INVENTORIES

As of the dates indicated, inventories are comprised of the following (in thousands):



	October 31,
	2010			2011
Raw materials	$	30,569		$	45,333
Work-in-process	6,993			13,851
Finished goods	177,994			134,998
Deferred cost of goods sold	76,830			67,665
	292,386			261,847
Provision for excess and obsolescence	(30,767		)	(31,771		)
	$	261,619		$	230,076

Ciena writes down its inventory for estimated obsolescence or unmarketable inventory equal to the difference between the cost of inventory and the estimated market value based on assumptions about future demand and market conditions. During fiscal 2009, fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2011, recorded provisions for inventory reserves were primarily related to changes in forecasted sales for certain products. Deductions from the reserve for excess and obsolete inventory relate to disposal activities.

The following table summarizes the activity in Ciena’s reserve for excess and obsolete inventory for the fiscal years indicated (in thousands):



	Balance at
Year ended	beginning of						Balance at
October 31,	period		Provisions		Disposals		end of period
2009	$	23,257	$	15,719	$	14,974	$	24,002
2010	$	24,002	$	13,696	$	6,931	$	30,767
2011	$	30,767	$	17,334	$	16,330	$	31,771