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Breaking News - Networking:

State Of Florida Deploys Intelligent Highway System

Reaping the benefits from a converged IP network based on Extreme Networks Inc's Ethernet network infrastructure, the State of Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District Five has established an Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) for the distribution of converged IP video and data applications reaching from Disney World to Daytona Beach on the east/west Interstates 4 and I-95. This metropolitan IP network is based on Extreme Networks' BlackDiamond core switch and its high performance Alpine and Summit switching solutions.

District Five's (Orlando-Daytona Beach-Cape Canaveral) ITMS is aimed at improving the efficiency, safety and mobility of roadway conditions. The system touches a number of cities and counties across the central portion of the state and consists of IP video control systems and computerized freeway surveillance systems that make for a complete ITMS running over the high-capacity optical network. This converged IP network is powered by Extreme Networks' scalable Layer 2/3 Summit switches placed at the edge of the network feeding data traffic to BlackDiamond 6816 core switches. The wire-speed, multi-layer Ethernet network provides the foundation for a robust, IP multicast network where multiple video streams are handled fluidly.

With dual BlackDiamond switches in the core at the district office and Regional Traffic Management Center, the network is redundant and easily scales when demanding applications require bandwidth.

"Running up to 140 multicast MPEG video streams is no problem at all for our high performance network from Extreme Networks," said Scott Silva, senior project manager for District 5 at FDOT. "The BlackDiamond switch clearly offered the best fit when considering broadband capacity, intelligence and Quality of Service for our applications. Video links are beautifully depicted and never overload the network. Considering all of this, we have created a highly reliable and network we can expand as we grow our capabilities."

District Five's fiber optic ring is currently under expansion where upgrades are being implemented to broaden the reach and intelligence of the system. Several of Extreme Networks' Summit 48i switches and Alpine switches have been deployed in Orlando and connect up to the BlackDiamond core. Plans are also underway to install a 10 gigabit backbone link between the District office and Regional Traffic Management Center.

"Today's real-time applications in the Metro are increasingly supported by a single converged Ethernet network," said Varun Nagaraj, vice president of product management for Extreme Networks. "Extreme Networks is uniquely positioned to deliver the network infrastructure to support these mission-critical applications and services, where the converged IP infrastructure must be backed with resiliency, availability and prioritized bandwidth."

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