To Justin: Re Microsoft's interest in Nortel Networks fiberoptics:
(warning long and somewhat technologically oriented, so many here may wish to skip)
Microsoft to trial Nortel's IP over light.
go2net.newsalert.com.
Here is the interesting part:
The SONET and SDH protocols offer important ''intelligence'' features, and Microsoft is looking for equivalent features in the WDM (wavelength-division multiplexing) technology of the OPTera Metro
solution, Atkins added. ''Our investigation of this rapidly emerging technology is centered on the desire to break away from the channel bandwidth and format limitations of TDM-based SONET/SDH, while
keeping and even improving upon the fault tolerant and ease of administration attributes of SONET/SDH,'' Atkins said.
Microsoft Corporation to trial Nortel Networks'
Technology to Send Data Over Light at its Corporate
Campus
PR Newswire - May 10, 1999 08:19
REDMOND, Washington/TORONTO, May 10 /PRNewswire/ - Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Nortel Networks (NYSE/TSE: NT) announced today that Microsoft has begun trialing Nortel Networks' OPTera Metro and 10 Gbps high-capacity optical networking equipment to support its private corporate data network linking Microsoft's Seattle area business locations. Microsoft, the world's largest software corporation, is trialing Nortel Networks' ''IP over light'' technology for its large bandwidth capacity, as well as the flexibility and cost-efficiency of the protocol-independent open optical solution.
The Microsoft campus in Redmond and two other sites in the Seattle area will be optically linked using the OPTera Metro solution, which is capable of carrying up to 160 Gbps of protocol-independent data over a single pair of fibers. Microsoft employs some 25,000 people in the Seattle area. Its network is one of the world's largest corporate data networks, used intensively by Microsoft staff to communicate by email, share large files, and develop and test new software applications.
Microsoft senior network engineer, Global Networks and Systems, Gregg Atkins said optical networks will play a key role in enabling Microsoft's own network to grow and take advantage of the
tremendous potential of distributed computing. ''Microsoft has very high expectations that this new generation of all-optical transmission and switching technologies will support the exponential growth of
our bandwidth demands,'' Atkins said.
The SONET and SDH protocols offer important ''intelligence'' features, and Microsoft is looking for equivalent features in the WDM (wavelength-division multiplexing) technology of the OPTera Metro solution, Atkins added. ''Our investigation of this rapidly emerging technology is centered on the desire to break away from the channel bandwidth and format limitations of TDM-based SONET/SDH, while keeping and even improving upon the fault tolerant and ease of administration attributes of SONET/SDH,'' Atkins said.
Microsoft's decision to work with Nortel Networks' OPTera Metro and 10 Gbps optical networking equipment could mark the beginning of a trend which will see thousands of corporate enterprises
moving to metropolitan, optical-based networks, said Mike Unger, Nortel Networks' president of Optical Networks.
''The dramatic growth in capacity and the fall in price of fiber optics is bringing nearly unlimited bandwidth closer and closer to the front curb of the world's businesses and homes,'' Unger said. ''This is the key enabling force today for explosive growth in both corporate networks and the Internet.''
Nortel Networks is the world leader in high-speed fiber optic backbone networks with a 90+ percent market share of 10 Gbps Internet backbones. More than 75 percent of backbone Internet traffic in North America runs over Nortel Networks optical networking platforms. On May 4, the company extended its lead by announcing the OPTera 1600G, the world's fastest fiber optic system, sending
data at a blistering 1.6 terabits per second per fiber.
At the NetWorld & InterOp 99 show opening today in Las Vegas, Nevada, there is a joint Microsoft-Nortel Networks demonstration of Windows Streaming Media over OPTera fiber-optic
technology on display at the Microsoft and Nortel Networks booths.
The open optical OPTera Metro solution is ideal for Internet traffic because data in Internet Protocol (IP) form is placed directly onto the fiber, a solution sometimes called ''IP over light''. OPTera's open optical interfaces offer high performance and great cost-efficiencies by simultaneously carrying a multitude of protocols, including IP, digital video and conventional voice traffic, making open optical technology ideal for unified multimedia networks. In addition, OPTera Metro delivers industry-leading reliability, including the ability to self-restore in the event of a service interruption. The unique ring architecture of the OPTera solution reroutes traffic within milliseconds in case of a fiber cut.
Nortel Networks provides best-in-class solutions for both carrier and enterprise applications in keeping with a Unified Networks philosophy. The company leads the market in provision of both open optical D-WDM and integrated SONET+D-WDM solutions, and has recently introduced networking and routing products which maximize network performance while minimizing costs for IP-based traffic.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software for computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of
the full power of computing every day. More information on Microsoft can be found on the World
Wide Web: microsoft.com
Nortel Networks delivers value to customers around the world through Unified Networks solutions, spanning mission-critical telephony and IP-optimized networks. Customers include public and private enterprises and institutions; Internet service providers; local, long-distance, cellular and PCS
communications companies, cable television carriers, and utilities.
Nortel Networks' common shares are listed on the New York, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and London stock exchanges. Nortel Networks had 1998 revenues of US$17.6 billion and has
approximately 75,000 employees worldwide. |
