Zayo Acquires Fiberlink

Juniper achieves Microsoft Lync certifications for its wired and wireless campus portfolio, Zayo adds more midwest dark fiber by acquiring FiberLink, and Brocade targets the government market with a new PoE switch.

Zayo acquires FiberLink

Zayo Group announced it has acquired FiberLink, a midwest-based dar fiber operator. The addition of 1,200 route miles of dark fiber from Chicago to Des Moines, to Omaha and Denver adds to Zayo's 26,000 route miles, along with associated colocation and technical support services. “FiberLink’s assets strengthen our ability to provide a broad range of end-to-end solutions to our customers,” said Matt Erickson, president of Zayo’s fiber, transport and infrastructure division. “Des Moines is a growing data center market that will now have greater access to Zayo’s network footprint.”

Juniper offers integrated wired/wireless Lync

Juniper Networks (JNPR) announced that it is has received Microsoft Lync qualification for both its wired and wireless campus portfolio. Because of this qualification, Milestone AV Technologies selected Juniper Networks wired, wireless and security products for its campus and data center environments to power its Microsoft Lync-based UC deployment. Juniper WLC880 Wirless LAN and WLA532 Wireless LAN Access Points support Microsoft Lync audio capabilities for mobile voice services at Milestone AV branch locations and factory sites. Juniper EX4500, EX4200 and EX2200 Ethernet Switches also provided a solid network infrastructure for bandwidth-intensive video conferencing capabilities. "As a global company with a highly distributed workforce, we needed a solution that was proven to improve productivity and collaboration amongst employees across a range of communications methods -- including presence, messaging and video -- regardless of location or proximity to headquarters," said Keith Hogie, vice president of IT, Milestone AV Technologies. "The combination of Microsoft Lync powered by Juniper Networks, delivered through our long-time IT partner, Emergent Networks, allowed us to deliver a great, real-time user experience that is driving behavioral change, which ultimately leads to a more collaborative, efficient and productive work environment."

Brocade adds compact PoE switch

Brocade (BRCD) announced an addition to the company's campus networking portfolio with theBrocade ICX 6450-C Switch, which delivers enterprise-class features in a compact form, and supports the simplification and automation provided by theBrocade HyperEdge Architecture. The new switch is designed for the unique and stringent requirements of US Federal agencies and public sector organizations. The small, fan-less switch can be deployed outside the wiring closet, and features MACsec-ready for improved security. The switch has 12x 1GbE ports, 4x 1GbE uplink ports and 4x PoE/PoE+ ports, and is sFlow-enabled for high performance network monitoring. "Reinforcing the Brocade ICX portfolio, the Brocade ICX 6450-C Switch -- combined with its support for the Brocade HyperEdge Architecture -- is a diverse, efficient asset to any organization's network. It's secure, compact and cost-efficient, making it an easy choice for public sector and government IT professionals looking to modernize their networks," said Anthony Robbins, Vice President Federal at Brocade.