What is our primary use case?
Cisco Optical Networking's main use case is to convert data center connectivity by connecting data centers over high-speed optical links for large-scale data transfer and disaster recovery. It is also utilized for telecom networks to transport large volumes of voice, video, or internet traffic between cities and regions.
Recently, I have used Cisco Optical Networking by checking existing fiber capacity, bandwidth, uses, and traffic requirements in a project. Additionally, I design DWDM wavelengths and optical transport equipment to increase capacity. On the configuration side, I use optical interfaces, transponders, and ROADM paths as supported by the deployed platform.
I connect optical equipment, specifically Cisco Optical Networking transport equipment, to fiber optic links, where optical trans-receivers and electrical trans-receivers transfer electric data into a light signal. I configure wavelengths via DWDM technology with multiple wavelengths to configure actual equipment or network design.
How has it helped my organization?
Cisco Optical Networking has positively impacted my organization by providing cost reduction, better network performance, high reliability, and most importantly, business growth.
What is most valuable?
The best features Cisco Optical Networking offers include high bandwidth, flexible routing, network monitoring, coherent optics, and most importantly, reliability and scalability, which provide a suitable protection architecture or capacity to upgrade network capabilities to improve growing traffic.
In my daily work, I find reliability and scalability most valuable because it provides a perfect and suitable protection architecture that upgrades network capability and is very helpful whenever we experience high traffic.
The main best features of Cisco Optical Networking are high capacity DWDM transmission, flexible wavelength routing through ROADM, and comprehensive network monitoring, which help service providers increase bandwidth, optimize fiber utilization, and troubleshoot network issues more efficiently.
What needs improvement?
In terms of improvements for Cisco Optical Networking, I believe we can enhance monitoring by improving real-time optical power, signal quality, link error, and bandwidth utilization, which leads to better network monitoring. Additionally, adding more automation for repetitive work configuration, provisioning, health checks, or reporting would be beneficial, along with more alarm correlation and root cause analysis to aid faster troubleshooting.
I believe that with AI-assisted fault detection, automated troubleshooting, and centralized monitoring, the operational efficiency and network reliability would greatly improve.
Regarding governance and security of Cisco Optical Networking, I believe it is overall good, but we need to increase standardization, centralized identity management, and privilege access control. Additionally, we need to implement a more secure management plan for network devices, including patch and vulnerability management.
The accuracy and reliability of Cisco Optical Networking are reliable, but to improve them, we can enhance the accuracy of optical measurement, configuration validation, and fault detection to reduce troubleshooting errors and provide better network specificity. Reliability can also be strengthened through proactive monitoring, redundant paths, automated fault notification, and regular failover testing.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Optical Networking for more than one and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I find Cisco Optical Networking to be stable and reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Cisco Optical Networking's scalability allows for growth according to increasing bandwidth demand, enabling expansion based on optical fiber capacity.
How are customer service and support?
I have not had a chance to use customer support, but based on my understanding of it as a good product, I believe I would find it satisfactory.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before switching to Cisco Optical Networking, I used a product from Ciena, which had similar functionalities. However, Cisco distinguishes itself through the ability to integrate routing and optical transport, simplifying network architecture and operations, while also presenting opportunities for improved competitiveness through simpler management and enhanced automation.
What was our ROI?
As an individual contributor, I am not very knowledgeable about return on investment metrics, but I do know that cost optimization in existing fiber capacity is improving. Overall, any product providing high bandwidth speed, cost optimization, scalability, and better network visibility offers a good return on investment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is a bit high, but considering the features, it is reasonable. If Cisco adds more AI assistance, I do not believe the pricing is excessive, so I am satisfied with it.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
As an individual contributor, I was not involved in evaluating other options such as Ciena or Nokia. I believe the management made that decision, which is why we chose Cisco Optical Networking.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to anyone considering Cisco Optical Networking is to use proactive monitoring and regularly review alarm optical links performance and historical trends. For organizations, focusing on proactive monitoring, automation, security, continuous performance optimization, validating configuration changes, enforcing access control, and testing recovery procedures can help improve reliability and reduce operational risk. Tracking metrics such as downtime, troubleshooting time, infrastructure costs, and return on investment ensures that the network meets evolving business needs. I would rate Cisco Optical Networking an 8.5 out of 10 because if more AI assistance and automation for troubleshooting or centralized monitoring were added, I would definitely rate it a 10 out of 10, but I feel there is a bit more to add.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
