These future generations of applications and services will involve a much greater complexity than the current internet infrastructure can viably support. Cisco has unveiled its technology strategy for building an internet for the coming decades, leveraging existing technological advancements, including:
• Cisco Silicon One, a unique network processor architecture on the market.
• Cisco 8000 Series, the world's most powerful routers for carriers and web-scale companies based on the new processors.
• New flexible purchasing options that allow customers to consume the company's technology through disaggregated models (separating hardware and software to acquire components, white boxes, or integrated systems).
 

Over the past five years, Cisco has driven a technology strategy to build the internet that organizations will need for future business success in the digital world. Designed to overcome the infrastructure limitations that emerge as digital transformation progresses, this strategy combines Cisco's new network processors with its next-generation optical solutions. Cisco's strategy will transform the foundation of the internet to meet the demands of future digital applications and enable organizations to make their network operations simpler and more cost-effective. Cisco's
 
strategy is based on investments and development in three key technology areas: silicon (processors), optics, and software.
 
The new Cisco Silicon One architecture will form the basis of Cisco's routing portfolio going forward, with expected throughput soon reaching up to 25 Terabits per second (Tbps). It is the industry's first network chip designed to universally adapt to the service provider and web-scale segments. Designed for both fixed and modular platforms, it can handle the most demanding requirements like never before. The 'Q100' – the first Cisco Silicon One model – surpasses the 10 Tbps routing limit for network bandwidth without sacrificing programmability, buffering, energy efficiency, scalability, or functional flexibility.
 
Typically, multiple processor types with varying capabilities are used in a network, and even within a single device. Developing and testing new features can be lengthy and expensive. The unified, programmable processor architecture will allow network operators to significantly reduce operating costs and the time to market for new services.
 
The new Cisco 8000 Series is the first platform built on the Cisco Silicon One Q100. It is designed to help service providers and web-scale companies reduce the costs of building and managing large-scale networks for the 5G, AI, and IoT era. Key features include:
• Optimized for 400 Gbps and beyond, starting at 10.8 Tbps in a single rack unit.
• Powered by the new Cisco IOS XR7 cloud-optimized network operating system software, designed to simplify operations and reduce operating costs.
• Equipped with enhanced cybersecurity featuring integrated trust technology for real-time visibility into the reliability of critical infrastructure.
• Increased bandwidth scalability and programmability for service providers, enabling them to deliver Tbps even in the most power- and space-constrained network locations.

Cisco is working on the implementation and testing of the Cisco 8000 series with a group of pioneering customers. STC, a leading telecommunications service provider in the Middle East and North Africa, is the first to implement the new technology. Comcast and NTTCom, among others, are already conducting trials.
 

Building a new internet capable of supporting future digital innovation will depend on continued advancements in processor and optical technologies. Cisco has the industry's most advanced intellectual property in both segments.
 
As port speeds increase from 100G to 400G, optical technology represents an ever-increasing portion of the costs of building and operating internet infrastructure. Cisco is investing to ensure its customers that, as router and switch port speeds continue to increase, optics will be designed to meet the industry's stringent quality and reliability standards.
 
Through the company's qualification program, Cisco will test its optics to ensure they meet industry standards and work in Cisco and third-party solutions. With this program, customers can use Cisco optics in applications where third-party equipment has been deployed, confident that the optics will meet the quality and reliability standards they expect from Cisco.
 
Furthermore, as silicon and silicon photonics advance, the functionalities traditionally offered in standalone chassis-based solutions will soon be available in integrated equipment. This transition has significant potential benefits for network operators in terms of operational simplicity. Cisco is investing in silicon photonics technologies to drive the architectural transition in data center and service provider networks, reducing costs, energy consumption, and space requirements, and simplifying network operations.
 
Cisco has also announced plans to offer flexible consumption models, which first impacted the Cisco Optics portfolio, followed by the unbundling of Cisco IOS-XR software, and now includes Cisco Silicon One. This new model is highly adaptable and offers customers the choice of components, white boxes, or integrated systems to build their networks. This approach aligns with the natural evolution of operators who demand standalone or integrated technology elements for their deployments and creates a new internet economy to deliver greater business value.