INVENTORIES

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



	October 31, 2014			July 31, 2015
Raw materials	$	64,853		$	54,112
Work-in-process	8,371			8,924
Finished goods	165,799			119,635
Deferred cost of goods sold	75,763			59,606
	314,786			242,277
Provision for excess and obsolescence	(60,126		)	(48,260		)
	$	254,660		$	194,017

Ciena writes down its inventory for estimated obsolescence or unmarketable inventory by an amount equal to the difference between the cost of inventory and the estimated net realizable value based on assumptions about future demand and market conditions. During the first nine months of fiscal 2015, Ciena recorded a provision for excess and obsolescence of $18.0 million, primarily related to the discontinuance of certain parts and components used in the manufacture of its Converged Packet Optical products and a decrease in the forecasted demand for both its legacy, stand-alone WDM and SONET/SDH-based transport platforms and its 5410 Service Aggregation Switch. Deductions from the provision for excess and obsolete inventory relate primarily to disposal activities.