NETWORKS

Milpitas, CA – Force10 Networks Inc. announced the University of Amsterdam has selected Force10 E-Series switch/routers to provide a high performance network infrastructure for next-generation grid computing applications. The E-Series aggregates Gigabit Ethernet and 10-Gigabit Ethernet connections from computer nodes of the university’s DAS-II (Distributed ASCI Supercomputer II) supercomputer cluster into a 10-Gigabit Ethernet upstream connection to SURFnet, which is the national research and education network in the Netherlands and connects 200 higher education and research organizations to each other as well as to other research networks in Europe and the rest of the world. “We selected the Force10 Networks solution because it is the only next-generation switch/router with high-density Gigabit Ethernet and true, line-rate 10-Gigabit Ethernet,” said Cees de Laat, researcher at the Faculty of Science of the University of Amsterdam and member of the Global Grid Forum Steering Group. “The Force10 E-Series delivers the performance, density, and scalability we need for building the clusters and grids of today as well as into the future. Force10 is supplying us with the networking performance we need to deliver innovative grid applications that will change the way the world thinks about computing.” The University of Amsterdam is a leading member of DataGrid, a project funded by the European Union working towards the creation of a next-generation computing infrastructure providing intensive computation and analysis of shared large-scale databases across widely distributed scientific communities. Using 10-Gigabit Ethernet connectivity to SURFnet as part of the DataGrid Project, research teams in Amsterdam can work on solutions that will enable international scientific collaborations to share and access massive databases in fields such as particle physics, astronomy, biology, seismology. “Grid Computing is the next wave of computing and requires high-performance Ethernet switch/routers with true, line-rate 10-Gigabit Ethernet,” said Steve Mullaney, vice president of marketing at Force10. “We are very excited to be working with the University of Amsterdam to meet the new demands placed on the network infrastructure of the computing backbone and enable the next wave of grid computing systems and applications.”