ACADEMIA

Largest Multi-Degree ROADM Installation in Poland

Delivers Unprecedented Flexibility and Reliability

PIONIER, one of Europe's largest research and education networks, has chosen the ADVA Optical Networking's FSP 3000 with its embedded multi-layer GMPLS-based control plane RAYcontrol to bring ROADM technology to its network. This fully-integrated solution provides ultimate control and flexibility to allocate bandwidth-on-demand resulting in true network automation, dynamic routing and restoration capabilities. With over 6,500 km of dark fiber, the PIONIER optical fiber network, part of the nationwide Polish Optical Internet initiative, connects five supercomputing centers in Poland, including Poznan, Warsaw, Gdansk, Wroclaw and Krakow, and 21 academic Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs). This network provides high-speed connectivity to nearly 1,000 science institutions, universities, public institutions, colleges, libraries, public authorities, museums and hospitals around the country.

Owned and managed by the Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center (PSNC), this highly-scalable network has been designed to transport data at line speeds of 100Gbit/s and beyond. A multitude of applications are enabled such as joint research in radio astronomy, cloud computing, distributed storage, common experiments in space correlation between five European locations and telemedicine. Directionless and colorless ROADM technology allows researchers to quickly and easily set up new services with point-and-click provisioning using the FSP Service Manager. Installation and maintenance work is being carried out by the Polish systems integrator, ALMA.

"We have worked with ADVA Optical Networking for many years now so they understand the unique needs of a long-haul research and education network," said Maciej Stroinski, technical director of PSNC. "We needed a cost-effective way to deliver more bandwidth to the researchers and scientists. Having a small team and limited resources, it was imperative that we have a high level of automation without operational complexity. Using the FSP Service Manager, we are now able to set-up high speed services on demand, offering network users throughout Poland access to the content and applications they need, at any time and from anywhere on all-optical links of distances up to 3,000 kilometers."

"PSNC has designed a unique network that aids scientists, students and researchers, providing them a communication infrastructure they can depend on," said Stephan Rettenberger, vice president marketing, ADVA Optical Networking. "This dynamic network propels their scientific work and international collaboration, ensuring they will never be held back by technology. Distance learning applications, virtual laboratories, online study groups using multimedia streams and remote virtualization tools are now accessible throughout Poland. PSNC sets a great example in building forward-looking solutions that address tomorrow's challenges. Through colorless and directionless ROADMs and a GMPLS-enabled control plane, PSNC has the flexibility to instantly set up optical links between any nodes. This automated technology combines massive scalability with great ease-of-use, ensuring the network has what it needs to continue being one of Europe's largest and most innovative research networks."