JANUARY 7, 2008 -- The University of Maryland Academic Telecommunications System (UMATS) has chosen to build its Internet2 optical backbone network using MRV Communications' (search for MRV Communications) LambdaDriver DWDM platform.
The University System of Maryland says it has teamed with three other state agencies to build a high-speed backbone network comprising multiple 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10-GbE), GbE, OC-48, and Fibre Channel links to increase the bandwidth and improve the redundancy of the backbone network over the previous OC-48 network. The network spans 100 miles and connects seven locations, providing high-speed access to off-site storage, the Internet, and Internet2.
"The LambdaDriver WDM solution was designed specifically with tunable WDM and ROADM capabilities to enable dynamic provisioning of high-speed data, storage, and video services for customers without the need for them to rip out and replace their entire infrastructure," reports Noam Lotan, president and CEO of MRV Communications. "The University of Maryland Academic Telecommunications System has leveraged the LambdaDriver's WDM architecture to save a substantial amount of network-related capital and operating costs."
"The University System of Maryland serves more than 130,000 students annually, and the 13 institutions it houses needed a high-performance and highly reliable network for teaching and research needs and also for our burgeoning distance learning programs," explains Norwin Malmberg, director of UMATS. "We had reached the bandwidth and budget limitations of our previous network, but the MRV solution gave us freedom in how we configured our network so that we have been able to provision new links and services that we would never have thought of previously," notes Malmberg.
Since implementing the LambdaDriver WDM platform, UMATS says it has been able to reconfigure its network to provision bandwidth for expanded services, including 10-Gigabit uplinks. Furthermore, UMATS has added more lambdas without interrupting service. Once UMATS reaches the chassis limit of 16 lambdas, it can add more chassis to increase the network capability, says MRV representatives.
According to MRV, the LambdaDriver platform provides a flexible WDM networking platform for both enterprises and service providers looking to maximize their existing fiber infrastructure. Three different active chassis (LD400, LD800, and LD1600) and two passive chassis (LPD100 and LDP300) with interchangeable modules provide an option for any network size and service density. Transparent transport allows support for all high-speed LAN, WAN, or SAN services, says the company. Sub-rate TDM technology allows even more efficient use of the available fiber by aggregating low rate protocols over one wavelength. The LambdaDriver platforms support both CWDM and DWDM technologies.
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