Level 3 Expands Data Center Portfolio

In an effort to assist companies improve their connectivity, data management, and data storage, Level 3 Communications has enhanced its data center networking portfolio to include storage area networking (SAN) fibre channel protocol as well as dark fiber and managed fiber solutions.

With the addition of SAN protocol, dark fiber and managed fiber offerings, Level 3’s Data Center Networking Portfolio provides a complete package of solutions enable enterprises to interconnect company facilities and data centers around the globe.

“Level 3 has solved a complex part of delivering virtualized IT services with their new native fibre channel solution,” says Ken Cheng, VP of Service Provider Products for Brocade, a provider of data center, enterprise, and service provider infrastructure solutions. “The ability to replicate and backup data in real time will enable both enterprise and service provider customers to fully leverage the operational and economic benefits of public and private cloud solutions,”

An independent online survey, conducted by Harris Interactive between Oct. 25, 2010 and Nov. 2, 2010, of over 238 mid market and large enterprise decision influencers indicated that nearly four out of five companies (78%) replicate data between data centers, underscoring the significant storage and bandwidth requirements necessary for enterprises today. Emphasizing these increasing demands, over one in five enterprise decision influencers (22%) said they were using 10 Gbps transport to connect their data centers. Level 3’s Data Center Networking Portfolio was designed with these findings in mind and offers a direct response to the mounting industry needs.

“Level 3 combines local service and a global reach over an advanced optical network, offering a full range of options for enterprises looking to improve their operational proficiency,” says Paul Savill, SVP of Transport and Infrastructure Services for Level 3. “By enhancing this portfolio of services, we are better equipped to serve our enterprise customers’ evolving needs and demonstrate our commitment to meet the increasing demand for comprehensive service solutions.”

Level 3’s Data Center Networking portfolio offers businesses fully managed optical networks, which enable synchronous and asynchronous data storage replication and mirroring.