REDWOOD CITY, Calif.,
Nov. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/
-- Equinix, Inc., the global interconnection and data center
company, today announced that it is working with Facebook and the
Telecom Infra Project (TIP) to deploy and test the
Facebook-designed packet-optical switches, known as Voyager, inside
two of its International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data
centers. As part of the TIP "Open Optical Packet Transport"
project group, Equinix worked closely with Facebook to field-test
this next-generation packet-optical networking technology.
Voyager is the first step in Facebook and Equinix's journey of
developing the next-generation network ecosystem for hardware and
software. Today's news builds on a previous announcement to
provide Cloud Service Providers (CSPs), Network Service Providers
(NSPs) and enterprises with an optimal environment to push
technology boundaries and develop next-generation interconnection
solutions. Equinix will continue to work with Facebook and other
vendors to include TIP-based hardware and software in their
architectures as they deploy inside Equinix and develop the TIP
ecosystem.
Highlights / Key Facts
- Announced in February 2016 at
Mobile World Congress, the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) was launched
as a way for leading technology providers to develop new
technologies and rethink approaches to deploying network
architecture in order to support emerging 5G networking, IoT and
virtual reality use cases. The scale, agility and cost requirements
of these new use cases cannot be satisfied by traditional
hardware-centric network architectures. By working as part of TIP,
Equinix is helping to define the deployment, operational and
support models for the new disaggregated and virtual networking
infrastructure. Equinix will actively work with hardware and
software networking vendors to create the ecosystem for this new,
emerging networking model at Equinix. Since joining TIP, Equinix's
CTO, Ihab Tarazi, has taken an
active role in the group, co-chairing the Open Optical Packet
Transport project group and also participating in the Backhaul
track.
- Initial testing of the Voyager open packet-optical switch took
place in Equinix's SV3 and SV8 IBX data centers in Silicon Valley.
Voyager is a combination of compute, switch, router and DWDM
transport technologies. Preliminary results showed zero packet loss
and significant overall cost savings due to this disaggregated
hardware and software networking model.
- Equinix CTO, Ihab Tarazi will be
speaking about this project on-stage today, November 1, at the TIP Summit, taking place at
Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park,
Calif.
Quotes
- Ihab Tarazi, CTO,
Equinix:
"This emerging world of disaggregated optical networking will
need a physical aggregation point where all the hardware and
software can come together. With Equinix's rich history in
network and cloud neutrality, it makes perfect sense that Equinix
be the place where CSPs, NSPs and the TIP hardware and software
vendors can join together to deploy next-generation networks.
We are thrilled by the initial results of our tests and look
forward to future collaboration and innovation with this exciting
initiative."
- Hans-Juergen Schmidtke,
Director of Engineering, Facebook:
"The Open Optical
Packet Transport project group within TIP is developing
technologies in an open community approach with the goal to drive
better and broader connectivity globally. With Equinix's leadership
and support, the Voyager ecosystem will serve as a first ever white
box for switching, routing and DWDM in the Wide Area Networks to
exemplify a new way of open collaboration and innovation and has
been contributed to the TIP community."
Additional Resources
- Equinix Uses Facebook Technology to Build an Open Source-Based
Ecosystem [blog post]
- Learn more about Telecom Infra Project [website]
- Learn more about the TIP Summit [website]
About Equinix
Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX) connects
the world's leading businesses to their customers, employees and
partners inside the most interconnected data centers. In 40
markets worldwide, Equinix is where companies come together to
realize new opportunities and accelerate their business, IT and
cloud strategies. http://www.equinix.com/.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ
materially from expectations discussed in such forward-looking
statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but
are not limited to, the challenges of acquiring, operating and
constructing IBX centers and developing, deploying and delivering
Equinix services; unanticipated costs or difficulties relating to
the integration of companies we have acquired or will acquire into
Equinix; a failure to receive significant revenue from customers in
recently built out or acquired data centers; failure to complete
any financing arrangements contemplated from time to time;
competition from existing and new competitors; the ability to
generate sufficient cash flow or otherwise obtain funds to repay
new or outstanding indebtedness; the loss or decline in business
from our key customers; and other risks described from time to time
in Equinix's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In particular, see Equinix's recent quarterly and annual reports
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which
are available upon request from Equinix. Equinix does not assume
any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained
in this press release.
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SOURCE Equinix