Internet2 and Infinera announce partnership for advanced Internet development
July 24, 2006 Ann Arbor, MI, and Sunnyvale, CA -- Internet2 and Infinera have signed a wide-ranging agreement that will support the development of next-generation Internet technology with more intelligence, bandwidth, and capabilities, including the testing and deployment of 40- to 100-Gbit/sec services, say the companies.
Through the agreement, Internet2 and Infinera plan to collaborate to pursue development projects that will drive network capability for the national research and academic community; make new services and applications available to the worldwide community of Internet users; and help to make possible revolutionary Internet applications. Key areas of technology development will include lab and network-wide tests of super-lambda services including 40- and 100-Gigabit Ethernet service; advanced network service management and delivery leveraging GMPLS technology; and advanced virtual private network (VPN) services based on Layer One VPNs.
"Infinera and Internet2 share a common vision for the future path of advanced optical technology and its potential to open new frontiers in science and research," notes Douglas Van Houweling, Internet2 president and CEO. "We look forward to a long engagement with Infinera within the Internet2 community as we together forge new ground in Internet development that will have a lasting impact on research, academia, and beyond."
Last month, in a joint release with Level 3 Communications, Internet2 announced its aggressive plan to develop and deploy a new advanced nationwide research network to provide enhanced IP services as well as new experimental optical services to its members. Level 3 will deploy Infinera's Digital Optical Networking equipment across its infrastructure in support of Internet2's new network so that Internet2's users can provision optical circuits dynamically. The network will initially provide the research and education community with 100 Gbits/sec of bandwidth, a reported tenfold increase over its previous network.
"We are thrilled to be working with Internet2," contends Drew Perkins, Infinera co-founder and CTO. "They have been a pioneer in Internet technology, and we are looking forward to working with the Internet2 community on some of the greatest challenges facing today's Internet, such as making greater bandwidth available cost-effectively, and developing a fully intelligent optical layer that can deliver enormous bandwidth on-demand when and where it is needed."