Supplying advanced routers and switches for faster, high-capacity data centre growth and connectivity, Nokia extends partnership with Microsoft to boost Azure’s global scalability.
On Thursday, Nokia announced the extension of its partnership with Microsoft, which includes a five-year plan to supply Microsoft Azure with data centre routers and switches. This collaboration will enhance the scalability of Azure data centres globally.
Nokia is already a supplier of Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure in over 30 countries. The agreement builds on the two companies existing partnership on the open-source SONiC project, where Nokia supports high-capacity networks for data centres.
As part of the extended agreement, Nokia will provide its 7250 IXR-10e platform to enable multi-terabit-scale interconnectivity across Microsoft’s data centres. Additionally, it will continue to deliver its custom-developed management switch, widely used throughout the Azure network.
Vach Kompella, Senior Vice President and General Manager of IP Networks business at Nokia, stated, “This win affirms Nokia’s commitment to being a strategic supplier for tier one hyperscaler companies, and highlights that our multi-year strategic investments and approach have put us on the right trajectory.”
The deployment of the 7250 IXR-10e platform is set to begin in February.
The SONiC-based routers and switches will support new data centre locations and migrating from 100GE to 400GE connectivity at existing facilities. This will ensure that Microsoft can handle rising traffic demands with Nokia’s networking solutions.
David Maltz, Technical Fellow and Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Azure Networking, said: “Over the past six years we have worked with Nokia’s engineers to develop their routers running SONiC to rapidly advance our expansion at the quality our customers demand.”
