STORAGE

The Customs General Administration of the People's Republic of China has selected Nortel's optical transport products in order to upgrade its storage network infrastructure. Using the company's optical metro DWDM technology, China Customs will extend its networked storage capabilities from its main data center in Beijing to multiple sites across major metropolitan areas. According to a press release, in providing a comprehensive set of services and applications, the platform will provide the agency with scalability to meet future applications, as well as growing data storage and retrieval requirements. "With our DWDM communication services, China Customs will be able to back up critical data in real-time, maximize the efficiency of server resources, and provide fast access to data for recovery in emergencies," contends Stephen Tsui, chief operating officer of Nortel's greater China division. The agency's first storage network using DWDM technology will be based on the company's Optical Metro 5200, which according to the company delivers up to 32 protected or 64 unprotected DWDM wavelengths, offering up to 10-Gbit/sec per wavelength using a network modeling tool that optimizes the efficiency of DWDM deployment and operation. The upgrade will also include the company's Optical Multiservice Edge 6110 device, which provides multiservice aggregation and transport of client services over SONET/SDH networks, and its Optical Metro 1200 carrier-class device, for simplified delivery of Ethernet services. According to the company, these enhancements will enable the agency with access to broadband optical services supporting high-bandwidth applications such as business continuity and disaster recovery, SAN extension, video content networking, and streaming media. The deployment will also support China's state-owned Golden Customs initiative, a nationwide project developed to connect the information networks of the customs and foreign trade sectors, promote electronic data interchange (EDI) business communication, and supplement information exchanged on networks with magnetic media.