7/22/2008 -- Cisco Systems Inc. likes to talk up its seminal involvement with IP-over-dense-wavelength-division-multiplexing (IPoDWDM) technologies, which it claims it was first (among big-name vendors, anyway) to bring to market.

The networking giant was at it again last week, touting a series of IPoDWDM enhancements that it says make it easier -- i.e., both technologically feasible and affordable -- for service providers to deliver bandwidth-hungry triple-play services to customers.

On top of its IPoDWDM technology refresh, of course, Cisco last week touted a signal case of IPoDWDM in action: a field trial with telco giant Sprint, which is using Cisco's CRS-1 uber-router and IPoDWDM technology to support next-gen triple-play services.

On the IPoDWDM enhancements tip, Cisco touted port speeds of up to 40 Gbps, as well as support for integrated packet and optical transport layers.

Elsewhere, Cisco announced a new 40 Gbps physical line module for CRS-1 that can safely support 40-Gbps IPoDWDM connections of up to 2,000 kilometers without regeneration. Cisco also extended IPoDWDM to its XR 12000 and 12000 Series routers, via a new 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) shared port adapter which supports 10 Gbps connections over a similar distance (viz., 2,000 kilometers).

Other IPoDWDM enhancements include a new omni-directional colorless mesh ROADM (or reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer, in geek-speak), which both decreases truck rolls and can reduce power, space and cooling requirements by up to 50 percent.

Cisco also claims to have developed a new "proactive protection" feature which -- thanks to lower failover benchmarks (15 milliseconds, compared to an industry-standard 50 milliseconds) -- helps protect video and data traffic against fiber cuts.

It's all part of Cisco's efforts to promote IPoDWDM -- and burnish its own IPoDWDM credentials, for that matter. "Service provider customers around the world are upgrading their networks to include an IPoDWDM interface module with the Cisco CRS-1 platform," said Cisco VP and General Manager Kelly Ahuja in a statement. "By incorporating optical technologies directly into its most advanced and highest-capacity routers, Cisco offers service providers with the flexibility, scalability, ease of installation and management necessary to maximize their returns on network investments." --Stephen Swoyer