INDUSTRY

CoreDirector to Support Optical Network Automation in Research Networks: Ciena Corporation today announced that Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX) has selected the CoreDirector Multiservice Switch for use in the organization’s production and research networking efforts. Ciena’s CoreDirector will support MAX’s operation and management of the Next Generation Internet Exchange (NGIX) and Dynamic Resource Allocation over GMPLS Optical Network (DRAGON) research test bed to further collaboration between networks in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area and national and international research and education initiatives. MAX is a Regional Optical Network consortium founded by Georgetown University, George Washington University, the University of Maryland, and Virginia Tech, and serves as the regional aggregation organization for the architectural design, engineering, and operation of advanced internetworking services and initiatives in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. MAX provides interconnectivity with the Internet2 and National LambdaRail networks as well as commodity networking providers for its members. The DRAGON project, a collaboration among Mid-Atlantic Crossroads, the University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute East and George Mason University, conducts research and develops technologies to enable dynamic provisioning of network resources on an inter-domain basis across heterogeneous network technologies. In this multiservice environment, Ciena’s CoreDirector switching system is integral to enabling interconnection within the global research networking community and supporting distributed scientific computing and research between member institutions. The platform will also contribute to the advancement of intelligent control plane-based automation for optical networks, including dynamic lightpath signaling and routing capabilities. “Advancements in our research on optical network automation are dependent upon the dynamic interconnection between our network and other sophisticated research networks around the world,” said Jerry Sobieski, director of research initiatives at Mid-Atlantic Crossroads. “The flexibility and intelligence provided by Ciena’s CoreDirector enables that collaboration with the ability to automate bandwidth provisioning and improve reliability by using proven, intelligent control plane technology.” MAX production and research efforts will also leverage CoreDirector’s Ethernet capabilities offered by the platform’s Ethernet Services Line Module (ESLM) to ensure interoperability of its GFP-encapsulated data with third-party platforms. MAX will employ the ESLM 10-Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) LAN PHY over SONET/SDH capability to provide 10 GbE lightpaths between institutions in the region and collaborators worldwide. The ELSM Layer 2 switching functionality is also being evaluated by MAX for future applications. “Ciena’s experience with research networks, including the U.S. Department of Energy and other government agencies, attests to our expertise in advanced optical network technologies as well as our aim of partnering with this community for its unique needs,” said Steve Alexander, chief technology officer at Ciena. “Our work with MAX and DRAGON is another example of that commitment and ability to team in researching new technologies that advance today’s networks for the applications of tomorrow.” The partnership with MAX builds on Ciena’s success in deploying flexible, high-bandwidth optical networks with research and education institutions worldwide. With support for dynamic provisioning of high-bandwidth connectivity, Ciena’s platforms are ideal for enabling computing-intensive research between geographically separate locations in support of supercomputing applications, cluster processing and transfers of large data sets, often in excess of one terabyte.