Fujitsu FLASHWAVE 7500 ROADM links SC08 to Ranger supercomputer at the University of Texas at Austin

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 17 -- SC08 -- Fujitsu Network Communications, a leading supplier of innovative optical and wireless networking solutions, announced today that a three-node configuration of its market-leading FLASHWAVE 7500 Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer (ROADM) platform will provide two 40 Gbps wavelengths for the SCinet WAN network at the upcoming Supercomputing Conference 2008 (SC08). This network is created each year during the SC conference by volunteers from universities, government, and industry to highlight cutting-edge platforms in high-performance computing (HPC), networking, storage and analysis.

One FLASHWAVE 7500 node will be co-located with the Ranger supercomputer, one of the top five supercomputers in the world, at the Texas Advanced Computer Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin. A second FLASHWAVE 7500 node residing at the Austin point-of-presence (POP) will receive 10 Gbps transmissions from other ROADM devices that provide connectivity from as far away as Amsterdam, Holland. The third FLASHWAVE 7500 node will be on display in the SCinet NOC at SC08. The three nodes will be interconnected to highlight 40 Gbps optical transmission and 4 x 10 Gbps multiplexing into separate wavelengths, each operating at 40 Gbps.

"The SC08 conference will demonstrate that the requirements for higher capacity interconnection between service elements used by research and education entities continue to grow at a remarkable pace," said Stephen Carlton, vice president of planning and product management at Fujitsu Network Communications. "With support for up to 40 separate wavelengths of 40 Gbps per wavelength, our FLASHWAVE 7500 ROADM is ideal for creating the necessary infrastructure that will allow these service elements to function most efficiently. Fujitsu is proud to be recognized as a pioneer in high-performance optical networking, and pleased to help create the WAN networking infrastructure that supports the state-of-the-art applications and network experiments that are trademarks of the annual SC conference."

SC08 will be held at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas, from Nov. 15 to 21, 2008. Show visitors will get a glimpse of the kinds of scientific simulations Ranger is capable of performing, as researchers at TACC demonstrate file sharing applications with their colleagues at SC08. Ranger, which boasts a peak performance of 579.4 teraflops, and other Petascale systems of its kind, are poised to address society's most pervasive challenges such global climate change, high energy physics, new energy sources, and natural disasters.

Summary of the FLASHWAVE 7500 ROADM

The FLASHWAVE 7500 ROADM is based on advanced WSS technology that enables optical mesh and hub network architectures -- key components for building the high-capacity networks that link university and industry research facilities across North America. The system can add, drop or pass-though up to 40 channels at 40 Gbps at any node, supporting a total capacity to 1.6 Tbps at network distances up to 1,000 km. The advanced optical power management technology used by the FLASHWAVE 7500 platform enables delivery of wavelength services solely through the addition of tunable laser-equipped Optical Line Cards (OLCs).

About SC08

SC08, sponsored by the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) and the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Scalable Computing and the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Computer Architecture, will showcase how high performance computing, networking, storage and analysis lead to advances in research, education and commerce. This premiere international conference includes technical and education programs, workshops, tutorials, an exhibit area, demonstrations and hands-on learning. For more information, visit http://sc08.supercomputing.org/.

About the Texas Advanced Computing Center

The Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin is one of the nation's leading advanced computing centers. TACC is committed to its mission to enable discoveries that advance science and society through the application of advanced computing technologies. Through the National Science Foundation's TeraGrid, TACC's resources and services are made available to the national academic research community.

About Fujitsu Network Communications Inc.

Fujitsu Network Communications Inc. is an innovator and strategic partner with over 20 years of experience as a leading provider of wireline and wireless networking solutions that solve critical business issues and enable new services. With the support of Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702), a $53B company with approximately 160,000 professionals in 70 countries, Fujitsu enables their customers to build or seamlessly migrate to fully converged networks that improve network performance and profitability. Over 400,000 Fujitsu network elements have been deployed by all major carriers across North America. Fujitsu maintains a well-established and highly-regarded position as a market leader by providing the best-in-breed data networking solutions that drive next-generation access, core, and wireless networks. For more information, visit http://us.fujitsu.com/telecom.

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Source: Fujitsu Network Communications Inc.