Juniper Networks, a provider of high-performance networking, today announced the successful implementation of the "arrownet" project at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). Powered by Juniper Networks M Series Multiservice Edge Routers and Junos operating system, arrownet is TSE's low-latency, ultra-reliable, high-capacity network that supports its next-generation securities trading system, "arrowhead."

The TSE is putting in place a number of IT innovations, including arrownet, to pave its way to becoming a Universal Exchange for securities, options and derivatives trading. TSE selected Juniper Networks M320 and M120 Multiservice Edge Routers to form the core and access layers of the new network, based on their outstanding performance, reliability and track record with other exchanges and carriers.

"We look for our IT infrastructure to be secure, reliable and able to quickly accommodate and adapt to changes in market conditions," said Yoshinori Suzuki, Managing Director and CIO of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. "With Juniper's high-performance routers in place, arrownet is an important network platform upon which we have built arrowhead. The ultra low-latency response investors have been experiencing since the release of arrowhead proves that arrownet is delivering on our vision to supply a world-class trading infrastructure that is able to compete on equal terms with, or even surpass, any other financial market in the world."

A robust MPLS network, arrownet is designed for fast, high-volume data communications with latency of less than two milliseconds (measured value is less than one millisecond) from the access point to the data center. The network is configured as a ring using highly reliable Juniper Networks M Series routers placed with dual redundancy, making arrownet infrastructure highly fault tolerant. The configuration also allows for fail-over from TSE's primary data center to its backup center without intervention on the part of the securities firms, reducing their burden.

"TSE understands that every millisecond counts in today's trading environment," said Kevin Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Juniper Networks. "Our partnership with TSE is a testament to the innovation we've driven through silicon, software and systems to cut latency out of the network. TSE now has one of the world's most advanced financial trading networks, flexible enough to meet the exchange's evolving needs while delivering the speed, reliability and security that their customers demand."

TSE offers securities firms the opportunity to co-locate their systems within the Exchange's data center, minimizing inter-system latency, while connecting them to their offices and their data centers via arrownet's dual access points. Furthermore, the flexibility and scalability of arrownet's architecture enables TSE to interconnect with overseas financial institutions and exchanges.

The Juniper Networks M Series is a family of high-performance multiservice edge routers, with Advanced Routing features, such as MPLS network virtualization, low-latency Multicast, and carrier-class reliability, that delivers exceptional flexibility and reliability over a wide range of connectivity options. The Advanced Routing features are uniquely offered in the single source Junos operating system that is running consistently across the Juniper routing platforms. This enables TSE to reduce the time needed to deploy new services and significantly decreases network operation costs.