Brocade MLXe Core Routers to help CERN share 15 petabytes of critical scientific data per year with 10,000 physicists across the globe

Brocade has announced that CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research), one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research, has selected Brocade MLXe Core Routers as part of a network infrastructure upgrade to support its high throughput computing (HTC) requirements and a data environment that exceeds 15 petabytes (15 million gigabytes) per year. According to the website, Whatsabyte.com, a single petabyte is equivalent to “20 million 4-door filing cabinets full of text.”

To share these data with thousands of scientists around the world, tens of thousands of computers distributed worldwide are being harnessed in a distributed computing network called the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG). At CERN, the current non-blocking capacity of the core is in the region of 4.2 Terabits per second (Tbps), and has doubled in the last two years. CERN projects that its capacity will reach more than 10 Tbps in 2011.

The organization decided to tackle this capacity challenge head-on and, following a thorough review and evaluation process, selected the full range of Brocade MLXe-32, MLXe-16 and MLXe-8 routers. These offerings provide massive scalability, industry-leading 100 GbE price-point advantages and breakthrough performance, making them the world’s most powerful 100 GbE routers. These advanced capabilities enable next-generation virtualized data centres to support rising traffic demands and deliver cloud-based services using less infrastructure – vastly improving operational efficiency and reducing costs.

“Brocade’s MLXe solution met our stringent requirements (we test products to destruction), and will not just deliver a solution for our immediate needs but also gives us a platform to 100 GbE when the time is right,” commented Jean-Michel Jouanigot, Communication Systems Group Leader, IT Department, at CERN. “I do not see our appetite for data waning in the future, so with the addition of the Brocade MLXe solution in our environment, I am confident we have a blueprint for success.”

In addition, the Brocade MLXe chassis delivers full, standard-based routing capabilities and supports all existing Brocade MLX and Brocade NetIron XMR modules, providing extraordinary investment protection. For CERN, the Brocade MLXe chassis also provides a future migration path to higher densities of both 10 GbE and 100 GbE ports.

“The origins of the universe have intrigued mankind for generations, and CERN’s work is pivotal in furthering our understanding,” stated Alberto Soto, vice president EMEA at Brocade. “The volumes of data generated by the LHC’s experiments are mind-blowing, but the WLCG collaboration has developed an extremely efficient method of collecting and analysing this information. With the addition of the Brocade MLXe solution, CERN is future-proofing its network to ensure that it continues its work, and Brocade is delighted to be part of this journey.”

Additional Information

Brocade Networking Solutions http://www.brocade.com/products-solutions/products/ethernet-switches-routers/index.page