Aug 11 2010
CALIENT Technologies, Inc., the global leader for photonic switching technology, today announced that it has partnered with Freeport Technologies, Inc. to deliver the industry's first video teleconference solution that can accommodate multiple government security domains without breeching network security.
The new solution combines CALIENT's FiberConnect 320X adaptive photonic switch and Freeport's Enterprise Video Network Switch (VNS) to enable a single CODEC to be used for up to five network security domains without breaching a security domain, making it ideal for government agency video teleconferencing (VTC) and other multi-domain applications.
Previous VTC solutions required duplicate VTC systems and fiber-optic network connections in each conference room or desktop for each domain supported. Most defense or intelligence agency applications require at least two or more domains to cover various top secret, secret and unclassified video conferences.
Freeport’s patent-pending VNS allows users to change the security level of its CODEC in a way that flushes the CODEC of any residual data and returns it to its original state. Similarly, the FiberConnect 320X photonic switch works within security domains because it’s an all-optical switch that switches only photons with no common data plane or management plane where data could cross domains.
"This is a new application for CALIENT, but one where we are able to leverage our high capacity photonic switch to radically change the economics of secure videoconferencing – in some cases lowering the cost by more than 70 percent," said Glenn Stern, vice president of public sector sales at CALIENT. “We look forward to working closely with Freeport to help defense and intelligence agencies drive widespread adoption of secure videoconferencing to be more effective and efficient.”
The complete CALIENT and Freeport system delivers video conferencing on up to five different network domains per conference room or desktop, using a single fiber-optic cable, a single CODEC, a dedicated port, an Ethernet core switch for each domain and a content server for storage and playback (one or more for each domain).
"The demand for videoconferencing as a way to cut travel costs and improve communications continues to grow and working with CALIENT we are able to provide a best-in-class solution to meet that need," said John McGreevy, president and CEO of Freeport.
CALIENT's FiberConnect 320X is based on the company’s patented 3D microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology and uses silicon micro mirrors to switch fiber-optic photons. This compares with other optical switches that convert the light into electrical signals for switching before converting it back to light, making them inappropriate for secure VTC applications because they introduce a common control plane where data could cross security domains. The FiberConnect 320X platform offers the industry’s highest density photonic switch with 640 fiber terminations or 320 ports (transmit and receive).
Source: http://www.calient.com/