GEANT Deploys Infinera Cloud Xpress With 100 GbE for Data Center Interconnect

SUNNYVALE, CA–(Marketwired – January 11, 2016) – Infinera, provider of Intelligent Transport Networks, announced that ​GÉANT, Europe’s leading collaboration on e-infrastructure and services for research and education (R&E), and operator of the pan-European R&E network that interconnects Europe’s National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), has deployed the Infinera Cloud Xpress to extend their 100 gigabit Ethernet (GbE) network connectivity into data centers. Initial connectivity is being provided to Jisc, the UK organization for education and research digital services and solutions, which enables the Janet network, and CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, to deliver connectivity to their data center in Budapest. The addition of the Cloud Xpress allows GÉANT to extend GbE services seamlessly into more European data centers with hyper-scale density, operational simplicity and low power consumption.

Together with its NREN partners, the GÉANT pan-European network connects over 50 million users at 10,000 institutions across Europe, supporting scientific research and discovery in areas such as energy, the environment, space and medicine. It has been a vital element of Europe’s e-infrastructure, providing the high speed connectivity needed to share, access and process the massive volumes of data essential to the study of particle physics and bio-informatics, the advancement of medicine, or enabling arts performers in different continents to perform together in near real-time.

With the Cloud Xpress, GÉANT leverages Infinera’s unique photonic integrated circuit technology to support up to one terabit per second (Tb/s) of input and output capacity in just two rack units. With its small form factor and low power consumption, Cloud Xpress delivers a full 500 gigabit per second (Gb/s) super-channel of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) line-side bandwidth over 150 kilometers (km) without any need for additional multiplexers or amplifiers and up to 600 km with an amplified line system. Cloud Xpress also enables efficient scaling with simple provisioning and open interfaces to plug into existing cloud provisioning systems using open software defined networking (SDN) application programming interfaces (APIs). Instant Bandwidth™ allows the activation of WDM bandwidth in 100 Gb/s increments via a few clicks of a mouse enabling rapid scale to meet continued customer demands.

“We wanted something that integrated with our existing Infinera XTC footprint across Europe to provide a scalable, cost effective way to extend 100 GbE connectivity into more locations across Europe to meet the growing demands of our users while minimizing the need for space and power. Rapid and easy provision of new services was also a critical factor for us,” said Mark Johnston, chief network operations officer at GÉANT. “Instant Bandwidth allows the rapid activation of new services to meet the evolving requirements of our users.”

“The GÉANT network is one of the most advanced research networks in the world,” said Nick Walden, senior vice president, EMEA Sales at Infinera. “Cloud Xpress allows GÉANT to continue to leverage Infinera’s Intelligent Transport Networks to power its network — from the metro NREN connectivity to the backbone.”

Infinera introduced the Cloud Xpress family in 2014 delivering a cloud-optimized WDM solution to cloud service providers, Internet content providers, Internet Exchange service providers and other large-scale data center operators. Infinera recently expanded the Cloud Xpress family by shipping Cloud Xpress with 100 GbE, offering customers the choice of 10 GbE, 40 GbE and 100 GbE client interfaces to meet their specific requirements. Infinera’s XT-500 complements the Cloud Xpress to deliver longer reach data center interconnect, up to 4,000 km, with the same high density and low power.

About GÉANT

GÉANT is Europe’s leading collaboration on network and related e-infrastructure and services for the benefit of research and education, contributing to Europe’s economic growth and competitiveness. The organisation develops, delivers and promotes advanced network and associated e-infrastructure services, and supports innovation and knowledge-sharing amongst its members, partners and the wider research and education networking community.

To learn more, visit www.geant.org or follow us on Twitter @GEANTnews.

About Infinera

Infinera (INFN) provides Intelligent Transport Networks, enabling carriers, cloud operators, governments and enterprises to scale network bandwidth, accelerate service innovation and simplify optical network operations. Infinera’s end-to-end packet-optical portfolio is designed for long-haul, subsea, data center interconnect and metro applications. Infinera’s unique large scale photonic integrated circuits enable innovative optical networking solutions for the most demanding networks. To learn more about Infinera visit www.infinera.com, follow us on Twitter @Infinera and read our latest blog posts at blog.infinera.com.

Infinera and the Infinera logo are registered trademarks of Infinera Corporation.

This press release contains forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements relating to the benefits of the features and functionality of Infinera’s Cloud Xpress and XT-500 products and the future deployments of those products. These statements are not guarantees of results and should not be considered as an indication of future activity or future performance. Actual results may vary materially from these expectations as a result of various risks and uncertainties. Information about these risks and uncertainties, and other risks and uncertainties that affect Infinera’s business, is contained in the risk factors section and other sections of Infinera’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 26, 2015 as filed with the SEC on November 5, 2015, as well subsequent reports filed with or furnished to the SEC. These reports are available on Infinera’s website at www.infinera.com and the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Infinera assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements.