IBC 2018: Cisco highlights upgrades for 5G, multicloud, and virtual production workflows
Cisco (stand 1.A71) is focused on creating networks that anticipate and respond to customer needs and shifting market conditions in real time, based on closed-loop automation and advanced analytics capabilities.
The company is unveiling continued innovation for its flagship service provider edge routing platform to support its customers’ business transitions, offering more flexibility with new licensing models to purchase capacity on demand.
Cisco ASR 9000
In the past ten years, more than 4500 service provider, enterprise, and public sector customers around the world have relied on the Cisco ASR 9000 edge routing platform to manage and deliver billions of connections over their networks.
Now the same edge routing platform thousands have grown to know and trust can carry them into the 5G and multicloud era with new automation software, a new networking processor powering high-density 100GE line cards to boost network performance, and enhancements to the IOS XR network operating system.
Continued Investment Protection with IOS XR Software Flexible Consumption Model
Service providers are building their IP infrastructures with end-to-end architecture evolution in mind to support multiple revenue-generating services, as well as preparing for inevitable shifts in traffic. To support these goals, Cisco is now offering network-wide pay-as-you-grow license pooling, allowing ports on the new-generation line cards to be activated on-demand, within deployed or new ASR 9000 chassis.
Customers no longer have to forecast capacity and purchase licenses on a site-by-site basis. Licenses can be dynamically allocated as across global networks, optimizing capex spend and simplifying capacity planning with a full network view.
Powered by Cisco IOS XR software, the ASR 9000 is automation ready. Service providers can now take advantage of the Cisco Crosswork Network Automation portfolio, the industry’s most comprehensive closed-loop, mass-scale automation solution that embraces multi-vendor networks. Architecture plus automation now primes Cisco customers for the most optimal cost footprint with operational agility.
“With these advancements to the Cisco ASR platform, we are simplifying, automating and converging our networking technology for the 5G and multicloud era,” says Sumeet Arora, senior vice president of engineering, Service Provider Network Systems, Cisco. “We are committed to helping our customers deliver better experiences for their customers, enabling them to optimize the capex spend with an easy roadmap for network planning purchasing and optimization.”
Virtualised Production Workflows
Telestream (stand 7.C16), Cisco, and file and object storage solutions provider Cloudian (stand 1.A71) announced they have a collaboration to support “at-home/REMI” production operations with virtualized production workflows. The joint solution, which will be highlighted at IBC 2018, is particularly valuable for organizations seeking to economically execute live remote productions.
The integrated workflow allows media production teams to virtualise and automate a huge portion of their remote operations. Customers who engage in any sort of remote production realize meaningful operational savings by leveraging home-base facilities and staff to rapidly produce more content for live, near-live, linear, and on-demand channels. This powerful and sophisticated set of media tools supports 4K/UHD/HDR content ingest, processing, and delivery, providing a key differentiator in competitive markets. Strategically integrated cloud capability provides agility and elasticity, allowing users to rapidly deploy and scale up and down as need demands.
“At-home or REMI production is creating a radical shift in the way our customers operate,” notes Chris Osika, CMO at Telestream. “By utilizing at-home production facilities to support remote operations, and integrating the cloud in key areas, our customers can quickly spin up new operations and send out more crews across the globe to capture and produce more content — including UHD/HDR content. That means more content to support their channels and satisfy their viewers. When our customers are supported by the best technology providers in the industry — companies such as Cisco, Telestream, and Cloudian — they can be assured that they are delivering the highest quality end-product. It is a game changer, no doubt.”
“Many broadcast and production organizations face challenges with archive infrastructures built on tape media that is costly and time consuming to manage, search, and protect, particularly with the growing popularity of capacity-intensive 4K and 8K media,” adds Jon Toor, CMO at Cloudian. “Cloudian’s limitlessly scalable active archive lets teams save time and derive greater value from their media by consolidating assets to a single pool that can be instantly accessed, searched and monetized.”
The Telestream-Cisco-Cloudian workflow highlighted at IBC has incoming SD, HD, and UHD/HDR feeds captured and encoded by Telestream Lightspeed Live and distributed to the content management system for immediate distribution or to Cloudian HyperStore for media storage and collaboration. Telestream Vantage Media Processing Platform and Telestream Cloud support sub-clipping on-site or by remote teams so that production can identify and request specific portions of content they want to work with. Cloudian HyperStore software, backed by the compute and store power of Cisco, provides files on-demand to production teams to act as a limitlessly-scalable, instantly-accessible media active archive. HyperStore provides rapid storage, data protection, search tools, and embedded metadata features to accelerate the workflow and facilitate the quick location of assets.
“Broadcast media production is rapidly adopting IP and cloud technology, which opens new opportunities for media and entertainment providers to accelerate their supply chains for creating content and engaging audiences,” says Roger Sherwood, Global Industry Director, Media and Entertainment, Cisco. “Our collaboration with Cloudian and Telestream at IBC showcases best-of-breed media production environments for our shared customer base seeking new and innovative workflows.”