08 July 2011
SURFnet selects Ciena to build SURFnet7 network
Utrecht, 8 July 2011 - SURFnet has selected network specialist Ciena as a partner for the build of its new SURFnet7 network via a European tendering process. The partnership contract was signed in Utrecht on 7 July by Kees Neggers, SURFnet’s managing director, and Peter Newcombe, Ciena’s vice-president Northern & Eastern Europe. Ciena will supply the equipment and work closely with SURFnet on network innovation, tests, and pilots.
Ciena already supplies the optical equipment for SURFnet’s current SURFnet6 network. The new contract means that Ciena is now also responsible for supplying equipment for the new generation of the SURFnet network. In SURFnet7, the focus is on flexibility and scalability and a complete new Ethernet layer will be introduced, based on Next Generation Ethernet (NGE) technology. This will make it possible to provide users with innovative Ethernet-based services in a simple and flexible manner.
The Ciena Ethernet solutions will enable new offerings, for example the provision of several services on one port (virtual port-based) and multipoint (E-LAN) services. The new network will also increase the possibilities for utilising private or hybrid cloud services reliably and at high speeds. The next-generation network will be based on Ciena’s 3940 and 3960 Service Delivery Switches and 5410 Service Aggregation Switch, which will support 40G and 100G Ethernet connections. Ciena’s OneControl, an integrated network and service management system for switching, transport and Carrier Ethernet, is also part of the solution and will enable simpler management, ease of operations and faster service provisioning.
Kees Neggers comments: “The aim of the GigaPort3 project is to ensure that the hybrid SURFnet network infrastructure can seamlessly continue to meet the increasing need for cross-border collaboration between higher education and research institutions. The SURFnet7 network addresses the growing use of fixed and dynamic lightpaths in the most diverse configurations. Besides high-quality, user-friendly access to scientific instruments and large data collections, the new network will also be able to provide efficient and flexible support for Internet traffic. Given our successful collaboration in the context of SURFnet6, I am completely confident that working with Ciena will enable us to achieve our aims for SURFnet7.”
According to Rob Wilts, Ciena’s regional director Netherlands & Nordics, “Educational and research institutions are ahead of the market with the deployment of pioneering technologies to support scientific and scholarly objectives. They not only demonstrate what is possible with advanced network technologies; but also reveal their true value through scientific or scholarly discoveries, for example in medicine and applied physics. In recent years, Ciena has invested in making Ethernet technology suitable for use in demanding environments such as SURFnet’s network. Together with our optical equipment, our Ethernet solutions provide SURFnet the technology it needs to offer a wide range of options and superior performance to its users.”
Bram Peeters, SURFnet’s head of network services added: “The Ciena solution opens up many new service possibilities that we will be developing jointly. At the same time, the SURFnet network will continue to be manageable. We are simplifying the architecture of the network, and it will now be more efficient for us to create a variety of services tailored to individual users. After extensive testing, we will be starting rollout in the course of this year. In 2012, we will upgrade almost 300 sites within the network. The new network will enable us to continue to provide quality in the years ahead, as well as appropriate answers to the requests that we receive from our demanding users.”
SURFnet has been constructing advanced networks for higher education and research since 1985. As such, it is a driving force for innovation for the whole economy. SURFnet7 is the seventh generation of the network. Each new generation requires new technologies and greater bandwidths so as to continue to meet the needs of users. SURFnet7 will be constructed within the GigaPort3 project, for which SURFnet receives EUR 32 million in government funding from the Economic Structure Enhancing Fund (FES). SURFnet is carrying out the project under the supervision of SURF and in cooperation with suppliers, users, and research partners.
