Together with its National Research and Education Network (NREN) partners, the G?ANT network connects over 50 million users at 10,000 institutions across Europe, supporting research 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 massive volumes of data: data which is essential to the study of particle physics, bio-informatics, the advancing of medicine or simply enabling arts performers in different continents to perform together in near real-time.
G?ANT tested and validated two key components of Infinera's packet optical SDN solution, the Open Transport Switch (OTS) software and the Packet Switching Module (PXM). The PXM enables Ethernet and MPLS switching intelligence on the Infinera DTN-X platform, which is widely deployed in the G?ANT network. Infinera's DTN-X family delivers terabit-class scalability, operational simplicity and efficiency, and high levels of flexibility and programmability for multi-layer Intelligent Transport Networks. Infinera's OTS software further enables multi-layer SDN programmability of Infinera networks with an open modular architecture, open APIs and a simplified programming model for rapid SDN application development. Introduced in 2015 and initially deployed for SDN-driven optical bandwidth on demand services, OTS has been extended to support programmability of Layer 2 packet services via the PXM, enabling multi-layer service provisioning and optimization over an integrated packet-optical transport network.
G?ANT validated the Infinera packet SDN solution components and is working with ON Lab to develop the ONOS SDN controller to create an SDN-driven approach to network optimization. Once the solution is fully deployed, G?ANT will be able to enhance how large data flows across the network are routed, optimizing connectivity and capacity between the IP/MPLS and optical layers to deliver a multi-layer transport solution in the support of data-intensive research computing projects. This will improve the service offered to users and reduce the need to overprovision capacity at the IP/MPLS and optical layers. G?ANT has modeled the benefits of re-architecting its network to use the Infinera packet optical SDN solution versus multiple alternatives. This solution avoids 50 percent of expenditure across the network where it is to be initially deployed.
"Infinera's packet optical SDN solution offers an effective approach to optimize the G?ANT network and efficiently and optimally handle large traffic flows," said Mark Johnston, Chief Network Operations Officer at G?ANT. "We look forward to realizing the expected efficiencies and operational benefits of this solution, and continuing our excellent collaborative work with Infinera on future SDN applications."
"We are delighted to work with G?ANT to deliver real-world, deployable SDN solutions that create tangible value," said Nick Walden, Senior Vice President, EMEA at Infinera. "This is just one example illustrating the strong partnership between our organizations, and we are excited about working with G?ANT to deliver future innovations."
