ACADEMIC AND GOVERNMENT RESEARCH COMMUNITIES JOIN FORCES WITH INDUSTRY

FOR FIRST CROSS-COUNTRY PERFORMANCE TESTS ON THE 10 GBPS ABILENE NETWORK

 

Internet2, Juniper Networks, Qwest and Spirent Pump Network with More

Than 8 Gbps of Test Traffic

 

Research Triangle Park, NC (Februrary 18, 2003) — The North Carolina

Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (NC-ITEC), Juniper Networks

(NASDAQ: JNPR), Spirent Communications (NYSE: SPM and LSE: SPT) and

Qwest Communications International, Inc. today announced the successful

completion of the first cross-country performance tests on the completed

first phase of the next-generation 10 Gbps Internet2 Abilene backbone.

As part of the network upgrade, engineers at the NC-ITEC were able to

introduce test traffic in excess of 8 Gbps to stress the newly installed

network components.

 

"We saw a unique opportunity to test the limits of both routers and

circuits during the upgrade," said John Moore, technical director of the

NC-ITEC, located in the CENTAUR Lab at North Carolina State University.

"We were able to gain some valuable insight into how the backbone was

performing during the build-out and the end-to-end results were very

impressive."

 

Abilene, a high-speed Internet2 backbone network supporting research and

higher education in the U.S., is undergoing a significant upgrade to 10

Gbps using routing platforms from Juniper Networks and OC-192 circuits

from Qwest Communications. Engineers at the NC-ITEC used Spirent

Communications' performance analysis test equipment located in Qwest's

Washington, DC and Sunnyvale, CA facilities to run the tests. The test

equipment was directly attached to the Juniper Networks T640 Internet

Routing Nodes using OC-192 interfaces and proved capable of generating a

full 10 Gbps worth of test traffic.

 

"This type of testing validates the ability of the upgraded backbone to

support high-bandwidth applications being developed by the Internet2

community," said Neil Anderson, senior director of Spirent

Communications' Advanced Test Programs. "Spirent is committed to

partnering with industry leaders and the academic and government

research communities to ensure the highest possible performance for the

next-generation Internet, which requires thorough and rigorous testing."

 

Using the Spirent AX4000, NC-ITEC engineers were able to successfully

generate greater than 8 Gbps of test traffic coast-to-coast using both

IPv4 and the new IPv6 protocols. With the addition of normal production

traffic, some backbone links saw an aggregate traffic load of greater

than 9 Gbps during the test.

 

"One of the primary goals of Internet2 is to provide the research and

education community with the most advanced infrastructure capabilities.

These tests demonstrate the ability of the T640 platform to support the

most demanding networks and Juniper Networks commitment to the

development of IPv6.  We’re pleased to be part of this project,"

commented Pradeep Sindhu, Chief Technical Officer at Juniper Networks.

 

In one test, the Spirent AX/4000s generated 8.1 Gbps of combined IPv4

and IPv6 traffic for more than 5 hours. The traffic consisted of a mix

of packet sizes and was flowing in both directions across the continent

simultaneously. A similar test with only IPv6 traffic was run for more

than an hour with a tester-generated load of 8.6 Gbps.

 

"We were glad to see Abilene fully utilizing the capabilities of the 10

Gbps Q-wave service during the test," said Debbie Montano, director of

Advanced Internet Initiatives at Qwest. "The stability and performance

of the circuits is key to supporting advanced applications for the

Internet2 community."

 

About CENTAUR Lab at NCSU

The CENTAUR Lab at NCSU serves as a focal point within North Carolina

for collaborations between state and national research and education

networking communities and their corporate networking partners. It is

the home of the North Carolina Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center

(NC-ITEC) one of three ITECs chartered by Internet2 as a national test

lab. Centaur also provides testing and research services for the North

Carolina Networking Initiative (NCNI), a statewide GigaPOP. For more

information, please see http://www.centaurlabs.com/ and

http://www.nc-itec.org/

 

About Internet2(R)

Led by over 200 US universities, working with industry and government,

Internet2 is developing and deploying advanced network applications and

technologies for research and higher education, accelerating the

creation of tomorrow's Internet. Internet2 recreates the partnerships

among academia, industry, and government that helped foster today's

Internet in its infancy. For more information about Internet2, see:

http://www.internet2.edu/

 

About Juniper Networks

Juniper Networks transforms the business of networking by converting a

commodity - bandwidth - into a dependable, secure, and highly valuable

corporate asset.  Founded in 1996 to meet the stringent demands of

service providers, Juniper Networks is now relied upon by the world's

leading network operators, government agencies, research and education

institutions, and information-intensive enterprises as the foundation

for uncompromising networks.  Juniper Networks is headquartered in

Sunnyvale, California. Additional information can be found at

www.juniper.net

 

About Qwest

Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q) is a leading provider

of voice, video and data services to more than 25 million customers.

The company’s 53,000-plus employees are committed to the "Spirit of

Service" and providing world-class services that exceed customers'

expectations for quality, value and reliability.  For more information,

please visit the Qwest Web site at www.qwest.com.

 

About Spirent Communications

Spirent Communications is a worldwide provider of integrated performance

analysis and service assurance systems for next-generation network

technologies. Spirent’s solutions accelerate the profitable development

and deployment of network equipment and services by emulating real-world

conditions in the lab and assuring end-to-end performance of large-scale

networks.

 

Spirent Communications is a wholly owned business group of Spirent plc,

an international network technology company. Spirent plc is listed on

the London Stock Exchange (ticker: SPT). The company is also listed on

the New York Stock Exchange (ticker: SPM; CUSIP number: 84856M209).

www.spirent.com

 

About Spirent’s Advanced Test Program (ATP)

Spirent’s ATP, in existence since 2000, is the first of its kind in the

communications sector offering programs and expertise specifically

designed to support key organizations conducting the industry’s most

advanced test and measurement activities.  The ATP team supports test

labs at leading universities, publications, trade shows, consortia, and

advanced research facilities, as well as the industry’s most prestigious

independent testing organizations.  ATP is a worldwide initiative that

coordinates critical testing and research support across all divisions

of Spirent Communications.

 

Contacts:

Internet2

Greg Wood

ghwood@internet2.edu

202-331-5360

 

NC-ITEC

T. Yokima Cureton

yokima@ncren.net

919.248.1907

 

Spirent Communications

Jackie Jefferson

(808) 780-5600

jackie.jefferson@spirentcom.com

 

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