Calient Networks will supply an all-optical switching system for the “OptIPuter” research project underway by the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Cal-(IT)2) and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The Calient switches will be installed at the StarLight site in Chicago and the NetherLight site in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Calient’s DiamondWave all-photonic platform scales to 256×256 ports in non-blocking fashion and supports advanced lambda control strategies. It will be used to prototype multi-Gigabit LambdaGrids with a 128×128 platform at StarLight, and a 64×64 platform at NetherLight. Both sites interconnect numerous 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps national and international backbone trunks. Calient’s platform uses a single-crystal silicon 3D MEMS design.
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- The OptIPuter project, which is funded by a $13.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, will use an optical networking grid to support data-intensive scientific research and collaboration, especially in earth and biomedical sciences. The OptIPuter will leverage Grid middleware and multiple wavelengths of light to provide a better means of accessing and processing large, remote databases. http://www.calit2.net/news/2002/9-25-optiputer.html http://www.science.uva.nl/research/air/
- In November 2002, Chiaro Networks said it would supply its Enstara optical routing platform for the project. Chiaro said its platform employs several innovative technologies such as nanosecond optical packet switching, centralized switch fabric scheduling, and the use of programmable network processors.