NEP Australia (NEP), one of Australia’s leading providers of outsourced broadcast production solutions, has entered into an agreement with Arista Networks, a leader in datacenter cloud networking, via leading supplier Professional Audio and Television (PAT), to provide core network infrastructure to NEP’s new production Hubs.
Located in Sydney and Melbourne, the NEP Hubs will enable multiple concurrent outside broadcasts (OBs) and be the world’s largest networked broadcast centers. Based on an internet protocol (IP) core, the Hubs allow for remote, distributed production – meaning cameras and microphones will be located at the venue, with the majority of the production team based at the Hubs. Designed for large multi-camera sports broadcasts, they will accommodate Australia’s most-followed football codes – Rugby League (NRL) and Australian Rules (AFL) – as well as A-League football (soccer) and other popular sports from 29 venues across the country.
Arista will supply its Arista 7500R series spine with 7050QX for the Hubs’ core IP switching fabric. Arista R series will provide the IP fabric for four new ‘intelligent’ OB trucks and also add a network layer to NEP’s existing HD SDI baseband trucks.
NEP Australia’s Director of Technology, Marc Segar, said, “NEP decided on Arista Networks for their combination of class-leading technology and amazing support through the design process from the local team in Sydney. We are building one of the world’s most comprehensive multi-site broadcast centers and Arista offer the right network tools.”
“We are excited to be working with NEP on this world-leading vision. This will be a groundbreaking project for the broadcast industry and we look forward to working in close cooperation on this project with NEP and our local partner, PAT,” said Tony Bauman, ANZ country manager for Arista Networks.
Arista Networks was founded to pioneer and deliver software-driven cloud networking solutions for large datacenter storage and computing environments. Arista’s award-winning platforms, ranging in Ethernet speeds from 10 to 100 gigabits per second, redefine scalability, agility and resilience. Arista has shipped more than ten million cloud networking ports worldwide with CloudVision and EOS, an advanced network operating system. Committed to open standards, Arista is a founding member of the 25/50GbE consortium. Arista Networks products are available worldwide directly and through partners.
NEP’s Sydney and Melbourne production Hubs are under construction and will be operational for the start of the AFL and NRL seasons in March 2018.