Published in PC Hardware

Nokia launches faster network chips

by on15 June 2017


Kicking Juniper and Cisco right in the router

Nokia launched what it thinks are the world's fastest network chips and delivered a swift kick to the bottom line of Juniper and Cisco.

The new traffic routers can handle the greater demands of virtual reality programming, cloud-based internet services and next-generation mobile communications, the Finnish company said.

Nokia's new products, which grew out of its $17.5 billion acquisition of Alcatel and its IP network gear business. If everything that Nokia says is true, it should score business from companies such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon. 

While Nokia's traditional telephone companies are not buying, "web-scale" customers are writing cheques to speed up their networks.

The routers are compatible with older products and will also serve Nokia's existing customers who want speed but must still contend with legacy gear needed to run existing services.

The former Alcatel IP networks business is already the world's No. 2 player in edge routers behind Cisco, having displaced Juniper Networks, which is now No. 3.

Nokia said it is introducing its latest FP4 silicon chipset capable of processing data at 2.4 terabits per second. The new chipsets are set to ship in the fourth quarter, with routers running FP4 chips ready in the first quarter of next year.

These will be built into routers to operate both ultra high-speed "core" networks at the heart of the biggest internet services and also "edge" networks that link datacentres to front-line customer services on mobile or fixed-line networks.

FP4 chips, which are manufactured for Nokia by Taiwan's TSMC are designed using circuits as narrow as 16 nanometres apart, skipping 22- and 28-nanometer-sized circuits compared to the prior FP3 processor built at 40-nanometer scale, Nokia said.

Nokia is introducing the 7950 petabit-class router aimed at the core routing market to help it win business from customers such as Apple and Facebook. A petabit can transmit 5,000 two-hour-long high-definition videos every second.For edge network customers, Nokia is introducing its 7750 router, offering the highest traffic capacity on the market.

The Nokia 7750 is supposed to deliver speeds of up to 4.8 terabits per slot, compared with Juniper's 3 terabit edge router speeds, which had been the industry's fastest. A terabit can transfer a high-definition Netflix TV episode in one second.

 

Last modified on 15 June 2017
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