Multiple-vendor environment fosters Internet2's Innovation Platform as community network engineers converge at Stanford University to collaborate on disruptive technologies

ANN ARBOR, Mich., July 9 — Internet2 announced today that OpenFlow enabled hardware from Juniper Networks and Brocade are the latest technologies to be included in the newly upgraded 100G Internet2 Network and recently announced Innovation Platform. The Innovation Platform is a unique, disruptive set of technologies bundled in the Internet2 Network that combines revolutionary software-defined networking (SDN) and OpenFlow standards with abundant bandwidth provided by the 100G network deployment. To date, more than 20 Internet2 member universities and regional networks have asked to become collaborators in piloting the cutting-edge technologies.

300 network engineers from the Internet2 community will convene at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., in mid July at the Summer 2012 ESCC/Internet2 Joint Techs Meeting to collaborate on the Innovation Platform technologies and emerging capabilities as the nation's first open SDN network platform nears completion.

The Brocade MLX family of routers and related Brocade NetIron platforms, along with the Juniper Networks MX Series routers are integral networking components of the Internet2 Network, Innovation Platform and new capabilities for network and scientific researchers. Designed to enable SDN protocols like OpenFlow, the 100 Gigabit Ethernet routers enable programmatic control of the network infrastructure to deliver massive scale and intelligent service delivery capabilities.

"The utilization of the OpenFlow technologies from Juniper and Brocade within the same architecture begins to create a substantial national testbed and service-delivery platform for SDN enabled applications," said Rob Vietzke, vice president of network services for Internet2.

"Our collaborators at Brocade and Juniper see the importance of SDN to enable innovations that can not only advance networking, but can also profoundly advance education, transform university business models, and accelerate global "Big Data" collaborative research outcomes. These opportunities can fuel as-yet-unimagined discoveries and new cycles of global economic development."

"Networking infrastructure is being transformed by SDN into an open platform for innovation. We are excited that Brocade 100G and OpenFlow-enabled technologies are part of the new 100G Internet2 Network and Innovation Platform. By working with Internet2 and its members, Brocade will build upon its pioneering work on high-speed software-defined networks," said Ken Cheng, vice president of the service provider business, Brocade.

"We are proud that our long partnership with Internet2 is taking another major step forward," said Mike Marcellin, vice president of strategy and marketing for Juniper Networks. "We have long embraced the principles of a platform strategy, building products that are open, extensible, and capable of rapid change. To that end, SDN is the logical next step in the evolution for Juniper and the networking community. By collaborating in the Internet2 Innovation Platform, Juniper can help make possible an entirely new class of applications that utilize the network in dynamic and powerful ways."

The national high-performance Internet2 Network connects America's colleges and universities to research and education collaborators worldwide. The newly upgraded 100G-enabled and 8.8 Terabit per second optical network will allow member institutions to keep pace with the exponential growth in scientific research "Big Data" being driven by the nation's collaborative researchers in labs and universities.

The network will also enable advanced networking features for more than 200,000 of the country's essential community anchor institutions, including libraries, hospitals, K-12 schools, community colleges and public safety organizations as part of its United States Unified Community Anchor Network (U.S. UCAN) project.

This advanced, coast-to-coast, high-capacity network infrastructure will support advanced capabilities for community anchors such as HD and multi-cast video distance learning and telemedicine applications – not possible using consumer-grade Internet service. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) helped fund Internet2's network upgrade in support of the U.S. UCAN project.

Internet2 plans to announce further developments and partnerships related to the 100G Internet2 Network upgrade and Innovation Platform in the coming weeks.

About Internet2

Internet2 is a member-owned advanced technology community founded by the nation's leading higher education institutions in 1996. Internet2 provides a collaborative environment for U.S. research and education organizations to solve common technology challenges, and to develop innovative solutions in support of their educational, research, and community service missions. For more information, visit www.internet2.edu.

About Juniper

Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR) is in the business of network innovation. From devices to data centers, from consumers to cloud providers, Juniper Networks delivers the software, silicon and systems that transform the experience and economics of networking. Additional information can be found at Juniper Networks (www.juniper.net).

About Brocade

Brocade (Nasdaq: BRCD) networking solutions help the world's leading organizations transition smoothly to a world where applications and information reside anywhere. (www.brocade.com)

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Source: Internet2