Initial connectivity is being provided to Jisc, the UK organization for education and research digital services and solutions, which enables the Janet network, and CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, to deliver connectivity to their data center in Budapest. The addition of the Cloud Xpress allows G?ANT to extend GbE services seamlessly into more European data centers with hyper-scale density, operational simplicity and low power consumption.
Together with its NREN partners, the G?ANT pan-European network connects over 50 million users at 10,000 institutions across Europe, supporting scientific research and discovery in areas such as energy, the environment, space and medicine. It has been a vital element of Europe’s e-infrastructure, providing the high speed connectivity needed to share, access and process the massive volumes of data essential to the study of particle physics and bio-informatics, the advancement of medicine, or enabling arts performers in different continents to perform together in near real-time.
With the Cloud Xpress, G?ANT leverages Infinera’s unique photonic integrated circuit technology to support up to one terabit per second (Tb/s) of input and output capacity in just two rack units. With its small form factor and low power consumption, Cloud Xpress delivers a full 500 gigabit per second (Gb/s) super-channel of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) line-side bandwidth over 150 kilometers (km) without any need for additional multiplexers or amplifiers and up to 600 km with an amplified line system. Cloud Xpress also enables efficient scaling with simple provisioning and open interfaces to plug into existing cloud provisioning systems using open software defined networking (SDN) application programming interfaces (APIs). Instant Bandwidth™ allows the activation of WDM bandwidth in 100 Gb/s increments via a few clicks of a mouse enabling rapid scale to meet continued customer demands.
“We wanted something that integrated with our existing Infinera XTC footprint across Europe to provide a scalable, cost effective way to extend 100 GbE connectivity into more locations across Europe to meet the growing demands of our users while minimizing the need for space and power. Rapid and easy provision of new services was also a critical factor for us,” said Mark Johnston, chief network operations officer at G?ANT. “Instant Bandwidth allows the rapid activation of new services to meet the evolving requirements of our users.”
“The G?ANT network is one of the most advanced research networks in the world,” said Nick Walden, senior vice president, EMEA Sales at Infinera. “Cloud Xpress allows G?ANT to continue to leverage Infinera's Intelligent Transport Networks to power its network – from the metro NREN connectivity to the backbone.”
