The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
(ECMWF) is spending £410,000 to implement and maintain a new IP
network that can handle its huge data throughput.
The
EU-backed centre, which is based in Reading, has agreed a five-year
deal with Matrix Communications to build and manage the new
network.
The
network will be optimised to handle the “enormous throughput and
computing power” necessary to deliver the centre’s constant
numerical weather prediction data to EU-member governments,
agencies and research bodies.
The
£410,000 deal includes a suite of BigIronRX and SuperX switches
from Foundry, to provide very high-density 10gigabit networking and
Power over Ethernet (PoE) capabilities.
PoE
enables users to plug phones and other devices into an Ethernet
network rather than a traditional power source in the wall or
floor.
“The
fundamental requirements for our new network, resilience and
robustness, are provided by this solution,” said Dieter Niebel,
leader of the LAN services group at ECMWF.
“The
higher bandwidth we now enjoy is essential so that no delays occur
on the network, and the PoE capabilities will facilitate a voice
over IP implementation being considered for the future,” he
said.
The
improved performance and resilience and better capabilities of the
new network meant the ECMWF was guaranteed a new level of
reliability and redundancy, he said.
Established in 1975, ECMWF is an international organisation
supported by the 26 EU states. It is recognised worldwide as
providing among the most accurate medium-range weather forecasts up
to 10 days, and seasonal forecasts up to six months.
It uses
satellite data for atmospheric monitoring and forecasting, and to
regularly reanalyse the atmosphere.