DCP-M8 open line system expands network capacity

Mixi offers several communication services including the social networking service ‘mixi’, the mobile game ‘Monster Strike’ and the photo sharing application ‘Family Album Mitene’. Monster Strike alone has exceeded over 50 million users worldwide as of April 2019.To be able to provide high-quality services Mixi Japan operates their own optical network which connects 4 datacenters across Japan.

At the end of 2018 they decided to increase the capacity to 100G and improve network redundancy. The solution they were looking for also needed to fit with their open networking approach, offer a small footprint, be cost-efficient and reduce operating expenses.

The service provider selected the Smartoptics DCP-M Open Line System, an easy-to-use solution that works purely on the optical layer. The first implementation connects two datacenters with 100G links using PAM-4 DWDM.

 “As the first Japanese operator who deployed an open networking approach in production, Mixi is very pleased to now introduce Smartoptics’ Open Line System in the network. The solution allows us to offer both increased capacity and flexibility towards customers. The products are also incredibly easy to install and manage which brings down our operating expenses,” said Tatsuma Murase, CTO of Mixi.

The solution has been delivered by Smartoptics’ local partner and system integrator, Hakuto, that has extensive knowledge about optical networking solutions and Smartoptics’ DCP-M Series.

Mixi is already planning the next step to deploy the solution to the remaining datacenters in Japan.

“We are very proud to have been selected for this high-profile project in Japan. Mixi’s open networking approach is a perfect fit with our view on how modern optical networks should be built,” added Magnus Grenfeldt, CEO at Smartoptics.