18 June 2006
Allied Telesis Donates World's Most Flexible 1ru Network Switch To Uci3
Connecting Canterbury University to one of the most powerful research computing and high capacity network environments
in the world.
Press release, 16 June, 2006, Christchurch, NZ: Allied Telesis is donating two of the most flexible and advanced network
switches in the industry to UCi3, the University of Canterbury's new ICT Innovation Institute. The donation, valued in
excess of $50k plus on-going support, will soon be used to link the University to New Zealand's new Advanced Research
Network being built by the Research and Education Advanced Networks New Zealand (REANNZ).
Last year Government awarded REANNZ a $43m grant to connect New Zealand's Universities, Crown Research Institutes and
Libraries, plus schools and museums, to the research and education network, which is implementing a proof-of-concept
initiative during the months of July and August and is scheduled to go live in December 2006.
Developed locally at the company's product development facility in Christchurch and launched to the international market
only six months ago, the two Allied Telesis AT-9924Ts Expandable Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet switches will be relied
upon to connect the new UCi3 facility and its recently donated IBM high performance computer to the Advanced Research
Network and the rest of the world.
Dr Allan Miller, Vice President of Product Marketing and Deputy Managing Director at Allied Telesis says, "Supporting
UCi3 will benefit us all, as by doing so we are helping to facilitate world-class joint research opportunities and
attract skilled graduates to the Canterbury ICT industry. Allied Telesis is committed to a long-term partnership with
the University of Canterbury, and to encouraging further growth of New Zealand's ICT industry and economy. For years we
have employed some of the best graduates from the university either full-time or for specific research projects, many of
whom have contributed to the development of some of our most advanced and top selling products."
The AT-9924Ts switches are designed for high performance, high speed and high capacity network applications; each has
two 20Gbps expansion bays that provide an unprecedented level of port flexibility and application versatility without
comprising space. The architecture is capable of supporting the most demanding of computing environments and has since
become Allied Telesis's most popular switching product in the international market.
"What makes the AT-9924Ts switch so popular is its powerful feature set combined with a unique modular design that
enables Network Managers to easily upgrade and/or change configurations as their network evolves and expands," explains
Richard Natali, Allied Telesis Switch Product Manager.
University of Canterbury IT Director Associate Professor, Mike Dewe, says: "The Allied Telesis switches will initially
be used by the Institute for exchanging and mining research data internally. In July the AT-9924Ts switches will utilise
their 10Gbps capacity to enable the university to commence trial and functionality testing of their new high capacity
fibre connection to the Advanced Research Network."
The new purpose built UCi3 facility, which is due to open in early 2008, is where Allied Telesis's switches will
eventually be housed. Funding for the facility was secured through the Government's Partnerships in Excellence Scheme
that required the university to raise $9.7m from industry before the equivalent Government commitment could be matched.
IBM, HP, Jade and Tait were recently confirmed as key partners in the development of the UCi3, which will help ensure
long-term skills supply for New Zealand's growing ICT industry.
Peter Jackson, the Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University's College of Engineering Department is delighted with the
donation. He says, "We anticipate up to 50 students, researchers and application engineers to be using the UCi3 facility
at any one time. Allied Telesis's switching technology will enable them to exchange and access tremendous amounts of
data for a wide range of projects from computer games to robotics, Internet and mobile technologies."
"We have enjoyed a strong relationship with Allied Telesis over the years with many of our ICT graduates now working on
international-level projects and developments from their fantastic research facility in Christchurch. This relationship
is exactly the sort of collaboration and support we are encouraging from the ICT industry and we are appealing for
others to help us in building an ICT icon in New Zealand. Our aim is to attract the brightest and top skilled people to
further the growth of both the industry and our economy in New Zealand."
About Allied Telesis
Allied Telesis was founded in 1987 and now has offices around the globe, more than 2,800 employees and over $500M of
worldwide annual revenue. The attributes which have led Allied Telesis to achieve its leading position in the
enterprise, operator and connectivity business segments can be summarised by four key elements: its business focus on
networking technology for professional markets, where Allied Telesis has proved to be the only company capable of
providing a total end-to-end solution at a high price/performance ratio; the ability to handle every aspect of its own
products from design to marketing; the development of components and solutions which accommodate flexible, efficient and
reliable network construction; and support from sound warranty terms and quality services. Allied Telesis connects the
IP world efficiently thanks to affordable and highly reliable network solutions. For more information see
www.alliedtelesis.com .
About UCi3
UCi3, the New Zealand ICT Innovation Institute, at the University of Canterbury will be a national centre for excellence
in Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
The first teaching and research facility of its kind in NZ, it will link academic and industry expertise to enhance
high-tech capabilities and developments.
For more information about UCi3 see http://www.ict.canterbury.ac.nz .
ENDS