Verizon (March 4, 2011) successfully deployed a 100G Ethernet network on a large section of one of its Internet backbones in Europe.
This deployment makes Verizon the first backbone carrier to deploy the new Ethernet standard with speeds of up to 100 gigabits per second, according to Verizon. The company was able to establish the 100-Gigabit Ethernet network between routers on a 555-mile stretch between Paris and Frankfurt.
In Verizon’s words, this marks the first “standards-based, multivendor 100G Ethernet link for an IP backbone,” and it will increase capacity for business customers and organizations that tap into the backbone.
Internet Protocol backbones use high-speed fiber-optic lines to connect the major routers across the Internet, enabling different networks to talk to each other. Separate IP backbones are maintained by different companies and organizations, including telecom providers such as Verizon and AT&T. Providing a major performance boost over the older 1G and 10G Ethernet and the more recent 40G Ethernet, the 100G Ethernet standard itself was ratified by the IEEE (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) last summer.
Wellbrock ( director of optical transport network architecture and design for Verizon) confirmed that although different enterprises may be launching 100G Ethernet networks within their own organizations, Verizon believes it’s the first backbone carrier to successfully deploy it. But Verizon was not alone in the effort as two other companies contributed critical pieces, making this a true multivendor project.
See more of the story:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-20039383-76.html?tag=mncol;title
http://ioptic.blogspot.com/2011/08/verizon-launches-100g-ethernet-network.html
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