ADVA Optical Networking’s FSP 3000 transforms Slovenia’s IP-based national Academic and Research Network

Single-fiber network connects over 1,100 sites and 200,000 users, providing access to the latest bandwidth-intensive learning resources

ADVA Optical Networking today announced that the Academic and Research Network of Slovenia (ARNES) has deployed the ADVA FSP 3000, significantly expanding the data capacity of its network and enabling its 200,000 users to access the latest learning resources and research facilities. Connecting over 1,100 education, research and cultural organisations throughout Slovenia, the network now spans 950km and supports bandwidth-intensive research applications and online education tools, including grid computing, distance learning and multimedia sharing.

“The ADVA FSP 3000 forms the foundation of the ARNES academic and research network,” stated Avgust Jauk, deputy director of ARNES. “The product’s scalability and reach have transformed the network’s capabilities, enabling us to deliver more services to more people across Slovenia than ever before. This is vital for ARNES as we continue to provide our users with the most advanced networking services available, enabling use of modern learning platforms and collaboration with research teams in Europe and the U.S.”

The ADVA FSP 3000 provides ARNES with the scalable bandwidth it needs to respond to today’s dramatic increases in data traffic demands and provision for future growth. Built upon a single dark fiber, the new network offers its users a flexible IP backbone, ensuring access to high-bandwidth IP connectivity. In addition, the network also provides dedicated point-to-point gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) links, which offer a range of additional services not only for demanding research projects, but also for business continuity and disaster recovery applications.

Access to this data capacity is vital in today’s academic and research environment where bandwidth-intensive applications, such as database connectivity, virtual laboratories, collaborative work groups and multimedia streaming need to be shared nationally and even internationally. To ensure this reach, ARNES is using Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifiers (EDFAs) to transport increasingly large amounts of data across growing distances without the need for intermediate regeneration, effectively eliminating mid-span huts and the associated maintenance and power costs. This reach will prove vital as the Slovenian research and education community through ARNES and GÉANT2 strengthens its international links with organizations such as CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which is the world’s largest particle physics laboratory.

“ARNES is one of Europe’s most innovative academic and research networks,” commented Christoph Glingener, chief technology officer at ADVA Optical Networking. “By building its new network on a single fiber, ARNES is able to rapidly respond to the bandwidth demands of its users, enabling physicists, biologists, chemists and other groups to access a range of new applications and share previously unprecedented amounts of data.”

To ensure a complete network solution, ADVA Optical Networking and ARNES worked with system integrator Iskratel. The ADVA Optical Networking-Iskratel partnership provides ARNES with the experience and expertise required to guarantee continuous network performance.