Alcatel Claims First "Optical VPN"

Today the platform for the world's most advanced scientific communication network has been handed over by Deutsche Telekom to the German Research Network Association (DFN). Alcatel, the world leader in optical networking, has contributed the essential technical elements to the network which will connect all universities and research laboratories in Germany. As a world premiere, G-WIN deploys the Alcatel end-to-end Virtual Private Network (VPN) manager system, a revolutionary web-based network management concept, the first and only one of this class available in the market today.

Alcatel's VPN manager - Optinex 1355VPN - allows VPN owners to allocate their virtual private network resources from their premises, using an ordinary PC. Based on standard Internet technology, the system offers unprecedented functionality, such as end-to-end bandwidth-on-demand capability and the freedom of managing VPN networks in real-time while closely monitoring their quality down to single bit errors detected on the transmission line.

The G-WIN network, German-wide, also entails the deployment of the top-edge OPTINEX Metro DWDM, which connects each University - with a maximum bandwidth capacity of 320 Gbps - to Deutsche Telekom PoPs (Points of Presence). Bandwidth optimization on the DWDM link is ensured by high capacity SDH Multi-service Gateways, where the IP traffic is aggregated, thus also providing the fastest possible traffic-protection time. The G-WIN network offers the German academic and research community the fastest and most economic broadband platform for ultra-high speed multimedia communications.

http://www.alcatel.com/vpr/index.htm?body=/latestnews/30062000uk