Intelligent Data Centres Issue 40 | Page 51

Nokia to supply data centre switching portfolio for Microsoft ’ s data centre networks

Nokia has announced it will provide its data centre switching solutions for Microsoft ’ s data centre facilities to support the bandwidth growth to Microsoft Azure as part of a multi-faceted deal . The deal expands the long-standing relationship between the companies , who have been working together to bring massively scaled , agile and highly resilient networking to the data centre environment .

With the significant growth of cloud services and cloud computing and the move to 400GE , Nokia has been selected to supply its 7250 IXR chassis-based interconnect routers to support highdensity 400GE applications in Microsoft ’ s ‘ Tier-2 ’ network architecture . Nokia will also be supplying fixed-form-factor platforms to other Microsoft network applications . This new agreement builds upon the companies ’ collaboration as part of the open-source SONiC initiative to develop chassis-based platforms , focused on the requirements of highcapacity data centres .
“ Today ’ s data centres have their own unique operational challenges and Nokia has been working closely for some time now with Microsoft to understand its evolving data centre needs and requirements ,” said Vach Kompella , Vice President , IP Networks Division , Nokia . “ Our expertise in building highperformance , chassis-based systems was a key factor in our selection .”
NOKIA BRINGS DENSITY , PERFORMANCE AND FLEXIBILITY TO MICROSOFT ’ S DATA CENTRE NETWORKS AND CLOUD ENVIRONMENTS .
Nokia ’ s next-generation data centre switching portfolio platforms deliver the scale , openness , aggregation and interconnectivity required for modern data centre networks . The 7250 IXR offers a broad range of highperformance chassis-based and fixedform-factor options for data centre top of rack ( TOR ), leaf , spine and super-spine applications . The platforms support port speeds up to 400GE , with a path to 800GE , along with comprehensive IP and Ethernet feature sets .
“ Nokia ’ s platforms were a natural choice to deliver the massivescale interconnectivity that Microsoft requires ,” added David Maltz , Technical Fellow and Corporate Vice President , Microsoft Azure Networking . “ Nokia brings density , performance and flexibility to Microsoft ’ s data centre networks and cloud environments and is partnering with Microsoft to deliver chassis switches running the open-source networking operating system SONiC .” �
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