SEGMENTS AND ENTITY WIDE DISCLOSURES (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2016 USD ($) segments	Apr. 30, 2015 USD ($)
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Number of operating segments | segments			3
Revenue:
Revenue	$ 640,717	$ 621,602	$ 1,213,832	$ 1,150,764
Segment profit (loss) and the reconciliation to consolidated net income (loss)
Segment profit	168,490	167,209	311,894	296,743
Less: Non-performance operating expenses
Selling and marketing	86,668	82,471	169,146	159,183
General and administrative	35,203	30,302	66,345	59,855
Acquisition and integration costs	2,285	1,020	3,584	1,020
Amortization of intangible assets	15,566	11,019	32,428	22,038
Restructuring costs	535	(17)	919	8,068
Add: Other non-performance financial items
Interest expense and other income (loss), net	(11,641)	(18,496)	(33,127)	(40,390)
Less: Provision for income taxes	2,595	3,265	3,894	4,315
Net income	13,997	20,653	2,451	1,874
Networking Platforms
Revenue:
Revenue	512,206	502,653	961,716	916,535
Segment profit (loss) and the reconciliation to consolidated net income (loss)
Segment profit	132,606	131,252	239,588	226,326
Networking Platforms | Converged Packet Optical
Revenue:
Revenue	435,173	432,911	824,341	769,471
Networking Platforms | Packet Networking
Revenue:
Revenue	68,582	53,288	116,779	108,271
Networking Platforms | Optical Transport
Revenue:
Revenue	8,451	16,454	20,596	38,793
Software and Software-Related Services
Revenue:
Revenue	30,473	23,913	55,899	47,441
Segment profit (loss) and the reconciliation to consolidated net income (loss)
Segment profit	192	806	(3,382)	3,394
Software and Software-Related Services | Software Platforms
Revenue:
Revenue	11,772	9,227	19,851	17,660
Software and Software-Related Services | Software-Related Services
Revenue:
Revenue	18,701	14,686	36,048	29,781
Global Services
Revenue:
Revenue	98,038	95,036	196,217	186,788
Segment profit (loss) and the reconciliation to consolidated net income (loss)
Segment profit	35,692	35,151	75,688	67,023
Global Services | Maintenance Support and Training
Revenue:
Revenue	57,069	53,085	113,127	106,986
Global Services | Installation and Deployment
Revenue:
Revenue	30,232	30,703	61,072	56,884
Global Services | Consulting and Network Design
Revenue:
Revenue	$ 10,737	$ 11,248	$ 22,018	$ 22,918