SEPTEMBER 20, 2006 -- Swisscom, Switzerland's leading telecommunications company, has purchased a second intelligent optical switch from Glimmerglass (search Glimmerglass) for use in the core of the carrier's expanding network test operations.
The Glimmerglass switches allow Swisscom engineers to "re-fiber" their network test infrastructure at the touch of a button and to automatically insert test equipment or incorporate new network elements in seconds, say Glimmerglass representatives. The result is more efficiency and flexibility in testing throughput as well as direct cost savings.
Swisscom uses the switches to validate new hardware and software releases before they are placed in its production network. Test engineers use Glimmerglass to automatically interconnect fibers among dozens of network elements and hundreds of line cards into various configurations. Their tests confirm proper network operation under every conceivable combination of protocols, interfaces, bandwidth, equipment, and topology used in Swisscom's Optical Wavelength Network (OWNet), one of its core transport environments.
According to Maurizio Tomio, manager of Swisscom's optical networks test lab, the time and direct cost savings are substantial. "The Glimmerglass switches significantly improve the productivity of our lab by automating the way we connect fibers. This automation eliminates the time-consuming process of cleaning fibers for each new connection, enabling us to execute more tests in less time," he says. "We now have the flexibility to instantly pull together equipment for testing, reclaiming time in our schedule that would have otherwise been wasted. The Glimmerglass switches are core to our test operations. We could not meet our test schedules without them."
"Telecommunications organizations are increasingly automating the way they test optical networks to reduce costs, shorten schedules, and improve service quality," adds Robert Lundy, Glimmerglass CEO. "We're proud that Swisscom relies on Glimmerglass and that our switches are core to their network verification testing."
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