Nokia, Nomios drive GÉANT's European research IP network upgrade

GÉANT, the collaboration of European National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), will deploy Nokia’s IP/MPLS solution as part of a 10-year frame agreement led by Nomios Group, a European provider of cybersecurity services and solutions.

As part of its GN5 IP/MPLS routing and switching replacement project, GÉANT will deploy 800 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) routing interfaces, tripling capacity and supercharging its 50,000 km network by establishing a secure foundation for extreme collaboration and knowledge sharing amongst an international alliance of researchers.

The research organization has a sizeable reach. GÉANT interconnects 40 NRENs in 40 European countries and links 50 million users and institutions to more than 100 additional NRENs in every region of the world. The IP backbone network will be the foundation for a global coalition of researchers focused on research across disciplines such as high-energy physics, biomedicine, radio astronomy, and climate-impacting weather conditions.

Since 2018, the GÉANT network has experienced 30 percent traffic growth each year and carries more than 7 Petabytes of data daily. This is due, in large part, to the proliferation of instruments such as telescopes, sensors and detectors, which gather more data with greater precision, sensitivity and speed. Supercomputers process vast volumes of data, analyzing and validating findings. Given the high level of collaboration between allied institutions, data must be transferred rapidly, reliably, securely, and cost-effectively.

GÉANT’s GN5 IP/MPLS Routing and Switching Infrastructure Replacement project represents a strategic partnership between Nomios and Nokia, bringing together Nomios' experience in designing and implementing robust networking solutions, combined with Nokia's expertise in delivering IP network technology for critical networks.

Under the terms of the agreement, Nomios and Nokia will undertake the complete replacement and upgrade of GÉANT's existing IP/MPLS routing and switching infrastructure. Additionally, Nomios and Nokia will provide support and maintenance services to ensure uninterrupted connectivity and smooth operations for GÉANT and its vast user base.

Nokia’s 7750 Service Router IP/MPLS platform, which leverages in-house developed FP5 network processing silicon, is designed to scale in support 800G transmission. This triples the capacity within the existing footprint and gives GÉANT access to more bandwidth. A layer of network protection is integrated directly into the chipset, ensuring the integrity of research data as security threats – such as DDoS attacks and data breaches – grow in size and severity. New power consumption innovations deliver what Nokia claims is a 75 percent reduction in energy use over previous routing chipsets – giving GÉANT the runway to handle ever more significant volumes of data while adhering to its sustainability goals.

“We are pleased to extend our relationship with Nomios and Nokia by deploying Nokia’s high-performance IP networking technology across our extensive network infrastructure,” said Bram Peeters, CTO for GÉANT. “The solution adds the capabilities we need to address the anticipated exponential data growth and security concerns. This project ensures that GÉANT modernizes and maintains the essential world-class network the research and education communities rely on in Europe and more than 100 countries across every region.”

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