Cox Communications has certified Ciena Corp.’s FlexSelect Advanced Service Platform for deployment in the MSO’s metro and regional networks. Cox will use the gear to aggregate and transport traffic tied to residential voice, video and data services, as well as business offerings.

Cox has already deployed the CN 4200, the flagship of Ciena’s FlexSelect architecture, in “several” regions initially to support high-speed data and commercial services. The MSO is also using optical Ethernet equipment from the vendor for video-on-demand transport.

The CN 4200 supports a range of transport protocols, including Sonet, GigE and 10 GigE, as well as a set of storage platforms, including Fibre Channel, FICON and ESCON.
 
“Part of our ongoing strategy is to shift away from service-specific equipment and evolve to a converged, multi-service network that can adapt to the changing demands from residential and business customers over time,” said Cox Director of Network Architecture Darryl Ladd. The CN 4200, he added, will reduce Cox wavelength utilization and enable the company to leverage a single line card for Sonet, GigE and storage services on different reprogrammable ports, rather than needing to install different line cards or network devices.