Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN) says it received a contract from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) to build the optical layer for its latest science network, ESnet6. The open fiber network, now up and running, interconnects the DOE’s national laboratory system and experimental facilities with research and commercial networks worldwide.
“ESnet6 represents a transformational change in the capacity, resiliency, and flexibility and brings tangible benefits to the DOE’s science mission,” said Kate Mace, ESnet6 project director. “Open optical networking technology plays a key role in ESnet’s ability to meet the ongoing challenges of data traffic growth while supporting the high-speed and real-time collaboration capabilities that are critical to our nation’s science programs.”
Infinera says the ESnet6 effort saw it deploy new equipment, perform testing, and turn up services over 15,000 miles of fiber infrastructure during the current pandemic. The company delivered elements of its GX Series Compact Modular Platform and FlexILS Open Optical Line System lines. Infinera says ESnet sees science data traffic requirements doubling every 20 months. The fiber network currently is set to deliver 400 Gigabit Ethernet services via 600G coherent transmission capabilities but will have the ability to support 800G coherent wavelengths when Infinera begins shipping line cards with its ICE6 coherent engine (see "Infinera adds ICE6 to Groove (GX) Series"). The systems also support C+L band operation to increase the number of wavelengths per fiber.
“ESnet was pleased to see Infinera’s team make such fast work of this large installation task during a pandemic. This high-speed connectivity provides the foundation to meet our mission of accelerating scientific discovery,” said Inder Monga, executive director of ESnet and division director of Scientific Networking at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “ESnet enables tens of thousands of scientists to access data portals, transfer vast research data streams, and tap into remote scientific instruments and sources — all in real time.”
ESnet and Infinera have worked together for at least 10 years, particularly on technology demonstrations (see, for example, "ESnet selects Infinera for network testbed" and "Infinera, ESnet demo Transport SDN via Open Transport Switch").
For related articles, visit the Network Design Topic Center.
For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.
To stay abreast of fiber network deployments, subscribe to Lightwave’s Service Providers and Datacom/Data Center newsletters.