Taiwan's Largest Grid Researcher Selects Extreme Networks High Density Switches For Its High Performance Computing Needs

Press release:


August 30, 2012

Taiwan's Largest Grid Researcher Selects Extreme Networks High Density Switches For Its High Performance Computing Needs

Academica Sinica powers breakthrough research in HPC environment

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Extreme Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXTR) today announced that Taiwan's preeminent education institution, Academia Sinica, has selected its scalable data center switches as part of a network upgrade to support the demands of its high performance computing (HPC) and cloud network.

Academia Sinica selected Extreme Networks versatile and highly dense switches to gain a robust and reliable 10 Gigabit network that is capable of continuously transferring huge volumes of data in continuous periods and would ultimately scale to 100 Gigabit Ethernet.

Extreme Networks supports global leading universities and research institutions such as the Wellcome Sanger Trust Institute, Johns Hopkins University and CEA Saclay.  At Academica Sinica, a team of physicists within the Academia Sinica Grids (ASG) research area are analyzing the particles created in collisions within the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator. To support the LHC as part of a worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) project, as well as other research initiatives, ASGC implemented more than 2,500 blade servers in its computer facility.

"We were already using Extreme Networks technology, but when we evaluated vendors' switching gear capable of expanding the network to accommodate HPC architecture, we sought great price-performance backed by fast delivery. Extreme Networks offering ticked all the boxes, and we had experienced excellent service from them in the past," said Wen-Shui Chen, network manager for ASG. "The BlackDiamond® is a great fit for large and dense networks."

ASG is Extreme Networks largest blade server customer in Taiwan, with 52 racks in 135m^2. With more than 5.4petabytes of storage capacity including disk and tape, it also represents one of Taiwan's largest data centers. ASGC is using Extreme Networks BlackDiamond 8900 series fabric switches, comprising a BlackDiamond 8810 chassis fully loaded with BlackDiamond 8900 module cards.

"Scientific and research facilities such as Academia Sinica need to be able to analyze immense amounts of real-time data from myriad sources in order to make real-time decisions. Having a flexible, high-performance core network and data center is critical to HPC applications," said Huy Nguyen, director of product management for Extreme Networks. "An Ethernet-based HPC interconnect like Extreme Networks offers data-intensive organizations a significant advantage due to its cost-effectiveness, ubiquity and open standards."

About Extreme Networks

Extreme Networks is a technology leader in high-performance Ethernet switching for cloud, data center and mobile networks.  Based in Santa Clara, CA, Extreme Networks has more than 6,000 customers in more than 50 countries.  For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.extremenetworks.com.

Extreme Networks, the Extreme Networks logo and BlackDiamond are either trademarks or  registered trademarks of Extreme Networks, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other names are the property of their respective owners.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including without limitation statements as to performance, timing and features of the Extreme Networks products, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date. Because such statements deal with future events, they are subject to risks and uncertainties, including network design and actual results of use of the product in different environments. We undertake no obligation to update the forward-looking information in this release. Other important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially are contained in the Company's 10-Qs and 10-Ks which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Extreme Networks, Inc.

Accenture Ranked as Top IT Services Vendor in Life Science Industry By Independent Research Firm

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Accenture Ranked as Top IT Services Vendor in Life Science Industry By Independent Research Firm; Second Year in a Row

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March 29, 2012

Accenture Ranked as Top IT Services Vendor in Life Science Industry

By Independent Research Firm; Second Year in a Row

NEW YORK; Mar. 29, 2012 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has been ranked as the number one life science information technology (IT) services vendor in a survey conducted by IDC Health Insights. This is the second year in a row that Accenture has received this ranking.

The ranking was contained in a February 2012 report titled, “Perspective: IDC Health Insights' Top Preferred Life Science Technology Vendors for 2012” which documents results from IDC Health Insights’ Leading Indicators in Life Science IT Spending Survey.”¹ The IDC Health Insights survey indicates that respondents expect to contract Accenture during the next 12 months for IT services. Click here for a link to the report.

Anne O’Riordan, global managing director of Accenture’s Life Sciences practice, said, “For the second consecutive year, Accenture is honored to receive this recognition by IDC Health Insights. This designation further highlights Accenture’s ability to provide the life sciences industry with the best IT services solutions to gain better business insight, deliver better business outcomes and create greater value.”

The IDC Health Insights report is a biannual IT budget-tracking survey of several hundred life science companies. The survey, which polled 115 industry leaders on planned IT budgetary spend, technology priorities and vendor preference, asked participants to identify which vendors servicing the life science market they expect to spend money with on software, hardware, and IT services over the next 12 months.

[1] IDC Health Insights: “Perspective: IDC Health Insights' Top Preferred Life Science Technology Vendors for 2012,” Document # HI233255, February 2012, Eric Newmark.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 246,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.  Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.  The company generated net revenues of US$25.5 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2011.  Its home page is accenture.com.

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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.

Rutgers Teams With IBM to Build Powerful High-Performance Computing Center in New Jersey

IBM provides supercomputing equipment and software resources aimed at improving New Jersey’s economic competitiveness

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NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - 27 Mar 2012: Rutgers today formally launched a high-performance computing (HPC) center at the university focused on the application of “Big Data” analytics in life sciences, finance, and other industries. The center is aimed at improving the economic competitiveness of New Jersey’s public and private research organizations.

The HPC center will be part of the newly created Rutgers Discovery Informatics Institute (RDI²)and will utilize supercomputing equipment and software provided by IBM in the project’s first phase. Rutgers anticipates future expansion of the center will lead to the university having one of the world’s most powerful academic supercomputers. 

The institute, powered by an IBM Blue Gene®/P supercomputer, has several goals.

·        Creating an HPC resource, with expert support, for industry in New Jersey and the surrounding region

·        Educating the New Jersey workforce and Rutgers students in working with advanced analytics and a state-of-the-art HPC center

·        Providing HPC resources to Rutgers faculty members and regional organizations, who are expanding their use of extremely large data sets 

“There is immense potential here because Rutgers and IBM have some of the best minds in high-performance computing,” said Michael J. Pazzani, vice president for research and economic development and professor of computer science at Rutgers. “The ability to conduct data analysis on a large scale, leveraging the power of ‘big data,’ has become increasingly essential to research and development.” 

“Just as important is the valuable new resource that we are creating for industry,” Pazzani said. “The Institute will collaborate with businesses that need high-performance computing capabilities but can’t justify the cost of building their own system.” 

The collaboration involving Rutgers and IBM scientists and engineers is expected to extend beyond computer science and engineering, to encompass fields such as cancer and genetic research, medical imaging and informatics, advanced manufacturing, environmental and climate research, and materials science.  

“The application of analytics to ‘big data’ has quickly emerged as the new foundry of the 21st century economy,” said Phil Guido, IBM general manager, North America. “IBM is eager to work with Rutgers to help improve New Jersey’s economic competitiveness through this center. IBM firmly believes that public-private collaboration and research can be critical in ensuring our workforce is equipped and empowered with next generation skills like analytics.” 

The IBM Blue Gene supercomputer, housed in the Hill Center for Mathematics on Rutgers’ Busch Campus in Piscataway, will be the only supercomputer available to commercial users in the state. Only eight of the nation’s 62 scientific computation centers have industrial partnership programs. The two Blue Gene/ P racks at Rutgers will be far more powerful than any computer at the university today. “Excalibur” is the name Rutgers has chosen for it, playing off the university’s sports mascot, the Scarlet Knight. 

Rutgers has agreed to purchase hardware and software from IBM, as well as entering into a three-year maintenance agreement for the equipment. . As future funding becomes available, Rutgers expects to add the latest-generation Blue Gene/Q system by the end of the year. Rutgers also envisions building an expanded facility on the Busch campus in 2013 as the system and center grows.  

Blue Gene is among the world’s leading supercomputer technologies. The Blue Gene/P system is operating in six U.S. locations, including four national laboratories and two universities. IBM is the leading manufacturer on the list of the world’s top 500 most powerful computer systems, holding the most entries. 

Manish Parashar, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rutgers, is the university’s lead faculty member on the project and will direct the new institute. He said: “There is a strong correlation between having this level of sophisticated research infrastructure and research productivity. It will enable research at a scale we could not support at Rutgers before and allow students and industry to have access to HPC to a much greater degree. And this installation is the first step in creating a large-scale infrastructure at the institute, so it’s a huge milestone.” 

Parashar is director of Rutgers’ Center for Cloud and Autonomic Computing and the Applied Software Systems Laboratory, and associate director of the Center for Information Assurance. He was program director of the National Science Foundation’s Office of Cyberinfrastructure, where he managed an approximately $150 million research portfolio, from 2009 to 2011.

“HPC is a real need because large-scale data is now central to all sciences and engineering,” Parashar said. “Science is changing dramatically, becoming very computation and data-intensive. Large-scale computing is now critical for scientists to address research challenges in diverse fields from biochemistry and genomics to material sciences and climate modeling.” 

Margaret Brennan-Tonetta, associate vice president for economic development, has been working with Parashar to launch the Rutgers Discovery Informatics Institute. 

“We intend to develop a premier center that sets a new standard for industry collaboration in high-performance computing,” Brennan-Tonetta said. “The institute will be engaging business and provide a valuable resource that goes far beyond hardware and software, offering real expertise and assistance. Industry will be able to come here with a problem involving data analysis and our experts will help them develop a solution.” 

Two industrial advisory panels for the RDI² are being formed, one for large-scale computation and data analytics in finance and a second for the healthcare and life sciences industries. The initial meetings of each are set for April. 

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development promotes excellence in research at Rutgers. Research is fundamental to the university’s overall mission and enhances its education and service missions. Research also contributes to economic development. Rutgers increasingly is engaged in commercialization of research through the transfer of new technologies to industry, contributing to economic development in New Jersey and nationally. From the discovery of streptomycin — the first cure for tuberculosis — to the technology behind Ask.com, Rutgers continues to make a tremendous impact in the commercial world.