Aqua Comms, a leading provider of global subsea connectivity services, has announced its first live commercial 400 Gbps Ethernet (GE) Trans-Atlantic service from London to New York for Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), the high-performance network built to support scientific research, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science and managed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).
ESnet’s ‘data circulatory system’ provides services to more than 50 DOE research sites, including the entire National Laboratory system, its supercomputing facilities and its major scientific instruments, as well as to additional research and commercial networks. Through ESnet, DOE-funded scientists collaborate on some of the world’s most important scientific challenges, from the origins of the universe to the future of energy and climate science.
The new 400GE Aqua Comms circuit replaces an existing 100GE Aqua Comms New York–London circuit in ESnet’s network. “100GE has been the standard for most Trans-Atlantic connectivity for several years,” said Jon-Paul Herron, ESnet’s Department Head of Network Services. “The new circuit increases our aggregate Trans-Atlantic bandwidth from 400 Gbps to 700 Gbps. ESnet is actively preparing the network to meet the flood of data coming from all of our upcoming science needs, including the high-luminosity upgrades of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider as well as the related CERN Data Challenge ’24 (DC24) during the first quarter of next year.”
The Aqua Comms network utilises Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme submarine network solution, powered by WaveLogic 5 Extreme coherent optics and Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) advanced software capabilities, to support customers’ ever-growing connectivity and bandwidth needs.
Chris Bayly, CCO, Aqua Comms, said: “We’re proud to be at the forefront of the technology supporting the needs of our customers with high-bandwidth, efficient network services. As super computing requirements continue to grow, we envisage 400Gb/s and the transition to spectrum services being more widely consumed by organisations such as ESnet to help accommodate an almost insatiable need for bandwidth.”
Thomas Soerensen, Senior Director, Global Submarine Sales, Ciena, commented: “With Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme solution, Aqua Comms’ network has the scalability, intelligence and efficiency to meet the digital demands of clients like ESnet. 400Gb/s capabilities provide a fourfold increase in capacity that’s ideal for high-bandwidth ‘big science’ applications such as Augmented/Virtual Reality, Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence.”
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