[popper]

Originally Posted by TraxData

Virgin Media is to carry out trials on its networks

BT rival Virgin Media has trialled a 40Gbit/s live network connection over a 217 mile span of its existing 10Gbit/s backbone from Manchester to London.

Virgin Media said that the trial would be used to demonstrate whether it would be economically viable to both optimise existing optical network assets and scale the network upwards so that it offers high data transmission rates.

The firm's technical architecture director Daniel Hennessy said that the aim of the trial was to continue to meet the growing capacity needs of the high-speed services needed to service Virgin Media customers, "Our strategic suppliers have demonstrated very clearly how existing network assets can be scaled to meet the growth in demand associated with evolving customer behaviour.”

The trial used Nortel Networks’ 40G Adaptive Optical Engine dense wavelength division multiplex (DWDM) transponder cards, terminating on Juniper Networks T-series routers which had 40Gbit/s interfaces.


http://www.itweek.co.uk/itweek/news/...-trials-40gbit

i find this 40 Gig test rather odd TD given the really old news now (the old April 2nd 2007 )on the original 50Mbit thread, now if it were the new 100Gig kit being tested that might seem far more interesting.

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/10...l#post34476302

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Quote:
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Juniper Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:JNPR) today announced that the Virgin Media Group, the UK’s largest cable operator, has deployed Juniper Networks T-series core routers, including the multi-terabit TX Matrix, to upgrade its IP backbone network.

As a central component of the Virgin Media next-generation IP network architecture, the T-series will enable the delivery of bandwidth-intensive multiplay services such as IPTV, video on demand and voice over IP.

The agile and open core network will also facilitate and simplify the integration of many new customers and network assets, which are joining Virgin Media as the result of the merger between ntl, Virgin Mobile and Telewest Global in 2006.

More at:
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/...86&newsLang=en
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http://www.businesswire.com/portal/s...86&newsLang=en
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...
Virgin Media provides high quality digital TV, Internet and telephone services to nearly 3 million subscribers throughout the UK.

In addition to supporting all of its own broadband customers, Virgin Media also leases capacity on its core network to several of the UK’s leading ISPs, so the Juniper Networks T-series will be supporting an expansive network capable of delivering Internet-based communications services to more than 12 million UK homes (more than 50 percent of the total households in the UK), and 85 percent of UK businesses.

“Service reliability, throughput speed and scalable capacity are the main criteria that will enable a successful roll-out of next-generation network services in both the immediate future and in the long term,” said Rob Sim, Head of Network Architecture at Virgin Media. “We wanted to put support for 40G in place now, and both the T640 and TX Matrix platforms from Juniper enable us to support 40G as soon as needed.

Also, as the capacity demands on our network grow, we can easily upgrade the T640 to TX Matrix as required, whilst maintaining both operational and service consistency without an operating system change.”
...
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---------- Post added at 00:52 ---------- Previous post was at 00:40 ----------

perhaps Rob Sim Head of Network Architecture at Virgin Media was more forward thinking than the current? Daniel Hennessy of VM technical architecture director ?