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PeakOptical helping Denmark’s reseachers stay connected

The National Agency for IT and Learning (formerly UNI-C), a Danish, state-supported IT organisation, utilises PeakOptical transceivers as a reliable, cost-effective way of operating its vast high-speed network. NAIL, Denmark’s IT Centre for Education and Research, is an IT organisation that services the educational and research facilities connected with universities across the country. NAIL’s charge is to search out new areas within IT and make this knowledge and the resulting technical solutions available for the Danish educational and research sectors. NAIL is one of the foremost experts in the area of internet connectivity. They were an integral part of the drive to bring all Danish schools online, and they have been involved with internet solutions and network connectivity projects since the early 90’s. NAIL maintains a close relationship with the education sector, so that its unique needs can be taken into consideration when pursuing new and innovative approaches to IT infrastructure and administration.

The case

One of NAIL’s core competencies is IT operations. Not only they are responsible for the daily operation and maintenance of the shared internet networks connecting the educational and research institutions around Denmark, but they also handle IT operation and maintenance for private organisations and companies as well. Among other networks, NAIL operates and develops The Danish Research Network (In Danish, Forskningsnettet), a high-speed network for researchers and students at Danish universities and research institutions. The network is an optical network, that allows secure transmission of large amounts of data related to both Danish and international research. The Danish Research Network connects every Danish university and dozens of research institutes and has over 100,000 users daily. When compared with traditional commercial internet connections, The Danish Research Network provides its users with a faster and more stable connection, which is of great importance to the researchers who depend on this network to transmit their research findings. Given the importance of the networks they maintain, it would stand to reason that NAIL wouldn’t take chances with the products they use for their internet connections. They are viewed as pioneers within the field of education and research-related IT, and the network environment they set up and maintain plays a crucial role in the daily work of hundreds of thousands of users across the country.

So it is significant that UNI-C has selected PeakOptical’s optic transceivers as an integral component of their network set-up.Among other networks, NAIL operates and develops The Danish Research Network (In Danish, Forskningsnettet), a high-speed network for researchers and students at Danish universities and research institutions. The network is an optical network, that allows for secure transmission of large amounts of data related to both Danish and international research. The Danish Research Network connects every Danish university and dozens of research institutes, and has over 100,000 users daily. When compared with traditional commercial internet connections, The Danish Research Network provides its users a faster and more stable connection, which is of great importance to the researchers who depend on this network to transmit their research findings. Given the importance of the networks they maintain, it would stand to reason that NAIL wouldn’t take chances with the products they use for their internet connections. They are viewed as pioneers within the field of education and research-related IT, and the network environment they set up and maintain plays a crucial role in the daily work of hundreds of thousands of users across the country. So it is significant that UNI-C has selected PeakOptical’s optic transceivers as an integral component of their network set-up.

A long-standing costumer

NAIL has been a PeakOptical customer ever since 2007. Jan Ferré, NAIL’s Network Caretaker and chief engineer, speaks about their experiences with PeakOptical’s transceivers.
“We’re quite satisfied with these transceivers. We appreciate the fact that they can be used with a variety of hardware because this cross-platform compatibility gives us a great deal of flexibility. I would have to say that it is a high quality product. It’s very rare that they break down. In fact, I can’t remember that it ever happened.”
Jan Ferré
Network Caretaker, National Agency for IT and Learning​

High quality and Low cost

PeakOptical transceivers can be used with a number of original equipment manufacturers, OEMs, such as Cisco, Avaya, HP, Alcatel-Lucent and others. This allows companies to utilise the products irrespective of their main equipment provider. Ferré explains that NAIL’s decision to deploy PeakOptical transceivers was primarily a question of cost and availability. NAIL uses several different transceiver modules in their vast network. They have deployed a total of 250 PeakOptical transceivers, which, when calculated based on current market prices, have saved them approximately DKK 1,800,000 over the two years they have used the modules. That’s a significant amount of savings for any company, but especially a state-supported institution.
“For us, it was the cost. PeakOptical’s transceivers cost about a tenth of what our original equipment provider’s transceivers cost. In some instances, it is also a matter of availability and delivery time. With some of our vendors, delivery times can be upwards of six weeks. But PeakOptical is usually able to deliver components in about 2-10 working days, which makes them an attractive alternative. I would have to say that it is a high quality product. It’s very rare that they break down. In fact, I can’t remember that it ever happened.”
Jan Ferré
Network Caretaker, National Agency for IT and Learning​
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