'Suzuka Special' SD-WAN Speeds McLaren F1 Team

When it comes to the business of speed, it’s fair to say the team at McLaren are experts. For decades, they have carefully crafted some of the fastest vehicles on the planet.  Back in March, we witnessed McLaren take SD-WAN to the track, today we are seeing the F1 team taking more strides into the software-defined dominion.

Today, McLaren F1 Team and its technology partner NTT (News - Alert) Communications announced the launch of software-defined-everything technology, SDx, temporarily. The initial deployment is intended for the F1 Japanese Grand Prix 2018.

The newly deployed, “Suzuka Special” promises to advance trackside communication. The SDx technology will enable improved in-race strategy via cloud-based telemetry data.  The Suzuka Special will be deployed in McLaren’s European cloud infrastructure, the Mclaren Technology Centre and the Suzuka Circuit.

New NFV (networks functions virtualization) infrastructure is comprised of SD-WAN, WAN accelerator, unified threat management and web proxy. The exceptional flexibility in the deployment is a result of service chaining. A white-box CPE will be deployed at the McLaren Technology Centre and the Suzuka Circuit.

Each CPE will include NFV infrastructure components installed (SD-WAN, WAN accelerator software, UTM, etc.).  The box will then serve to launch SD-WAN and an Internet gateway.

Tatsuya Yamashita, Head of NTT Com’s Technology Development Division, noted “McLaren has been using NTT Com’s SD-WAN service with zero downtime for the entire 2018 season, beginning at the Australian Grand Prix. We are now delighted to introduce our new NFV infrastructure for the Japanese Grand Prix. The superior ICT solutions NTT Com is providing as a trusted technology partner are not only giving McLaren a competitive edge in F1 racing, but also are providing us with invaluable insight into potential solutions for our general enterprise customers’ digital transformations.”

The cloud era is upon us. As enterprises seek faster, more efficient and flexible networking solutions the choice seems quite clear. If SD-WAN is fast enough for F1, it’s fast enough for your business.

What’s in your WAN?

Curious to learn more about SD-WAN? SD-WAN Expo 2019 will be here before you know it to introduce attendees to the market leaders, what lies ahead and most importantly, what this up-and-coming technology can offer.

Already an SD-WAN expert? Interested in speaking at SD-WAN Expo 2019? Shoot me an email at [email protected].