NETWORKS

ADVA FSP 3000 platform used as cornerstone for data center connectivity solution for IT service provider to German public insurance companies

IVV GmbH, an IT services provider to Germany’s public insurance carriers, is using the FSP 3000 platform from ADVA Optical Networkingto connect its data centers. The service provider decided on the ADVA Optical Networking technology as it began preparations to deploy a new data center. IVV selected the FSP 3000 because it offered a future-proof solution, could be easily installed and commissioned and easily supports a variety of data center transmission protocols.

IVV identified the need for a new networking solution as it began relocation of one of its data centers. The company delivers IT services to its customers via a redundant data center configuration. In the event that one of these locations experiences an outage, the second can take on the entire workload, ensuring that user services remain up. This capability calls for fast, secure and highly available data links between the two locations.

Regional network carrier htp, which provides telecommunication services to the commercial triangle around Hanover, Braunschweig and Hildesheim, assisted with the conceptual design of the data center connectivitysolution. It was htp that recommended ADVA Optical Networking’s FSP 3000 to IVV as the strongest optical-fiber platform for the customer.

Compared to competitive solutions, the FSP 3000 offers a key advantage in that it supports the requisite data center protocols, including FICON, Fibre Channel and Ethernet. Because of this, IVV needed just two types of cards to handle the entirety of its traffic and can now therefore react more flexibly to change. Alternative solutions would have been significantly more complex and thus poorer in terms of performance, or more costly to implement.

“We selected ADVA Optical Networking because an exceptionally reliable network is critical to our ability to deliver our service portfolio,” said Peter Gieseke of IVV. “We are an IT services provider specializing in business-critical applications, and our customers rely on us to consistently provide reliable, high-availability services. With the FSP 3000 serving as the foundation of our network, we’re better equipped to accomplish this than ever before. In addition, the solution from ADVA Optical Networking represented the most future-proof option.”

The ADVA FSP 3000 includes sophisticated optical fiber monitoring and fast failover mechanisms. The solution from ADVA Optical Networking monitors the optical fiber connection to detect possible disruptions and security breaches. If the line is damaged or is suspected of being tapped, the FSP 3000 responds immediately and switches over to an alternate fiber.

“When connecting data centers, support for a variety of protocols is as critical as other key factors like availability, resilience and performance,” explained Stephan Rettenberger, vice president of marketing at ADVA Optical Networking. “The ADVA FSP 3000 platform is extremely flexible in that it supports all of today’s most widely deployed data center technologies and protocols. Typically, we’re the first vendor in the marketplace to qualify and supply innovative transmission technology that supports new, faster protocols. Our platform is exceptionally scalable and offers our customers a safe and future-proof investment without increasing complexity.”