SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Cisco today announced it provided the technology platform to transmit live ultra-high definition video of the total solar eclipse observed in Japan on 22 July. The eclipse was the century’s longest and the first total one in Japan after 46 years. The eclipse darkened skies across much of Asia and Japan even as millions watched it. In Japan, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) in collaboration with Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Ultra-Realistic Communications Forum (URCF) took the initiative of broadcasting this event live in Japan. The technology provided by Cisco included CRS-1 routing platform with Secure Domain Routing (SDR), Catalyst 3560E/3750E with DWDM, and Unified IP Phones 7985G. The event was captured at Amami-Oshima and broadcast to whole-sky dome theatres throughout Japan (Keihanna Plaza, ABC Hall, Tsukuba Expo Center, Osaka Science Museum) at four times the quality of standard High-Definition video. This ground-breaking network was one of the world’s first in capturing a live astronomical event, thus enhancing collaboration between space sciences and telecommunications.

Facts:

* Ultra-High Definition Video: The solar eclipse was captured at the Amami-Oshima location in Japan using two resolution (2 times standard HD, 4 times standard HD), standard HD video being 1920x1080 resolution. The two streams were transmitted to the CRS-1 at Dojima over the JGN2Plus network. The CRS-1 with 2 secure routing domains sent these streams to the Catalyst 3560E switch which in turn sent the traffic to Asahi Broadcasting location over DWDM. At this location, another CRS-1 terminated these streams and then distributed them to other locations in the country. Viewers watched the event live projected in whole-sky dome theatres at Keihanna Plaza, ABC Hall, Tsukuba Expo Center, and Osaka Science Museum.

* Network virtualization with Secure Domain Routing: Virtualization of network services on a single system with multiple domains allows providers to optimize their infrastructure. Cisco CRS-1 was developed with an integrated hardware and software isolated secure domain routing (SDR) architecture. This capability was used on the 8 slot CRS-1 at the Dojima location on the JGN2Plus network. Two SDRs were created using Distributed Route Processors (DRP) with each domain maintaining complete isolation of hardware and software resources. Each SDR had a 10Gbps port transmitting uncompressed ultra-HD video (2xHD, 4xHD). The 4xHD stream raw throughput topped 9Gbps.

* Switching & Unified Communications: In addition to the CRS-1, Cisco provided Catalyst 3750E/3560E switches interconnected over DWDM. These were located at various viewing halls throughout Japan. Also, each location had Cisco Unified IP Phone 7985G for simultaneous voice and video communications.

Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO)