NTT Communications' SD-WAN Gives McLaren Racing an Edge for 2018 Season
McLaren Formula 1 TEAM (McLaren), a pioneering leader in Formula 1 motor racing for more than 50 years, and NTT Communications Corp. (NTT Com), have announced that McLaren will adopt SD-WAN (software-defined wide-area network) technology from NTT Com to connect the McLaren Technology Centre with racing circuits in 21 countries during the 2018 season.
The decision follows a successful test deployment of the technology during the 2017 Japan Grand Prix, when McLaren was able to send 100GB of data during a race from Japan to the UK via NTT Com’s SD-WAN.
NTT Com’s SD-WAN uses software to control the WAN, providing McLaren with quick, secure, reliable and flexible management of data traffic flows. A variety of traffic can be sent via different connections, such as internet, mobile and MPLS, depending on time, priority and current network speed. This flexibility allows the priority routing of key data, such as telemetry and video, at critical points.
Also, NTT Com’s service includes a dashboard screen to visualize data-traffic status during a race. McLaren can grasp network availability and required data bandwidth at a glance to optimize data transmission during a race, giving them an edge in the real-time formation, adjustment and deployment of in-race strategy.
