Tuesday, November 30, 2010

CERN Selects Brocade MLXe Core Routers

CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) has selected Brocade MLXe Core Routers as part of a network infrastructure upgrade to support its high throughput computing (HTC) requirements and a data environment that exceeds 15 petabytes (15 million gigabytes) per year.


CERN operates a distributed computing network called the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) with a current non-blocking capacity of the core is in the region of 4.2 Tbps, and has doubled in the last two years. CERN projects that its capacity will reach more than 10 Tbps in 2011.


CERN's network upgrade will include the full range of Brocade MLXe-32, MLXe-16 and MLXe-8 routers with 100 GbE capabilities.


"The origins of the universe have intrigued mankind for generations, and CERN's work is pivotal in furthering our understanding," stated Alberto Soto, vice president EMEA at Brocade. "The volumes of data generated by the LHC's experiments are mind-blowing, but the WLCG collaboration has developed an extremely efficient method of collecting and analysing this information. With the addition of the Brocade MLXe solution, CERN is future-proofing its network to ensure that it continues its work, and Brocade is delighted to be part of this journey."http://www.brocade.com

  • In September 2010, Brocade introduced its MLXe Core Router and 100 GbE blade designed to address the exponential traffic surge that carriers are experiencing worldwide. Significantly, Brocade said its MLXe routers, which will be offered in 4-, 8-, 16- and 32-slot configurations, enable new 100 GbE price/performance points that drive the 100G market forward for carrier core networks as well as next-generation virtualized data centers. The new 100 GbE blade also integrates with and operates across existing Brocade MLX, Brocade MLXe and NetIron XMR routers.


    The Brocade MLXe offers a 15.36 Terabits per second (Tbps) fabric, which is nine times the system capacity of competing routers. It provides four times the 100 GbE wire-speed density of existing systems, while its 4.8 billion packets per second performance provides five times the IPv6 forwarding capacity.