Ciena Corp. has expanded its 6500 Packet-Optical Platform family with the new 6500 T-Series. The updated platform increases density and scalability compared with the existing 6500.

The new systems will supply as much as a 10x improvement in port density compared with the current generation of 6500. A single chassis will be able to scale from 2.4 Tbps to 24 Tbps. The system is designed to support a terabit per slot.

The product family initially will include a pair of systems, the 12-slot T-12 and the 24-slot T-24.

Verizon will use the 6500 T-Series as part of its U.S. metro network upgrade program.

Ciena also announced the creation of an open API support and the ability to leverage Ciena’s Emulation Cloud platform for the development and testing of apps for Ciena’s equipment.

Ciena also begun the process of integrating the 6500 into the Blue Planet Ecosystem. For details on the Cyan/Blue Planet acquisition, see http://www.truepulse.com/ciena-buys-cyan-and-blueplanet/

According to Scott McFeely, Ciena’s Senior Vice President, Networking Platforms Division, “The T-Series adds powerful new capabilities to our market-leading 6500 Packet-Optical Platform family and builds on its widespread installed base to help our customers build larger, more agile and robust networks that cater to rising web-scale demands today and well into the future.”

The 6500 platform came to Ciena through the 2009 purchase of the Nortel Metro Ethernet Networks and its OME6500 product line.
For more details on the announcement, see the Ciena Press Release