The Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network (ORION) recruited Dr. Darin Graham as its president and CEO in July, a hire that ORION Chair Maxime Jean-Louis
told Yonge Street brought on a man with "an international record" who would help the organization "leapfrog into the forefront of innovation in Ontario."
Months later, the organization
has announced [PDF] that they will deploy a 100G network -- the first in Canada and the first in the world to be deployed for Research and Education purposes. The new network represents a tenfold increase in capacity. "Moving to 100G is a generational leap in capabilities and a significant technological milestone. It helps move Ontario to the head of the pack in terms of having an extraordinary backbone in place to support new and innovative ways of enabling advanced research, innovation and scientific discovery," Graham says.
ORION is an "ultra high-speed research and education network" that links 1.7
million Ontario researchers, scientists, students, teachers and staff
to enable research collaborations and discoveries in physics, cancer research,
environmental science and technologies, social sciences and the
humanities and other disciplines.
ORION says this is the first phase of a much larger major upgrade to its network, which spans 5,800 kilometres of fibre optic cable across the province. The project is expected to be completed in spring 2010.
Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Tamara Stoll, ORION