Juniper Networks and CANARIE bolster Canadian science and data-driven research
OCTOBER 14, 2009 -- CANARIE Inc., Canada's advanced research and innovation network, has implemented Juniper Networks' MX Series Ethernet services routers into its national network. This deployment will allow CANARIE's 39,000 researchers at almost 200 universities in Canada, and their colleagues around the world, to exchange and analyze large volumes of information more quickly, driving innovation and discoveries in areas such as treatments or cures for infectious diseases or pandemics, environmentally sound energy sources, new galaxies, and more effective ways to predict and respond to natural disasters.
The announcement was made concurrent with the "Summit 09" conference in Banff, AB, Canada, which runs through Oct. 16, 2009.
When planning the network upgrade, CANARIE managers sought a compact, high-capacity, and energy-efficient solution to increase network capacity tenfold, from 1-Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) to 10GbE. Juniper's MX Series routers were considered to meet CANARIE requirements for a cost-effective and scalable technology that allows large amounts of data to be stored and transferred over the network, which can then be customized to meet the specialized needs of researchers as required.
"Juniper has supplied CANARIE with leading-edge technology for more than eight years," says Eric Bernier, chief technology officer of CANARIE. "As Canadian researchers increasingly engage in complex multidisciplinary and multisector collaborations with innovators throughout the country and across the globe, it is essential for CANARIE to maintain a robust and reliable network. By deploying Juniper's MX Series routers, we are fulfilling a critical part of CANARIE's technology roadmap and providing increased networking capabilities to help advance data-driven research in Canada."
The MX Series routers are powered by Juniper's single network operating system, JUNOS software, which integrates routing, switching, security, and network services to deliver carrier-class reliability and operational simplicity. Featuring one release and one open architecture, Juniper claims JUNOS eased CANARIE's migration from its previous Juniper routers to the new MX Series platform while preserving the network's existing infrastructure.
According to a recent study commissioned through Forrester Consulting, organizations using JUNOS can attain composite savings of 41% in overall network operations costs across specific network management tasks such as planning, deploying, and provisioning of resources.
"CANARIE serves a broad range of innovators at research and educational institutions across Canada, many of whom need to protect, store and access vast amounts of data," says Tim Lambie, vice president, Americas International, Juniper Networks. "Therefore, it is critical CANARIE delivers the bandwidth, security, and scalability required by the world's scientific community. With the expanded throughput enabled by Juniper's MX Series routers, Canadian researchers can now share data and information in new and more innovative ways, regardless of network demand."
Deploying the MX Series will reportedly enable the upgrade with virtually no downtime. CANARIE also has been able to reduce networking costs with MX features like virtual routing, which improves network utilization, according to Juniper.