Deutsche Telekom provides superfast transmission for superfast particles

Deutsche Telekom says it has linked research and education sites in Geneva and Budapest with a high-speed, 100G data connection. The new Ethernet link connects the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) data center in Geneva and a newly established, remote data center operated by Wigner Research Centre for Physics in the Hungarian capital of Budapest.

The work was carried out by Deutsche Telekom International Carrier Sales & Solutions (ICSS), part of Deutsche Telekom’s International Businesses unit, working in conjunction with the local legal entity T-Systems Switzerland. In addition to huge data rates, CERN requires high transmission reliability and connection availability. The research organization sought a telecommunications service provider able to meet these extremely demanding Gigabit Ethernet requirements.

In Geneva, CERN operates the world’s biggest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). This facility allows scientists to explore the structure of matter and the fundamental interactions between elementary particles. The experiments generate huge volumes of data. To process them, CERN and partner institutes have developed a distributed computing system, the so-called Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG). More than 10,000 researchers around the world use CERN’s computing infrastructure for their experiments.

The Wigner data center and CERN also aim to create additional IT capacity for research activities. Computer systems will be able to transmit enormous volumes of data between the Geneva and Budapest sites via the high-speed Deutsche Telekom ICSS connection.

“The state-of-the-art Deutsche Telekom 100-Gbps circuit between CERN and the Wigner Research Centre for Physics in Budapest will not only expand our physics processing capabilities, but will also allow us to refine our business continuity strategy,” said David Foster, deputy head of the CERN IT department. “This new contract strengthens our existing relationship, since Deutsche Telekom has been a long-standing member of the CERN Internet Exchange Point (CIXP) and one of the regular providers of CERN's connectivity to the commodity Internet.”

Deutsche Telekom began testing its 100-Gbps transmission services in 2010 (see "Ixia, Deutsche Telekom partner for 100G pre-deployment test"). T-Systems deployed a 100-Gbps link in Germany using gear from Alcatel-Lucent that same year (see "T-Systems, Alcatel-Lucent deploy commercial 100 Gbps link").

For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.