KU Leuven Harnesses Adva FSP 3000 CloudConnect for 32Gb FC Transport

ADVA Optical Networking SE announced that Europe’s university, KU Leuven, has deployed its FSP 3000 CloudConnect  to enable 32Gb FC and 100GbE services.

The pioneering research and education (R&E) network is the first in the region to support Gen 6 FC technology. Built on the FSP 3000 CloudConnect platform, the redundant infrastructure also leverages ADVA’s QuadFlex line card and OpenFabric cross-connect – two technologies optimized for maximum flexibility and efficiency in metro data center interconnect networks. The deployment enables KU Leuven to meet the demand for higher capacity driven by its research.

ADVA’s Elite partner Arcadiz Telecom NV, which played a key role in the planning and installation of the transport system, will also provide ongoing maintenance support.

“ADVA’s CloudConnect technology is empowering our researchers to go further than ever before. With its flexibility and huge capacity, the new solution lets our teams collaborate, use advanced applications and share enormous data sets, helping to keep our institution at the forefront of technological discovery,” said Herman Moons, head, ICT infrastructure division, KU Leuven. “This new infrastructure is all about removing limitations. By going beyond other R&E networks and adopting low-latency 32Gb FC, we’re maximizing the value of our precious fiber resources and giving students, researchers and professors the benefit of high data capacity secured by synchronous mirroring. What’s more, it enables our operators to add capacity on the fly. Throughout this project, we’ve worked closely with ADVA and Arcadiz Telecom. The excellent level of cooperation and the expertise of their engineers ensured smooth planning, preparation and implementation. Arcadiz Telecom has been our strategic partner since 2011 and we know we’re in safe hands relying on their ongoing support.“

Built on the FSP 3000 CloudConnect platform, the solution meets demand for faster connectivity and more storage. It will be a tool for staff and researchers in KU Leuven’s campuses across Flanders, Belgium, as well as UZ Leuven, Europe’s largest university hospital.

ADVA has long been supporting the latest and fastest FC speeds. Last year, it was the first vendor to demonstrate 32Gb FC transport over 100km, using Gen 6 of the SAN protocol. The FSP 3000 CloudConnect solution was developed to meet density, security and energy demands. Designed for scalability and bandwidth optimization, the platform offers efficiency. Combined with the FSP 3000 QuadFlex and OpenFabric technologies, it provides capacity and flexibility.

“Through our close partnership with Arcadiz Telecom, we’ve been able to work with KU Leuven to push the boundaries of possibility for R&E networks. We’ve created a transport system capable of carrying much higher data volumes than has ever been achieved in this area before. It’s also a future-proof investment ready to scale even further in years to come,” commented Yann Esales director, Benelux, ADVA. “One of the advantages of this network is that it enables KU Leuven’s data centers to maximize the performance of flash-optimized storage arrays. Having rapid access to phenomenal amounts of data frees academics to achieve even more. The new solution also delivers huge energy savings and, with its incredibly small footprint, occupies very little rack space. Its inherent scalability protects KU Leuven’s investments, helping the university maintain its reputation as a global technology leader and its top position in Reuters’ rankings of Europe’s most innovative universities.“

“As KU Leuven’s close neighbor, we’re proud to be helping one of the oldest and most renowned research universities in Europe take its IT capabilities to the next level. With academics harnessing bigger and bigger data sets, the university has seen an exponential growth in the need for bandwidth and storage capabilities. Together with ADVA, we’ve helped deliver the perfect response to that skyrocketing demand,” said Marc Vandeputte, CTO, Arcadiz Telecom. “KU Leuven is a leader for innovation and patent submissions and so it’s no surprise that it’s been quick to adopt the latest network technology. Most R&E transport infrastructure has been upgraded to 10Gb/s services but no more. Now academics and scientists in a wide range of fields will have cutting-edge connectivity at their disposal. What’s more, with our support and expertise, KU Leuven will be able to maximize the potential of this unique resource for years to come.“