Lonestar Education and Research Network extends metro network with ADVA Optical Networking DWDM platform

Lonestar Education and Research Network (LEARN) has adopted the ADVA FSP 3000 Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) platform from ADVA Optical Networking to extend its metro systems in Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston, Texas. The organization also has named the FSP 3000 as its platform-of-choice for future network expansion.

LEARN is a consortium of K-12, colleges, universities, research, healthcare, and public-service institutions in the state of Texas.

LEARN chose the newest ADVA FSP 3000 platform to augment its existing 3,000-mile optical network, which spans the state of Texas, and to expand into several key metro areas. LEARN continues to invest in its network as the need in the metro has evolved over time for capacity of 1- and 10Gbit/s transport, and even higher speeds in the future, says a company representative.
Today’s educational organizations operate based on a complex nexus of applications that require a reliable network to function, the representative continues.

Members of the LEARN community fundamentally use the network:

To serve the campus appetite for commodity Internet access – Students and professionals everywhere continue to consume more and more information via personal computers and networked mobile devices. At times of big news or sporting events, LEARN sees demand for bandwidth across its member organizations more than double.

To enable the transmission and delivery of research data – As an example, the high-energy physics research community is very active in Texas. LEARN’s member organizations receive and transmit research data on a regular basis to and from partner organizations across the U.S. and around the world. As these files are often very large, LEARN’s DWDM-based network is well-equipped to handle this traffic.

To deliver the most advanced enterprise services – Universities, research institutions, and public service organizations are also businesses. LEARN’s advanced network enables data center connectivity and remote storage for its member organizations, and it provides the bandwidth necessary to construct their individual business-continuity and disaster-recovery strategies. Most universities also offer distance learning via the network. They run their internal processes, like student records and enterprise research management applications, over LEARN’s long-haul and metro infrastructure, as well.

“We’ve strengthened our partnership with LEARN through the delivery of innovative solutions that provide OPEX savings with increased functionality,” says Stephan Rettenberger, vice president of marketing at ADVA Optical Networking. “With the decision to deploy the R7 version of the FSP 3000, LEARN can support the ongoing drive for bandwidth from its future-focused member base.”