International collaboration leverages SDN for advanced cyber-attack detection and defense

The Secure Autonomous Response programmable networks project (SARNET), including  Ciena®(NYSE: CIEN), is exploring how software defined networking (SDN) can help alleviate cyber-attacks and program networks to provide enhanced cyber-terror detection and defense. SARNET utilizes a unique, multi-purpose, high-capacity research network and allows researchers to trial advanced network detection and defensive functionalities that automatically reconfigure around anomalies to help create and control agile, resilient and high-performing architectures.

Key Facts:

  • The SARNET project allows researchers to automatically create, manipulate, move and remove network services as needed. With added software intelligence, the network can be programmed to instantly reconfigure, self-provision and self-heal, helping to prevent attacks, such as denial-of-service (DOS) attacks, which have more than doubled in the last year according to the 2015 Akamai State of the Internet security report.
  • The research network leverages Ciena’s SDN-enabled 8700 Packetwave platform with multiple research laboratories, including UvA, which is connected to Ciena’s Ottawa, Canada R&D facilities via its OPn research network. International connectivity is achieved via CANARIE in Canada; Internet 2, Starlight and ESnet in the United States; and, SURFnet in the Netherlands. It also includes computers and storage clouds based on the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) exoGENI architecture.

Executive Comments:

  • “SARNET exemplifies the significant transformation that future networks need to make in order to reconfigure and self-provision instantly. This collaboration is exploring just one of the use-cases made possible by SDN. Autonomous Internet security would alleviate a lot of pressure on today’s networks, freeing up resources and opening the industry up to a raft of other innovations.”
    - Cees de Laat, University of Amsterdam, Principal Investigator, SARNET
  • “Networks are becoming agile, software-enabled infrastructures, and the ability to adapt to changing traffic patterns and bandwidth demands is more crucial now than ever. Enabling instantaneous responses to cyber-attacks or cyber warfare is a logical next step on this journey, and demonstrates an important advantage of software defined networking. With SARNET we are creating powerful new software intelligence that can help increase the security of our digital society.”
    - Rod Wilson, Senior Director of External Research, Ciena

Supporting Resources:

NotesThis research received funding from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) in the framework of the Cyber Security research program.

About Ciena
Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) is the network specialist. We collaborate with customers worldwide to unlock the strategic potential of their networks and fundamentally change the way they perform and compete. Ciena leverages its deep expertise in packet and optical networking and distributed software automation to deliver solutions in alignment with its OPn architecture for next-generation networks. We enable a high-scale, programmable infrastructure that can be controlled and adapted by network-level applications, and provide open interfaces to coordinate computing, storage and network resources in a unified, virtualized environment. For updates on Ciena news, follow us on Twitter @Ciena or on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/company/ciena. Investors are encouraged to review the Investors section of our website at www.ciena.com/investors, where we routinely post press releases, SEC filings, recent news, financial results, and other announcements. From time to time we exclusively post material information to this website along with other disclosure channels that we use.

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