SANTIAGO, Chile, 31 de Mayo de 2016.- Located at 5,000 meter altitude at the Atacama Desert in Chile, ALMA, Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, the world's largest radio observatory, is literally pushing Cisco technology to the limits.
Having 66 antennas almost 15 meters tall - the eyes of ALMA - operating day and night to capture the signals of the universe to explain how stars and planets were formed is not an easy task. Low temperatures, high winds and snow, low humidity, dust, and a lack of oxygen are tough challenges that the ALMA staff and its network infrastructure have to endure.
To deal with one of the most extreme environments of the planet, it's required a robust and reliable digital network architecture to take all the data from the antennas to the brain of ALMA, a supercomputer capable of processing the information from the ALMA antennas in real-time and transforming it into one cohesive data stream.
Cisco solutions are deeply integrated within ALMA operations, making Cisco an end-to-end solution provider helping ALMA, the world's largest observatory, to fulfill its mission: unveiling the mysteries of the Universe.
ALMA is, in simple words, a factory that produces scientific data and delivers them to the astronomical community, but for this supply chain to work, we need a reliable backbone, where we can support this process, and that is where Cisco plays a fundamental role , said Jorge Ibsen, Director of the Computing Department of ALMA. For over 10 years weve been working with Cisco solutions and have always given us cutting edge technology, which is what ALMA needs to generate large amounts of reusable scientific data. We currently produce about 200 terabyte (TB) TB per year, and that volume of data is expected to increase significantly over the following years in operations .
For a unique operation such as Alma to work, it is essential that the infrastructure operates in extreme conditions, but with the same advanced features and capabilities as if they were in a traditional office environment. One of the secrets to Cisco's success is our ability to customize our solutions to meet the needs in various industries, their special requirements and unique conditions , explained Mariana Portela, account manager at Cisco Chile.
Unveiling the Mysteries of the Universe
For that purpose, ALMA is using Cisco Catalyst 6500 Core switches capable of working at high altitude allowing great reliability in this extreme environment, and advanced functionalities. This critical equipment is installed in a data center located inside of the Array Operations Site Technical Building located at 5000m altitude. The building has oxygen injection, precise cooling systems and power lines to ensure optimal operational conditions, making it the highest data center in the world.
The antennas produce hundreds of gigabits (GB) of data every day, which are processed in the ALMA supercomputer - the Correlator - and then sent to the Operations Support Facility (OSF) at 2.900m altitude, located at 28Km from San Pedro de Atacama in the middle of the desert, through dedicated fiber optics links. The OSF hosts a data center, state-of-the-art labs, offices and dormitories allowing more than 200 persons to work every day, with reliable Internet access, Wi-Fi connections, video conferencing, telephone and presence services through Cisco network equipment, providing critical services given the remote nature of the facilities.
It's at the control room in the OSF, the decision-making neurons of ALMA, where astronomers and operators command all the antennas to observe the universe and where the captured data is stored, essentially acting as the short term memory of ALMA. To do that, a set of servers, storage units and very specialized software is needed to control the 66 antennas. However, a great challenge was presented to maximize the operation throughput of the onservatory, groups of antennas needed to be controlled and operated independently from others and to act as parallel production lines. But duplicating the control hardware and software was too expensive, and the workload for reconfiguring them and to change all the required optic cabling to properly connect each single antenna was overwhelming.
Fortunately, advances in the network industry together with the maturity of the Cisco virtualization technology allowed ALMA to provide a solution that allows replicating the control servers and software without changing their network address definition. This is only possible with virtual routing and LAN capabilities of Cisco core switches. The solution brings increased operational efficiency delivering dynamic reconfiguration of antennas and switches, with minimum time and zero human intervention in the cabling. ALMA pushed the virtualization initiative even further, by migrating classical rack mount servers into Cisco B22-M3, Cisco UCS Blade Servers and Cisco Nexus 5500 Switches, allowing them to standardize and consolidates the control servers and software and to reduce complexity en IT's environment. The advanced administration tools come with simplified dashboards, making them intuitive for users from other departments to manage the antennas.
Data from observations is finally sent to Santiago, where the main ALMA archive node - the long-term memory of ALMA. Resides. The data is stored and processed through high-speed networks using Cisco Nexus switches. After processing, the end data products are sent to the ALMA Support Centers, allowing the worldwide science community to make breathtaking scientific discoveries.
About ALMA
The Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of ESO, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) of Japan in cooperation with
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the First Look for Land of Sin' - Premier...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
SANTIAGO, Chile, 31 de Mayo de 2016.- Located at 5,000 meter altitude at the Atacama Desert in Chile, ALMA, Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, the world's largest radio observatory, is literally pushing Cisco technology to the limits.
