SCIENCE

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Demonstrating the impact of its leading network technology, Extreme Networks, Inc.'s 10-Gigabit switching platform enabled researchers to transfer one Terabyte of information from Vancouver to Geneva across a single network hop, the world's first large-scale, end-to-end transfer of its kind. Extreme's scalable Ethernet technology was the LAN switching component of the Terabyte data transfer; a Terabyte of data, which is equal to 1,000 Gigabytes (or a trillion Bytes), is the amount of capacity required to store approximately 200 full-length movies in digital format. The Terabyte transfer used a combination of "light paths" comprised of dedicated portions of fiber optic networks with resources from TRIUMF, a prominent particle accelerator laboratory, ATLAS Canada, Canarie, Inc. and the facilities of CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research). Extreme Networks' 10-Gigabit Ethernet technology and its BlackDiamond(R) core switching platform create the Ethernet/IP foundation of communication and applications including high-capacity network storage, super-computing clusters and high-end CAD/CAM graphic applications. The recently completed Terabyte data transfer by TRIUMF is recognized as the world's first inter-domain end-to-end light path transfer utilizing a single network hop to pass information across a distance of 12,000 kms. The "light path" directly connecting TRIUMF and CERN is the longest known single hop network -- spanning the distance from Vancouver to Geneva where the transfer utilized one provincial (BCNET) and two national research and education networks, CA*Net 4 and SURFnet. "Progressive research projects and advanced network technology go hand-in-hand as demonstrated with the recent Terabyte data transfer from Vancouver to Geneva," said Wade Hong, HEPnet technical manager. "We were able to realize the full potential of Ethernet and optical networking to extend LAN speeds across a global distance." "Canarie's goal is to provide an advanced research and innovation network that Canadian researchers, scientists and educators can use to collaborate with each other and their peers around the world, as demonstrated by the Terabyte data transfer," said Dr. Andrew Bjerring, president and CEO, Canarie, Inc. Extreme Networks has been at the forefront in the development of standardized 10 Gigabit Ethernet switching. The Company's co-founder and CTO, Steve Haddock, serves as the vice-chair of the IEEE 802.3ae task force which has developed the industry standard for 10-Gigabit Ethernet. Tony Lee of Extreme Networks served as the 10GEA's president over a two-year period beginning in March 2000; and another Extreme Networks' technologist, Ameet Dhillon, currently serves on the 10GEA board of directors. "The meaningful implications of the Vancouver to Geneva Terabyte transfer signify the progress of high-performance, standards-based Ethernet technology," said Duncan Potter, vice president of marketing for Extreme Networks. "Extreme Networks' scalability and high-end switching performance enables premier research organizations, corporate enterprises and Metro service providers to realize the future of networking."