The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the US is building a private optical network as part of its ongoing mission to advance environmental science by connecting researchers to the data and resources they need.
Powered by Ciena’s converged packet optical platforms, the new 100G-capable network will connect four geographically dispersed facilities in the Washington DC metro area, including McLean, Suitland, Silver Spring and College Park. This will allow NOAA to consolidate its existing N-Wave science network in the DC metropolitan area, thus making it more efficient to operate.
Designed to help scientists collaborate and transfer information without constraint, the new network will also offer greater access to large volumes of complex climate and weather data. It will also enable NOAA to support bandwidth-intensive applications and programs such as the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite series R (GOES-R), and the next-generation national weather observation satellite program.
“NOAA is an innovative agency of science, stewardship and service with scope and responsibility ranging from the bottom of the ocean to the surface of the sun. NOAA scientists use cutting-edge research and high-tech instrumentation to provide citizens, planners, emergency managers and other decision makers with reliable information,” said Robert Sears, N-Wave manager, chief IT manager NOAA/OAR/ESRL-DO. “NOAA’s networks need to be in line with, if not ahead of, the scientific innovation in order to enable NOAA’s mission. The Ciena 6500 platform will help us create a reliable, agile next-generation infrastructure that plays a significant role in our ability to support advanced environmental scientific research and discovery.”
Ciena’s 6500 packet-optical platform is equipped with WaveLogic 3 coherent optical processors and integrated switching capabilities. The platform will aid NOAA in addressing increased bandwidth demands and will provide high-capacity interconnectivity between locations, giving NOAA researchers instant access to the weather-related data they need.