Next-Gen Network Fuels Next Generation Innovators

The next-generation network fuels the next
generation of innovators.

Searching for the next world-altering web sensation? Look no further than the best colleges in the country. Why? Because that's where you'll find some of the smartest people—and where you'll find Internet2.

"It would be easier to identify things that haven't been developed in this community than have been," says Internet2 President and CEO David Lambert who then lists just the tiny top of a very long list of college-developed technologies. "You look at the web browser, the back-end of the worldwide web, video uses of the internet, the history of Google, the development of Facebook..." The list goes on.

So what exactly is going on here?

Since 1996, Internet2 has been a haven for thought leaders in the research and education worlds. It puts the most advanced cyber-infrastructure technologies into the hands of people in places where innovation is most likely to occur-Stanford and Harvard Universities—the birthplaces of Google and Facebook, respectively—among them.

Think of it as the web on steroids. And it's connecting not just leading universities but corporations, government research agencies and not-for-profit networking organizations with the tools that set the ideal stage for exploration and innovation.

Basically, what's happening here is laying the groundwork for the next evolution of the network. And the results are quite literally changing the world, with advances that affect communications, business, medicine, and other key businesses, being made on campuses and in laboratories across the country.

Behind all this innovation is an advanced technology backbone that, by necessity, must continue to push the envelope.

"We've grown up using the same protocols and the same approaches for about twenty years now, and I think it is time to reinvent the architecture," says Rob Vietzke, executive director of network services at Internet2. Adds Lambert, "We have to work with companies who are committed to being on the leading edge. And Juniper is a company that stays on the leading edge."

To this end, Internet2 has run on Juniper Networks routers since 2003 and is currently upgrading its national backbone to 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100GE) using Juniper's T1600 routers. This makes Internet2 one of the first Juniper customers for 100GE and the first to deploy 100GE outside of commercial service providers.

For Internet2, this means the ability to provide significantly greater capacity and enable multiple services, all while using dramatically less power. "That is going to be, I think, transformational," says Lambert.

Continuing to deliver the most advanced network to the greatest minds on the planet means Internet2 and Juniper will be fueling innovation that leads to measurable results for years to come.

That's reassuring news for demanding enterprises and networks everywhere: a technology partner who doesn't just talk about what's next, but is doing it right now.