Networks Improve Healthcare in China

Networks Improve Healthcare in China

Leading Broadcast Studio Harnesses Ethernet Fabric Technology to Meet Demand for HDTV and Online Viewing Services

Leading Broadcast Studio Harnesses Ethernet Fabric Technology to Meet Demand for HDTV and Online Viewing Services

United Deploys Brocade Ethernet Fabric and High Performance Brocade MLXe Series Core Routers as Part of an End-to-End Network Upgrade to Simplify Operations and Improve Service Levels

GENEVA -- (Marketwire) -- 03/27/2012 -- As the broadcast industry faces up to the challenge of delivering multiplatform content and high definition (HD) video to consumers, United -- part of the Euro Media Group (EMG) and a full-service company providing facilities, technical and creative support for multimedia audiovisual productions -- has turned to Brocade(NASDAQ: BRCD) to deliver an end-to-end data center networking solution based on Ethernet fabric technology and its 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) core routing platform. 

The new deployment will provide the performance, elasticity and resilience needed to support higher traffic volumes and daily data volumes in its video production environment that are approaching 16 terabytes. The Brocade^® network will also reduce operational cost and complexity for United's IT department while providing a seamless, cost-effective path for high-density deployment of 100 GbE technology.

United provides onsite broadcast facilities for large sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup. It also manages more than 45 percent of all Dutch TV productions and works with international broadcasters such as NBC, Warner and ESPN by providing post-production services that include audio-visual rendering and trans-coding for multiplatform delivery (such as video on demand). 

Confronted with the challenge of managing multiple data feeds for various clients -- all demanding secure access/delivery of content -- United looked to significantly update and simplify its networking architecture to improve service levels to its customers.

"In our line of work, managing huge data volumes is nothing new. However, over the past two years it had become all too apparent that our disparate IT environment was no longer fit for our constantly evolving business needs. Coming at the same time as a planned move to a new facility by consolidating four buildings into one, we knew that the time was right to make a wholesale change to our data center network, radically improve performance, and also take an innovative approach to its design," said Marc Ruesen, manager of Business Development at United.

Specifically, United turned to Brocade VCS™ technology and the Brocade VDX™ 6720 Data Center Switches, part of thegrowing Brocade VDX product family as well as the primary building blocks for Ethernet fabrics that have revolutionized the design of Layer 2 networks inside of data centers. Brocade Ethernet fabrics are designed to improve network utilization, maximize application availability, increase scalability and dramatically simplify network architectures in highly virtualized data centers. 

At the network core, Brocade MLXe Series core routers provide the breakthrough 10 GbE performance and scalability to support the firm's rising application traffic demands and deliver reliable services using less hardware -- vastly improving operational efficiency and driving down capital cost. Additionally, the Brocade MLXe provides a seamless, cost-effective path for high-density deployment of 100 GbE technology.

The Ethernet fabric and MLXe deployment are elements of a holistic network upgrade that includes the following Brocade product lines:

• Brocade NetIron® CER 2000 Series routers will be deployed to deliver high-performance Ethernet edge routing and MPLS applications, and by providing enhanced scalability and flexibility, meet the dynamic needs for higher bandwidth services.
• Brocade FCX Series, Brocade FastIron® SX Series and Brocade FastIron WS Series switches, along with Brocade ServerIron® ADX Series application delivery switches, will be rolled out across the environment in conjunction withBrocade Mobility Access Points and Controllers to form a campus-wide deployment.
• Brocade Converged Network Adapters (CNAs) enable transport over a 10 GbE connection through Data Center Bridging (DCB) and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) protocols, providing best-in-class LAN connectivity and I/O consolidation to reduce cost and complexity.
• Brocade Network Advisor provides end-to-end visibility across different network types through a seamless and unified user experience

"This was an ambitious project, but one that I am delighted to have taken on. Having used Brocade SAN solutions in the data center for many years, we knew that Brocade offered class-leading performance. The new Ethernet fabric-based environment gives us a far stronger proposition to take to market as we have the performance and flexibility to deal with anything our clients ask of us," added Ruesen.

Alberto Soto, Vice President EMEA at Brocade, commented, "Through our data center networking and Ethernet fabric solutions, we are delivering platforms that are unparalleled in today's market. In the media industry, demand will only grow. It is a huge advantage to have an environment that offers seamless scalability and performance without requiring complicated management protocols. United has found such a solution with Brocade."

VideoUnited on why it deployed Brocade Ethernet Fabric technology:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-C_3iwNYRo&list=UU42yfEDgSbHZm0EKYsb0oIg&index=15&feature=plpp_video

About Brocade Data Center Networking SolutionsNetwork architects are now looking for ways to build more powerful, flatter networks that can support higher traffic loads and increased east-to-west traffic in virtualized environments, all while avoiding network congestion. Collapsing network layers also reduces complexity, which lowers overhead costs and reduces risk. This type of design, however, requires high-density, high-bandwidth network components that deliver full wire-speed connectivity. With Ethernet fabric technology and the industry's most powerful routers for enterprise data centers, Brocade can help organizations build flatter, simpler networks today -- and at measurably lower cost than the competition.

About Brocade 10 and 100 GbE Routing SolutionsLeading-edge services such as HD video streaming, cloud services and mobile broadband have significantly altered network traffic behavior. Instead of localized flows with occasional bursts, traffic flows are more collaborative over geographical distances and they last longer. These new traffic patterns consume enormous amounts of network capacity and add a greater degree of complexity to network operations. Brocade 10 and 100 GbE routing solutions deliver scalability, performance, operational simplicity and cost-effectiveness to not only solve these challenges, but also help customers seize this opportunity and generate more business.

For more information, please visit www.brocade.com

About BrocadeBrocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) networking solutions help the world's leading organizations transition smoothly to a world where applications and information reside anywhere. (www.brocade.com)

© 2012 Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Networking 101: Quality of Service (QoS)

How well do you know QoS?  We all throw the term around but are we all truly comfortable with it?  Jimmy Ray breaks it down at the packet level and shares the one rule you must never forget.

Networking 101: Quality of Service (QoS)

IPv6: The Internet for Generations to Come

IPv6: The Internet for Generations to Come

03/21/2012

Industry leaders share their point of view on the important role of the next-generation Internet. Cisco and others won't be left behind on June 6, 2012.

Click the link below for video.

IPv6: The Internet for Generations to Come

How Machines Are Learning To Make Up their Own Minds

A Spanish research team is working on a significant breakthrough in artificial intelligence.

By Jason Deign
View All Contributing Writers

March 19 , 2012

Mud swirls through water as an undersea robot tries to find the source of a leak from a deep-sea oil well. But something goes wrong: a piece of metal, unseen in the murk, prevents the ‘bot from reaching the damaged area. Unable to complete its objective, the machine gives up.

For machines such as this, which have to operate without orders from their human controllers, dealing with unforeseen circumstances is a problem. The default design solution is to get them to return to base for reprogramming, which costs time and money.

But that is set to change thanks to a team from the Carlos III Universityof Madrid, which is working on how artificial intelligence (AI) can help machines select and prioritize between different tasks, and move on to the next thing on the list if they cannot complete the first.

Disqus: How could thinking machines help us in the future?

In the case of an undersea robot, that means it might be able to complete other useful tasks on site before resurfacing, says Ángel García Olaya, assistant professor at the university. And the process can have applications in other areas, ranging from logistics to tourism.

The team's research, which is critical to the creation of artificial entities recognized as being one of the top 10 technology trendsof the next decade, builds on 20 years of work that has been honed by NASAsince 2004 because of its value for the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers.

These machines follow programs that were originally devised before they travelled into space, and are now updated from earth via radio.

If a rover is unable to complete a task, its programming may allow it to come up with an alternative plan of action, but the plan would need to be verified by a human operator. NASA was keen to find out if it could improve upon this process.

The resulting branch of AI focuses creating a simplified plan of all actions, stripping out most of the variables.

The plan is nonsensical in a practical sense—it may assume you can be in two places at once, for example—but it provides a fair idea of the costs of each action, which can then be used to prioritize them.

It is also between three and seven times faster than looking at each action in detail, which makes it useful for situations where time is at a premium.

However, says García: "Until now this had only been done with plans that had achievable goals. We have added the capacity to use it for goal selection."

Besides helping underwater robots to come up with a ‘plan B', the process can help logistics systems to work out the best way to complete a complex schedule of deliveries. One of the team's early backers was a Spanish company with a large and complex distribution network.

The team's work has also attracted interest from IActive, a planning technology spinoff of Spain's University of Granada, which is interested in using AI to develop personalized city guidesthat take into account a user's interests and create an itinerary for them.

Last but not least, the European Space Agencyis keen to use the process to optimize the number of experiments its satellites can perform.

"We could have this up and running in experimental robots within a year," says García, "and in submarine robots between one and two years. In areas such as logistics, we could do it now if anyone wants to implement it."

Demo Thursday: Networking 101: What is an ASIC?

Demo Thursday: Networking 101: What is an ASIC?