Research institutions need networks that can access and transfer bandwidth-intensive data and computing resources, enabling real-time collaboration  regionally or nationally. Research networks also must interconnect to support cluster processing and grid computing. Frequently, these networks must also handle all of the institutions' back-office processes and applications concurrently, driving the need for a flexible, consolidated network that can support the needs of research as well as the institution at large.

Challenges

The R&E community's dynamically provisioned bandwidth requirements surpass those of traditional service providers, demanding significant network resources and control of connectivity to support research projects between institutions. Due to limited budgets, institutions must balance these requirements with the connectivity needs of back-office applications, but traditional provisioning intervals are too long to meet the requirements of end users with high-bandwidth needs. The network should enable research, not impede it.

Solution

An effective research network solution should offer the control and flexibility to allocate GbE and 10GbE bandwidth on demand, and provide tools for ease of management and automated power optimization as channels between sites are added, changed or disconnected. To reach required levels of network performance, smart, flexible Layer 1/2 architectures must complement IP networking capabilities.

Ciena's offerings

Ciena's platforms deliver GbE,10GbE, and 40G connectivity flexibly and efficiently to researchers, spanning from campus to regional to national networks. Intelligent Layer 1/2 technologies complement routing, minimizing complexity and routing hops and enabling low-latency connections. Ciena's solutions are the most manageable in the industry, enabling point-and-click provisioning and integrated design, configuration and management. Ciena consistently engages with the R&E community to deliver tailored solutions.

Benefits

• Flexibly support multiple protocols, from 10G today to 100G tomorrow
• Programmable interfaces, enabling configuration for connectivity provisioning of any protocol anywhere on the network
• Control and manageability featuring integrated design, configuration and management with point-and-click provisioning
• Efficient multiplexing and dynamic bandwidth assignment customize the network for unique application requirements
• Trusted R&E community partner, providing senior expertise in the design and deployment of the most advanced research networks in the world