compute Project's Open Network Install Environment (ONIE) specification. The N-Series targets the same application space as BTI Systems' 7800 Series Intelligent Cloud Connect platforms and Infinera's Cloud Xpress (see "Intelligent Cloud Connect from BTI Systems targets SDN-enabled cloud services" and "Infinera ships Cloud Xpress platform"). The Cyan sources took aim at the latter in discussing competitive alternatives to their new offering. While acknowledging that Infinera offers more capacity per box (1 Tbps versus Cyan's 800 Gbps), the Cyan crew pointed out that their system is only half the size. Therefore, one can fit more capacity (34 Tbps) and 100G ports (168) into a 42RU frame, the Cyan spokesmen asserted. This would lead to a 30% gain in energy efficiency, they added. Meanwhile, while Infinera has engineered the Cloud Xpress to accommodate a variety of client-side interfaces, the Cyan sources asserted that their research â€“ including discussions with a current large Internet content provider customer they couldn't name -- indicated that their target demographic favors 100 Gbps. Also, they expressed confidence that advances in optical transceiver design would enable them to keep pace better with future capacity and density requirements. Cyan plans to have the N11 ready for customer trials in the second quarter of the year and for actual sales by early in the third quarter.

Share	RecommendKeepReply Mark as Last Read

From: FJB	2/13/2015 9:51:13 AM
	of 47

This stock is on quite a roll. Almost doubled from the bottom several months back.

Share	RecommendKeepReply Mark as Last Read

From: FJB	2/18/2015 10:42:13 AM
	of 47

Moment of truth this afternoon. They better say some big customers signed up for Blue Planet in the CC, or this thing will crash back to $3 tomorrow. We know the results will be ugly again. They need to say Blue Planet is now being purchased by large customers...

Share	RecommendKeepReply Mark as Last Read

From: FJB	2/18/2015 10:54:53 AM
	of 47

IP & Optical Take Different Roads Toward Integration I spoke with Heavy Reading senior analyst Sterling Perrin recently about issues expected to affect the optical transport sector in 2015. <a href="http://www.lightreading.com/optical/100g/metro-100g-get-excited-but-not-too-excited/a/d-id/713338" target="Part 1 of our conversationfocused heavily on metro 100G. Here's Part 2, in which Perrin digs into the integration of IP and optical at both the hardware and software layers. Light Reading: IP+Optical integration is becoming an increasingly popular topic. But what are we really talking about? Sterling Perrin: There are two pieces to it. There's the physical integration of the IP and the optics in the same piece of hardware, which is similar in concept to what has been talked about for a decade-plus with IP plus DWDM and IP over glass concepts. The newer piece, which is driving a lot of the recent interest, is the management and control plane integration of the IP and optical layers, which a lot of operators are interested in now. Along with the coming of SDN, and its promise to make things open rather than proprietary, operators will have a lot of opportunities that were closed to them with the proprietary hardware integration. Light Reading: How is the industry coming along with software layer integration? Perrin: I don't see a lot yet being done by the operators. There are some road blocks. The big road block when you talk to the big network operators is that they really need things to be fully open and standardized. In our <a href="http://www.lightreading.com/webinar.asp?webinar_id=418" target="recent webinar, the Telefónica story in general was that they are really trying to drive a lot of that standardization of the software control between the two layers. Years ago, they developed software of their own that could glue products together, but the problem was that they had to do all that work themselves and it was specific to the specific vendors they were using and the specific releases of those vendors. So, the problem that Telefónica has, and really any large operator trying to do things at scale, is that if you don't have standards, then every time you change vendors or every time a vendor comes out with a new product or new releases, you're going back to the drawing board and reworking all of your software that's integrating those layers. Light Reading: And that has some impact on scalability, right? Perrin: What it means is that you can't scale efficiently, and if you can't scale efficiently, there is really not much reason to do it. The challenges outweigh the benefits, so it really needs to be open and standardized. Even though operators have historically done things on their own to glue their own vendors together, that's really not the end game this time. Light Reading: Is this where SDN comes into the mix? Perrin: That's why SDN is so important. Where we are right now is that different operators and different vendors are coming up with different means to integrate the layers with software, and putting them in standards bodies, and the standards bodies are working with them and trying to come to agreement. We're probably still several years away from a point where this is shaken out and the industry has a clear roadmap for standards. Transport SDN is a subset of carrier SDN. It's interesting that a lot of the carrier SDN discussion so far has been dominated by the optics guys. Operators are more interested in SDN driven by the IP guys. SDN benefits are primarily in Layer 3, and if you're viewing optics in isolation, it's way down at the bottom of why operators want SDN. Light Reading: Is physical integration of IP and optical going any better than at the software level? Perrin: The physical integration is an easier story because if you buy into a vendor's box that has that physical integration, that's the end of the story. But this has been slow to move. There was a lot of talk a year ago, even two years ago, from vendors about boxes that would integrate, but it's been hard to pull from these guys what's actually been bought and sold and deployed. There is still interest in the physical integration, though. If you look at IP and optical in the metro market, it really does seem like operators and vendors are starting to integrate the two physically, but the numbers are hard to get at. It's still fairly new, and not a lot of it has been done yet. Potentially, over time, that could be a good opportunity as well. Light Reading: What are a few examples of how vendors are doing physical integration? Perrin: Juniper has the PTX 3000 for metro, which they've integrated with optics. Cisco has integrated optics on its edge routers. Then they've got their next-generation NCX 4000 product, which is also does the same sort of integration, integrating packet from the transport side. Alcatel-Lucent has talked about and introduced some things. Ciena has the 8700, which they came out with in the fall of last year integrating Layer 2 and WDM optics. So those are some of the products. There have been some announced and also some available, but in terms of what's being deployed, the market hasn't taken to them yet. Light Reading: If software-based integration accelerates, will physical integration accelerate in parallel or slow down and become less of a priority? Perrin: I think you have to look at the core and the metro a bit differently. The way forward for the core is going to be management and control integration. There doesn't seem to be a lot of appetite for physical integration there. You're dealing with massive capacity, and then there's distance. What's happening with 100G, with the amount of capacity that's needed and the distance requirements, you're seeing the client side density of 100G is better than the line side of 100G. To boost those distances, there's other stuff that needs to go into these 100G transponders, making them bulkier and costlier. Basically, it's a faceplate problem. You give up capacity in a router if you put line side 100G optics in it versus just putting it in the client side. So, you're wasting expensive, much-needed capacity. For those reasons, I don't think the core is going to be where the physical integration occurs. Light Reading: And what about the metro? Perrin: We're seeing specific metro 100G transponders with shorter distance capability because they eliminate all of the bulky electronics that are used to boost distances to thousands of kilometers for long-haul. We've seen the CFP form factor [smaller and lower power] optics going on metro boxes. It's the same form factor as the client side 100G, but it's also doing the line side, so you're not making that faceplate sacrifice. It may be that CFP-2 is the place where we see the physical integration occur. Operators might just be waiting for that CFP-2 wave to take hold because they don't want to waste capacity.

Share	RecommendKeepReply Mark as Last Read

From: FJB	2/18/2015 11:05:24 AM
	of 47

Excerpt of previously posted article: Cumello tells us that Cyan will further elaborate on the reasons for its change in outlook when the company reports fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 18. For now, he's dancing around the question of how much the higher revenue projection has to do with the Windstream deal, saying that Cyan saw increased interest "across all markets" for its optical and SDN/NFV products. Industry analysts are keenly watching Cyan for some progress in converting its numerous SDN/NFV trials into paying contracts. This week's statement from the company also reiterated CEO Floyd's earlier projection that Cyan will do just that during the first half of this year, but how soon such contract wins will translate into revenue remains to be seen. "We remain concerned that Tier 1 carriers are notoriously slow-moving, and it might be a few quarters before Blue Planet [Cyan's SDN software platform] could hit the top-line for these Tier 1 opportunities," says George Notter, analyst with Jefferies, in a research note. Lagging SDN purchasing cycles were part of what drove Cyan to size up new funding options late last year. In December, it announced a sale of Convertible Senior Secured Notes to obtain more than $46 million to be used to support ongoing business operations. lightreading.com

Share	RecommendKeepReply Mark as Last Read Read Replies (1)

To: FJB who wrote (24)	2/18/2015 11:08:58 AM
From: FJB	of 47

Cisco, Juniper routers now orbit Cyanâ€™s Blue Planet SDN platform October 8, 2014 Author Stephen Hardy Editorial Director and Associate Publisher Optical transport and software-defined networking (SDN) platform Cyan (NYSE:CYNI) says it has developed element adapters that enable its Blue Planet SDN platform to automate, manage, inventory, and provision Ethernet services across a range of Cisco and Juniper Networks routers. The development of the element adapters underscores Blue Planetâ€™s multi-layer capabilities and likely will increase the attractiveness of the platform, given the ubiquity of the Cisco and Juniper routers in the field. The routers the new element managers cover include the Cisco ASR 901, ASR 903, ASR 9000, and ME 3600 as well as the Juniper MX960, MX480, and MX2010. The effectiveness of the element managers is limited to Ethernet services, according to Cyan CMO Joe Cumello; however, capabilities that would enable the automation and control of IP services via these routers could follow. The Blue Planet uses auto-discovery capabilities to detect and categorize the capabilities of the Cisco and Juniper routers in the carrierâ€™s network. It then enables point-and-click provisioning of services via a template based on Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) Carrier Ethernet 2.0 principles. Cyan developed the element managers at the behest of a major customer Cumello did not identify. Asked if Cisco and Juniper cooperated in the development of the element managers, Cumello did not answer the question directly, but noted that when multiple vendors cooperate in such a venture, itâ€™s usually at the insistence of a joint customer. The element managers leverage Blue Planetâ€™s support of CLI and NETCONF/YANG interfaces and protocols, both of which are common in the router world. The CLI interface was important for communicating with the Cisco routers, while NETCONF/YANG (a development of the IETF) provided the key that unlocked Juniperâ€™s door. The support of CLI and NETCONF/YANG likely will ease Cyanâ€™s ability to bring routers from other vendors into the Blue Planet fold. Cumello said the company has streamlined the element manager development process to the point that this project took about a month. Cyan currently is demonstrating the new capabilities and supporting customer trials. The element manager should become commercial available with the next Blue Planet software release, which Cyan expects will occur in the fourth quarter of this year.

Share	RecommendKeepReply Mark as Last Read

From: FJB	2/18/2015 4:07:56 PM
	of 47

PETALUMA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cyan ( CYNI), a leading provider of SDN, NFV, and packet-optical solutions for network operators, today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2014. Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2014 was $30.5 million, up 14% when compared with $26.6 million for the third quarter of 2014 and up 46% when compared with $20.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2013. GAAP net loss for the fourth quarter was $15.0 million, or $0.32 per share, compared to a net loss of $11.7 million, or $0.25 per share, in the third quarter of 2014 and a net loss of $13.7 million, or $0.29 per share, in the same period last year. On a non-GAAP basis, Cyan's net loss for the fourth quarter was $7.1 million, or $0.15 per share. This compares to a non-GAAP net loss of $9.1 million, or $0.19 per share, in the third quarter of 2014 and a non-GAAP net loss of $11.5 million, or $0.25 per share, in the same period last year. Both GAAP and non-GAAP net loss per share figures for the fourth quarter of 2014 are based on 47.2 million basic weighted average shares outstanding. "We are very pleased with our fourth quarter results as revenue in the fourth quarter well exceeded our expectations and led to a solid close to the year," said Mark Floyd, Cyan’s chairman and chief executive officer. "Our strong fourth quarter bookings were driven by demand across our customer base and our expanding footprint within our largest customer. We are seeing good momentum with our Z-Series Packet Optical Platform fostered by 100G metro and regional carrier deployments. Furthermore, commercial interest for our Blue Planet SDN and NFV software platform has accelerated and we are excited about our role as the supplier of choice for critical network transformation technology.” Revenue for fiscal year 2014 totaled $100.5 million, compared with $116.6 million in 2013. GAAP net loss for 2014 was $59.2 million, or $1.26 per share, compared with a net loss of $40.7 million, or $1.32 per share in 2013. Non-GAAP net loss for 2014 was $43.3 million, or $0.92 per share, compared with a non-GAAP net loss of $30.9 million, or $1.00 per share in 2013. Non-GAAP results for the year ended both December 31, 2014 and 2013 exclude the effect of stock-based compensation. Non-GAAP results for the year ended December 31, 2013 also exclude the effects of preferred stock warrants that were converted in connection with our initial public offering. In connection with its IPO in May 2013, the company issued 8.9 million shares of common stock and 34.7 million shares of preferred stock converted into common stock. Non-GAAP results for the year ended December 31, 2014 also exclude charges related to certain restructuring activities undertaken during the fourth quarter and non-cash charges relating to the company’s convertible debt obligation. Please refer to the attached financial statements for additional non-GAAP information and a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results as well as information regarding weighted average shares outstanding in each period. Recent Highlights Announced the N-Series Open Hyperscale Transport Platform, a new family of high-density, high-capacity transport products designed for cloud, content, and data center interconnect networks Broadened Cyan’s distribution network with the addition of Kordia New Zealand to provide additional coverage in the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand Selected by Windstream to help upgrade its regional and metro networks across major markets to 100G Completed a convertible note offering in December generating gross proceeds of $50 million Conference Call Cyan will host a conference call for analysts and investors to discuss its fourth quarter and year 2014 results as well as guidance for its first quarter of 2015 today at 2:00 p.m. Pacific time. To access the live call, please dial 1-888-417-8516 (US or Canada) or 1-719-785-1753 (international) and use the password: Cyan. A telephonic replay of the call will be available from approximately 5:00 p.m. Pacific time on February 18, 2015 until 5:00 p.m. Pacific time on March 4, 2015, and can be accessed by dialing 1-888-203-1112 or 1-719-457-0820 and entering passcode 2379692#. A live audio webcast of the conference call also will be available from the Investors section of the company's website, www.cyaninc.com. Following the webcast, an archived version will be available on the website for 90 days.

Share	RecommendKeepReply Mark as Last Read Read Replies (1)

To: FJB who wrote (26)	2/18/2015 5:08:10 PM
From: FJB	of 47

WHOOP, WHOOP, RED ALERT. They won two RFPs for Blue Planet, one with a Tier ONE. This is going higher!!!

Share	RecommendKeepReply Mark as Last Read Read Replies (1)