Secure Solution for Data Centre Connect

Today’s enterprises recognize that their data centres are continuously at risk from internal and external security threats. More than simply deploying antivirus and firewall defenses, enterprises must establish comprehensive IT security programs that protect a virtual and distributed environment of computing and storage resources. For these distributed resources to work effectively and meet diverse end-user requirements, applications require secure, low-latency real-time communications with guaranteed QoS. The data centre connect (DCC) infrastructure and optical fibers used for DCC transport are key components of a holistic and systematic IT security program.

Encryption is the algorithmic process that transforms data into unreadable cryptotext. Real-time, on-the-fly transformation is the only option for cost-effectively meeting end-user needs in an always-on world. L1 encryption is the preferred method for DCC, supporting higher-layer data flow across metro or long-haul Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) transport. Over secure optical DWDM links, L1 encryption maximizes capacity and performance for DCC.

The Alcatel-Lucent Secure Data Centre Connect Solution, an integral part of the industryleading Alcatel-Lucent 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) optical DWDM platform, addresses both enterprise and service-provider requirements, with L1 hardware encryption at 10G. The platform enables the encoding and decoding of Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption while introducing latency of less than 10 μs.

Management of an organization’s confidential data can be complex in today’s compliance-driven environment. The Alcatel-Lucent Data Centre Connect Solution provides the Alcatel-Lucent Key Management Tool, a secure, scalable application for encryption key life-cycle management.

The Alcatel-Lucent 1830 PSS can manage specific physical and logical security risks regarding individual network elements — including the ability to enable a secure hardened device configuration, comprehensive logs with intrusion prevention alarms, highly flexible optical interface redundancy options, and an optical intrusion detection feature that constantly monitors links for unexpected loss of signal strength from unauthorized optical fiber taping.

Alcatel-Lucent 1830 PSS for secure DCC

• Ethernet, Fibre Channel (FC) and InfiniBand® aggregation
• Integrated AES L1 encryption hardware at 10G
• T-ROADM wavelength switching
• Less than 10 μs latency
• Encryption key life-cycle management
• Optical intrusion protection
• Protection switching
• Secure configuration modes and comprehensive logging

Optimal Solution for Data Centre Connect

Today’s enterprises expect anywhere, anytime access to storage and computing from their service providers. Providers are therefore deploying virtual and shared resources across geographically diverse data centres – all connected with a high-speed, redundant mesh of links. These metro and long-haul links must deliver a high-quality experience to enterprises over providers’ data centre connect (DCC) networks.

Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) is the only technology that enables full network flexibility and adaptability at speeds of 100G and beyond, quick service turnup to meet changing bandwidth requirements, and ultra-low latency connectivity. DWDM offers transport-grade reliability of protocol-independent data to meet DCC requirements for Telcos/MSOs and application and content providers (ACPs). Ultimately, DWDM enables the highest throughput and lowest TCO for DCC.

Alcatel-Lucent is a worldwide leader in optical transport. Using internally developed silicon and technology from Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs, the Alcatel-Lucent 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) is the first DWDM platform that enables 100G coherent transport on a single-carrier wavelength. The 1830 PSS is a scalable, next-generation DWDM platform that supports data centre aggregation for Ethernet, Fibre Channel (FC) and InfiniBand® data sources. Multiprotocol services can then be dynamically and flexibly transported over metro and long-haul spans, using Tunable and Reconfigurable Optical Add-Drop Multiplexers (T-ROADMs) for optical wavelengths. In addition, the 1830 PSS enables converged support of full L2 Ethernet services over the optical network as well as integrated L1 encryption hardware for the secure transport of critical applications.

Alcatel-Lucent is a leader in optical solutions and has the largest deployed base of optical equipment in the world. The 1830 PSS is a best-in-class platform, designed to maximize wavelength utilization levels. This is the DWDM and T-ROADM solution that providers need today for DCC.

Alcatel-Lucent 1830 PSS for DCC with DWDM

• Ethernet, FC and InfiniBand
• T -ROADM up to 10 degrees
• 88 channels per optical pair
• More than 2 Tb/s capacity
• 100G coherent DP-QPSK
• Muxponders for 4 x 10GE or 10 x 10GE
• Photonics OAM&P
• Protection switching
• 1600 km to 3200 km reach
• Power <2 W per Gb/s
• Integrated wavelength and power management (Zero Touch Photonics)
• High availability
• Dynamic GMPLS control plane
• L 1 encryption hardware with key management
• Full L2 Ethernet

Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent Data Centre Connect solution provides the network architecture and professional services necessary to deliver new, high-value data-centre based services.

The Alcatel-Lucent Data Centre Connect solution interconnects distributed data centres to better leverage resource pools across the entire network and infrastructure. The solution helps service providers to monetize their network and gain a competitive advantage by offering data-center hosted services.

Benefits

The Alcatel-Lucent Data Centre Connect solution interconnects distributed data centres to better leverage resource pools across the entire network and infrastructure. The solution helps service providers to monetize their network and gain a competitive advantage by offering data-centre hosted services.

Maximizes the value of service networks by providing a platform for new services while increasing business agility, resiliency and efficiency across the network and data centre infrastructure.

Enables data centre administrators to deploy multiple customers or departments on the same machine, significantly increasing data centre efficiency and productivity and lowering capital expenditures/operating expenditures (CAPEX/OPEX).

Increase mobility by making it easier to seamlessly move groups of virtual machines between data centres and easily shift workloads between facilities.

Improve scalability with easy access for service providers to easily configure, move, scale up or scale down resources across the data centre fabric.

Enables users to access applications even during site failures.

Components

The Alcatel-Lucent DCC solution comprises a set of pre-defined use cases that provide different architectural scenarios for interconnecting data centres or large blocks of servers to other servers in one or more data centres. The use cases are based on the Alcatel-Lucent Service Router (SR) and Alcatel-Lucent 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) portfolios as well as the Alcatel-Lucent 5620 Service Aware Manager (SAM).

Alcatel-Lucent service capabilities are a key part of the Alcatel-Lucent Data Centre Connect solution. In addition to products, the solution includes services for network design, planning and, most important, a data centre automation offering. The automation offering is the Relevance platform, which is provided by ReachView Technologies™, an Alcatel-Lucent company. Our services team can use the Relevance platform to integrate multiple management systems within a customer’s environment.

Collateral

• Optimal Solutions for Data Centre Connect
• Secure Solutions for Data Centre Connect