Internet2 and Infinera to Partner for Advanced Internet Development

Collaboration to Enable Leading-edge Research and Discovery in new 40G and 100G Optical Backbone Technology - Internet2 and Infinera today announced they 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 Gigabit per second (Gbps) services. Through the agreement, Internet2 and Infinera plan to collaborate to pursue development projects that will drive leading edge 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." said 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 brand 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 Gigabits per second of bandwidth, a tenfold increase over its previous network. "We are thrilled to be working with Internet2," said Drew Perkins, Infinera co-founder and Chief Technology Officer. "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." Infinera has developed the Infinera DTN, the first optical system based on large-scale photonic integrated circuits, with 50 optical components on a microchip smaller than a human fingernail. Based on a Digital Optical Networks architecture, the Infinera DTN combines high-capacity transport, fully reconfigurable switching, and GMPLS service intelligence in one platform.