SCIENCE

Leading Research Institute Correlating Enormous Amounts of Data in Milliseconds with Brocade Networking Solutions

The Laureate Institute for Brain Research, a multi-disciplinary organization that correlates clinical content, imaging and genetic data of the human brain, has chosen Brocade solutions to power its new 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) edge-to-core healthcare networks and high-performance computing (HPC) environment. The decision was based on overall network performance, security and quality of service, as well as savings in capital and operational costs.

Founded in 2007 in collaboration with research divisions at the University of Oklahoma, University of Tulsa and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, the Laureate Institute for Brain Research is a private, non-profit organization with approximately 100 computer scientists, physicists, neuroscientists, medical doctors, mathematicians, computer scientists and chemists who rely on highly resilient and advanced computing power to quickly process data in order to ultimately expedite root causes for mood and eating disorders.

Laureate scientists use the Brocade network to study how abnormalities in brain systems related to social understanding and eating behaviors lead to the development of mood, social and eating disorders such as Bipolar Disorder and Anorexia Nervosa. The findings from this research program will help lead to improved treatments for individuals with social, mood and eating disorders.

Because it is a government-funded organization, the Laureate Institute for Brain Research must adhere to stringent HIPPA healthcare compliance regulations and help prevent loss or setbacks in valuable research data. As a result, the Laureate Institute for Brain Research required a highly secure networking platform that provided in-depth visibility into network security threats. Utilizing the network-wide embedded Brocade security solution for network intrusion detection and prevention, Laureate Institute for Brain Research is now able to detect, report and thwart network attacks across the entire network infrastructure in real time.

The Institute leverages the Brocade BigIron RX switch at the network core, Brocade TurboIron 24X top-of-rack switches in the data center and Brocade FastIron GS switches at the network edge, enabling it to reliably process critical data at wire speed within its more-than-200 Terabit network attached storage infrastructure.

“There are two main factors to our success: network performance and reliability,” said Alex Barclay, IT director at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research. “Because we are processing high volumes of complex research, we cannot afford delays in intensive brain research modeling. Any type of network congestion or irregularity can translate to significant setbacks in medical breakthroughs.”

Network Security and Total Cost of Ownership Were Deciding Factors

While overall network performance, security and quality of service were the primary driving factors for selecting Brocade, equipment capital and operational costs were also important aspects for the Laureate Institute for Brain Research. The Institute narrowed its search to Brocade in order to take advantage of its superior networking products and to avoid paying premiums for unnecessary features and support.

“As part of my due diligence, I looked at several well-known vendors,” said Barclay. “One of the things that was interesting from Cisco is they ended up really pushing the Nexus product line. Once I calculated the total cost of ownership, it was clear that after paying for the product, install and maintenance, Brocade was the best choice by far.”