SANTA CLARA, Calif. and COPENHAGEN, Denmark, April 16, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Foundry Networks(r), Inc. (Nasdaq:FDRY), a performance and total solutions leader for end-to-end switching and routing, today announced that GlobalConnect, providers of communication infrastructure services to Service Providers in Denmark, Sweden and Germany, has installed more than 350 Foundry metro Ethernet switches and Internet routers to support the growing Service Providers bandwidth requirements. GlobalConnect leverages Foundry's FastIron family of metro Ethernet switches and the NetIron XMR and MLX Series of Internet and Metro routers in its production network to deliver fiber-optic infrastructure to telecom operators, cable TV network operators, and Internet service providers.
In 2001, after two years and nearly a quarter billion dollars invested in an extensive fiber-optic network, GlobalConnect's infrastructure was fully operational, allowing the company to offer a wide range of services for advanced telecommunications providers. Headquartered in Copenhagen and operating a network with more than 7,500 km of optical cable from Sweden to Frankfurt, GlobalConnect is the region's largest independent supplier of fiber-optic infrastructure. It leases its infrastructure on a wholesale basis to more than 220 regional and international service providers and enterprises in Scandinavia and Germany.
"With our entire high-performance network powered by Foundry, GlobalConnect is able to provide advanced Ethernet services to our Service Provider customers across Denmark, Sweden and Germany," said Peter Olsen, chief technology officer for GlobalConnect. "We have been adding approximately five new Foundry metro Ethernet switches and routers to our network every week. Today, with over 350 Foundry routers and switches in production, we have experienced a tremendous increase in overall network performance and reliability. The hardware is just part of the success; the other part is credited to Foundry's high level of customer service. Their experienced support team has resolved issues with a great sense of urgency, keeping our network running smoothly for our extensive base of service provider customers."
Purpose-built for Ethernet, IPv4, IPv6, and MPLS based service deployments, multiple NetIron XMR and MLX core and metro routers anchor GlobalConnect's vast infrastructure. The platforms are ideal for GlobalConnect's bandwidth-intensive and QoS-sensitive applications and services, such as Ethernet transmission, IPTV, Video on Demand and Voice over IP (VoIP). Theses highly scalable routing platforms are powered by a state-of-the-art hardware design which includes a switch fabric capacity of 7.68 Tbps, peak processing speed of up to 2 billion packets per second and an architecture that enables deterministic, wire-speed performance with very low latency, delivering a superior network experience for customers.
Olsen continues, "Our work here is never done, we still see a tremendous need for more capacity. After calculating our anticipated growth for 2007 and beyond, we will likely double the network size over the coming months."
Customer traffic is aggregated at the network edge by an array of Foundry FastIron metro switches, which deliver high reliability and fast recovery. Foundry's Metro Ring Protocol (MRP) allows GlobalConnect to achieve fast network convergence and service restoration times measured in tenths of seconds. Hardware-based rate-limiting features enable GlobalConnect to deliver on strict service level agreements (SLA). In addition, to help protect the network inside and out, each port on the FastIron switches supports sFlow data collection, enabling wire-speed per-flow traffic inspection. This facilitates network-wide traffic monitoring and provides GlobalConnect with detailed network surveillance and statistics for applications such as service billing, network engineering, fault-monitoring and troubleshooting.
"We are pleased that GlobalConnect continues to expand and upgrade its network with Foundry metro Ethernet and Internet routing solutions," said Ken Cheng, vice president and general manager for Foundry Networks' High End Systems and Service Provider Systems Business Unit. "Carriers, like GlobalConnect, require powerful, future-ready platforms to enable next-generation services; the NetIron XMR and MLX routers meet their needs by providing best-in-class price-performance, scalability and reliability."
About GlobalConnect A/S
GlobalConnect are positioned as the pre-eminent alternative provider of tele and data-communication services to Telco's and operators in Scandinavia and Northern Germany. The business of the company is to build and operate fiber infrastructure and capacity services which enable telecommunication operators and private organizations to expand their business and services in the geographical area. The service portfolio includes Dark Fiber, WDM, SDH, Ethernet L2 and L3, and IP. The fiber-optic network is designed, owned and operated by the company and is based on more than 7000 km terrestrial fiber cabling, using technology with a capacity of 400Gbit per fiber. GlobalConnect also offers Telehousing facilities in Copenhagen, Kolding, Gothenburg and Hamburg. All services are Carrier Class, with a 24/7 monitoring and call center facility. More information at www.globalconnect.dk.
About Foundry Networks
Foundry Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:FDRY) is a leading provider of high-performance enterprise and service provider switching, routing, security and Web traffic management solutions, including Layer 2/3 LAN switches, Layer 3 Backbone switches, Layer 4-7 application switches, wireless LAN and access points, and metro routers. Foundry's 10,400 customers include the world's premier ISPs, metro service providers, and enterprises, including e-commerce sites, universities, entertainment, health and wellness, government, financial and manufacturing companies. For more information about the company and its products, call 1.888.TURBOLAN or visit www.foundrynetworks.com.
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