Nortel, Northwestern University Build Digital Media Optical Network

Nortel and Northwestern University have developed a global test bed for digital media-optimized networking in order to evaluate new technologies for high-bandwidth applications like high-definition (HD) movies, immersive HD video conferencing, telemedicine, collaborative aeronautic design and other very-high bandwidth operations.



The test bed, which is being demonstrated at this week's SC07 conference in Reno, links to Amsterdam, Chicago, Barcelona and Ottawa. The work is spearheaded by Northwestern University's International Center for Advanced Internet Research (iCAIR), a communications research body in which Nortel is a partner. Other contributing partners of this work include CANARIE, Canada's advanced Internet development organization, Communications Research Centre Canada (CRC), the i2CAT Foundation, the advanced networking organization of Catalonia, Spain, and Inocybe Canada. Together, they are demonstrating how optical multicast technologies in conjunction with dynamic bandwidth allocation techniques greatly improve the user experience for digital media services.



The network is based on Nortel's Optical Multiservice Edge (OME) 6500, and uses its optical multicast capabilities to deliver high-bandwidth services like video more efficiently and economically. The OME 6500 is an optical convergence optical platform that transports TDM, data, and advanced wavelength services. It also includes Nortel's Dynamic Allocation Resource Controller (DRAC), a software suite that acts as the guide for video traffic on the network. It enables applications such as video and grid computing, for example, to find and use additional bandwidth available on the network. Nortel said this enables massive data flows for specific periods of time, and also automates the provisioning, maintenance, and repair of the network.


http://www.nortel.com

http://www.icair.org/