Ciena is introducing a half-size version of the 4200 multiservice transport platform (MSTP) it unveiled a year ago.

The CN 4200 MC (MC for “micro”) MSTP is four inches tall and offers a total capacity of 32 Gb/s, where the original 4200 offers 64 Gb/s. It can house line cards with as few as three optical ports or as many as 12. And although prices will vary depending on configuration and other factors, the MC will generally cost 20% to 30% less than the original.

Vinay Rathore, Ciena’s product marketing manager, said the product was developed partly in response to carriers request for an enterprise customer premises device. Using coarse and dense wavelength-division multiplexing, the MC will often replace an Ethernet switch at the enterprise, he said. But the device can also be used for comparatively low-capacity networks in a range of applications, from video distribution to wireless backhaul.

The MC shares all the same software, management and interface types as the original 4200. And because both are based on optical transport networking, or OTN (a technology based on the International Telecommunications Union’s G.709 standard), they allow carriers to manage each service separately, giving priority to more mission-critical functions.

The MC has already been deployed by an undisclosed number of customers, Ciena said, and it becomes generally available at the end of June.