7 January 2004 Atlanta Lightwave -- Movaz Networks was selected as the optical networking equipment provider for the National Science Foundation funded effort to create intelligent end-to-end network transport services for advanced e-Science applications. Called the Dynamic Resource Allocation via Generalized MultiProtocol Label Switching (GMPLS) Optical Networks Project or DRAGON, the project will explore the ability of optical networks to serve very advanced e-science applications.
"The ongoing results of this project will help improve the quality and quantity of high-end e-Science applications over optical networks at research facilities and educational institutions in North America," explains Jerry Sobieski, engineering director, Mid-Atlantic Crossroads/University of Maryland and principle investigator for the DRAGON program. "Movaz Networks is a key partner in DRAGON. It will provide GMPLS-enabled wavelength selective switching for the core of the network and will be closely involved with inter-domain routing."
The DRAGON project is a collaboration of Mid-Atlantic Crossroads, University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute, George Mason University, University of Maryland, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Haystack Observatory.
"This project validates Movaz's optical cross connect technology in the iWSS wavelength switch and its applicability to the most advanced networking requirements," asserts Bijan Khosravi, chairman and CEO, Movaz Networks. "The DRAGON Project is an excellent application for us to demonstrate GMPLS benefits in an optical network to our commercial carrier customers. We believe the data and experience gathered from this project will be instrumental in establishing optical networking standards over the next decade," he adds.
Planned applications of the DRAGON network include:
” The MIT Haystack Observatory will use the network to acquire and correlate radio-telescope data in real-time to demonstrate effective coordination of multiple remote instruments.
” The University of Southern California/ISI East, University of Maryland Visualization and Presentation Lab and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center will use DRAGON to integrate streaming HDTV, Access Grid Nodes, and interactive remote 3D visualizations.
The optical core of the DRAGON network utilizes the iWSS Optical Switch, which, according to Movaz, offers the most advanced optical cross connect technology currently commercially available. The iWSS Optical Switch is an all-optical switch with a MEMS-based switching fabric designed to reduce the complexity of provisioning optical channels in transport networks. Its advanced technology allows for the integration of multiplexing, demultiplexing, switching, and performance monitoring into a single compact device that can monitor overI2,000 wavelength channels simultaneously.