Ferrari Standardizes On Enterasys Networks for High-availability Network
NEWBURY, England & MARANELLO, Italy--Oct. 2, 2001--Enterasys' Technology Underpins Design, Manufacturing & Testing
Activities at Ferrari
Enterasys Networks has announced that Ferrari s.p.a., one of the world's most revered sports car manufacturers, has selected Enterasys as its strategic supplier for its new high-availability network. The new state-of-the-art Gigabit Ethernet infrastructure will underpin all of Ferrari's design, manufacturing and testing activities and ensure uninterrupted production of 4,000 individually crafted cars yearly from its site in Maranello, Italy.
The new scalable network will guarantee performance and availability of critical bandwidth-intensive applications throughout the Maranello facility and assure integrated communications amongst its employees. A combination of Enterasys' X-Pedition switch routers, Matrix multi-layer switches and Vertical Horizon stackable switches will be used to provide a solution that will support both new and existing voice, video and data applications, driving collaborative efforts between designers and manufacturing and testing staffs and yielding greater productivity.
"Our network is vital to us - not just for data transmission, but for voice and video as well. Availability is paramount. In many cases, our systems run from 7am until late into the evening. On a Grand Prix weekend, they must be available the entire time," said Alessandro Sala, IT Technical Manager at Ferrari. "We were looking for a supplier to provide us with best-of-breed solutions based on leading-edge technology and with the highest availability - in Ferrari we always choose the best - and, as a result, chose Enterasys Networks."
Ferrari's decision to redesign its data communications infrastructure was driven by the complex and time-consuming task of supporting multi-vendor systems within its existing network, coupled with an increasing demand for flexible communications. With the introduction of Enterasys' Layer-3 switch routing technology; the network will migrate from a flat peer-to-peer architecture to a family of sub-networks fed by a core backbone. The solution provides inherent Quality-of-Service (QoS) and traffic prioritization functionality for enhanced application performance with the capability to scale significantly in line with future business needs.
"Ferrari has always built its success on its employees' excellence - their ideas and their technology used in producing Ferrari cars, both the competition and road models. They have represented perfection to generations of Ferrari enthusiasts the world over. With Enterasys' help, our network is now in a position to give them the support and service they need for the future," continued Mr Sala.
The Enterasys Solution
Ferrari is upgrading to a high-performance network solution consisting of Enterasys' award-winning X-Pedition 8600 and X-Pedition 8000 switch routers, its Matrix E7 multi-layer switches and its Vertical Horizon workgroup series of stackable switches. The network will support more than 3,000 ports, and the installation is expected to be completed in October 2001.
"Successful manufacturing starts with putting the right infrastructure in place," said Gerard Vivier, President of Enterasys Europe, Middle East & Africa. "Through the implementation of an advanced network from Enterasys, Ferrari is creating a collaborative environment that has the potential to reduce internal communication costs and maximize its return on technology investment."
Enterasys is also a Gold Partner Sponsor of the "Ferrari Challenge Pirelli Trophy - Western Europe" for the 2001 season. The Ferrari Challenge Pirelli Trophy is the first ever factory-backed, one-make racing series aimed exclusively at semi and non-professional racing drivers. About 200 drivers compete around the world in championships that are divided into geographical areas including, Western Europe, Southern Europe, Central Europe, Japan and the USA.