100-Gigabit Network to Provide Ultra-High Performance and Throughput Required by Research and Higher Education Communities
COLLEGE PARK, MD (September 25, 2014) — Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX), a multi-state optical transport network operated by the University of Maryland, and BYTEGRID Holdings LLC, a provider of multi-tenant data centers, today announced a strategic partnership that will leverage the resources of both organizations to provide an advanced cyberinfrastructure platform serving the research and education (R&E) community across the mid-Atlantic region.
In this partnership, MAX will establish a terabit-capable point of presence (TeraPoP) in BYTEGRID’s 214,000-square-foot data center, which is located within the White Oak Science Gateway and Life Sciences Village in Silver Spring, MD. Launching a TeraPoP at this location will put BYTEGRID’s data center within MAX’s high-performance network footprint, which has an aggregated capacity of 8.8 terabits per second. In addition, the MAX regional network provides extremely high-speed access to the larger national and global R&E network infrastructure, including multiple 100-Gbps connections to the Internet2 network and other high-performance wide area network infrastructures. As a result, MAX and BYTEGRID’s mutually-beneficial partnership will provide a much-needed resource to members of the local life sciences research community by helping them integrate massive storage archives (typically involving petabytes of data) with high- performance compute and network requirements.
BYTEGRID’s “Maryland Connect” program will have access to all MAX advanced services, and MAX participants will benefit from BYTEGRID’s secure state-of-the-art data center facilities. Ultimately, this synergistic partnership allows both organizations to provide increased opportunities for high-end cyberservices, content, and connectivity.
The expansion of MAX’s 100-Gbps advanced networking infrastructure within BYTEGRID’s Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)-compliant facility also enables both organizations to offer highly secure colocation solutions to participants within the government community. Other available services will include direct connection into Amazon Web Services, as well as an “Innovation Sandbox” focused on the development of ultra-high-throughput IT infrastructure solutions.
“MAX is pleased to be a key technology partner and establish the TeraPoP in BYTEGRID’s FISMA-compliant facility in the heart of the Life Sciences Village in Silver Spring,” said Tripti Sinha, Executive Director of MAX.
“We are committed to providing the advanced networking infrastructure required by the world’s most important research, education, and scientific organizations.”
The MAX-BYTEGRID partnership also enables the continued integration and unification of advanced cyberservices for the R&E community. In recent field trials, MAX successfully achieved, and hopes to eventually offer, a networking infrastructure based on 400-Gbps technology, with even higher speeds (up to 800 Gbps) planned for the future. This robust, yet flexible, infrastructure complements BYTEGRID’s flagship data center campus in Silver Spring, which consists of two data center facilities (MDC1 and MDC2) encompassing 91,000 square feet of computer room floor and nine megawatts of uninterruptible power supply (UPS) capacity. The maintainable and fault-tolerant design of BYTEGRID’s facility offers an ideal location for future projects and expansion opportunities for both organizations, especially to serve the burgeoning R&E community and federal government entities that are expanding their presence in Montgomery County.
“The state of Maryland has been very clear in its support embracing the advanced technology requirements of the R&E communities that are making their presence felt here in Montgomery County,” said Don Goodwin, BYTEGRID’s Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing. “Together, BYTEGRID and MAX will deliver a powerful new solution integrating network connectivity, throughput, and data center space for those requiring ultra-high performance, security, and compliant-grade IT infrastructure that will play a key role in advancing Maryland’s cyberinfrastructure. This solution ushers in a new era for Maryland – a high-performance and geographically convenient alternative to the current data center options in Loudon County, Virginia.”
About Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX)
Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX) is a multi-state regional network led by the University of Maryland. MAX owns and operates an all-optical, Layer 1 core network that is the foundation for a high-performance infrastructure providing state-of-the-art 100-Gbps network technology and services. MAX participants include universities, federal research labs, and other research-focused organizations in the Washington and Baltimore metropolitan areas. MAX serves as a connector and traffic aggregator to the Internet2 national backbone and peers with other major networks. Its mission is to provide cutting-edge network connectivity for its participants, tailored and generic data-transport solutions, and advanced services to accommodate and optimize large data flows and to facilitate network and application research. For more information about MAX and MAX services, please visit www.maxgigapop.net.
About BYTEGRID®
BYTEGRID Holdings LLC focuses exclusively on the nationwide acquisition, development, and operation of premier data center facilities. The company serves the growing need for mission-critical data center space by providing highly secure, interconnected, carrier-neutral, and density-robust data centers that serve commercial, government, and service provider markets. A privately-held company headquartered in Northern Virginia, BYTEGRID currently owns and operates data centers in the Washington, D.C., Atlanta, GA, Cleveland, OH, Chicago, IL, and Seattle, WA metro areas with plans to acquire additional facilities. The company is led by industry veterans with significant experience in data center operations, design, and construction; data center sales and marketing; real estate development and finance; and telecommunications. For more information, please visit www.BYTEGRID.com.
Media Contacts:
Phyllis Dickerson Johnson, Director of Communications and Marketing, Division of Information Technology, University of Maryland, 301.405.4491, phyllis@umd.edu.
Carter B. Cromley, Analyst and Media Relations, BYTEGRID, 703.861.7245, ccromley@bytegrid.com.
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