TORONTO, Ontario, April 29, 2002 - CANARIE Inc., Canada's Internet development organization, and Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced they have entered into a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in developing research in advanced optical networking applications, technologies, and concepts in Canada. All research will be conducted on CA*net 4, the next generation of Canada's world-leading research and innovation Internet backbone, which will be powered by Cisco Complete Optical Multiservice Edge and Transport (COMET) optical networking solutions.
Through this relationship, Cisco will help establish a research fund, as well as planning to contribute engineering resources and networking software. The research will focus on defining the control infrastructure that facilitates customer empowered networking capabilities through an optical infrastructure. Customer empowered networking will eventually provide end-users with the ability to set up and manage their own optical networks. Initially, it will enable researchers to create high capacity wavelength connections with distant experiments and computing resources to support collaboration in such data-intensive fields as particle physics, genomics, and astronomy. Eventually, this same architecture could also provide the means by which applications in learning, health, entertainment, and e-business are delivered to schools, homes, and businesses.
"CA*net 4 and this advanced research program will continue to help brand Canada and Canadian companies as world leaders in networking technology, as well as in key application areas," stated Andrew K. Bjerring, CANARIE's President and CEO. "The result will be a competitive advantage in the global marketplace and the ability to deliver cost-effective services in fields such as education and health to all Canadians."
"Our research collaboration will combine the unique capabilities and resources of CANARIE Inc. and Cisco Systems to stimulate increased knowledge and services in optical networking, right here in Canada," said Pierre-Paul Allard, Managing Director at Cisco Systems Canada Co.
CA*net 4 will feature Cisco's market-leading metro optical transport platform,the Cisco ONS 15454, and the Cisco Transport Manager element management system. The Cisco ONS 15454 SONET Multiservice Platform delivers scalable SONET transport, integrated optical networking, and unprecedented multiservice interfaces. The Cisco ONS 15454 is an integral part of the Cisco COMET portfolio, providing the flexibility and scalability to enable rapid, cost-effective deployment of value-added voice, video, data, and wavelength services. Cisco Transport Manager, the single, integrated element management system for the entire Cisco COMET portfolio, simplifies functional management and accelerates deployment of all network elements in the optical transport system.
