Download Network architecture, operations, services info sheet

Network architecture,
operations and connectivity services
Through the GÉANT Project (GN4-1), the GÉANT network provides the high-speed connectivity needed to
share, access and process the massive volumes of data generated by research and education communities. It
now reaches over 100 countries worldwide and continues to be the most advanced network of its type, with
the highest levels of availability, robust security and flexible services for NRENs to deliver to their research
and education users.
THE GÉANT NETWORK
Considered the most advanced and wellconnected research and education network
in the world, the GÉANT backbone offers
capacities of up to 2 Tbps and, together with
Europe’s NRENs, connects over 50 million
users at 10,000 institutions across Europe,
supporting research in areas, such as energy,
the environment, space and medicine.
CONNECTIVITY SERVICES
The GÉANT network also has extensive links
to networks in other world regions including
North America, Latin America, the Caribbean,
North Africa and the Middle East, Southern
and Eastern Africa, the South Caucasus,
Central Asia and Asia-Pacific. Work is on-going
to connect to Western and Central Africa. This
global reach enables scientists and academics
in Europe to exchange data and collaborate
with their peers across the world.
GÉANT’s range of connectivity services,
underpinned by the network, covers everything from robust, high-bandwidth IP, through
Virtual Private Networks (L3VPN), point-topoint connectivity (Plus) to bespoke solutions
for long term, highly data-intensive requirements (Lambda). As user needs change, the
service portfolio has to scale and adapt, in
order to ensure that GÉANT remains at the
forefront of networking technology and
service delivery. GÉANT delivers a carriergrade service-level availability across the core
product range.
• The GÉANT Open Service enables NRENs
and approved commercial organisations
to exchange connectivity.
• The GÉANT Multi-Domain Virtual
Private Network (MD-VPN) is ready for
FIND OUT MORE
You can find more information online
about all GÉANT activities in this area:
www.geant.org
Or you can email us at:
[email protected]
13 June 2015
full production this year. The service
offers enhanced end-to-end VPN.
• The Bandwidth on Demand Service
dynamically establishes circuits in
minutes for the duration needed,
expanded to reach over 1000 global endpoints, enabling international, ondemand service delivery. Over 500
circuits are now derived every month.
• The GÉANT Testbeds Service (GTS) offers
network researchers a unique platform
to undertake experimentation in
Software Defined Networking (SDN) over
a high performance, geographically
distributed facility.
GÉANT OPERATIONS
There are three operations teams (Security;
Implementation; and Network Management)
performing high-level management of the
GÉANT network. They plan and supervise
the deployment of new systems and services,
and establish service policies and procedures.
The teams liaise with NRENs connected to the
network via each NREN’s dedicated access
port manager (APM). This ensures the smooth
management of the flow of traffic onto and
off the GÉANT network from the connected
national networks. The operations teams
oversee the working of the European distributed access (EDA) nodes for intercontinental
access, and the network’s interconnections
with commercial IP carriers, for routing traffic
to and from commercial IP addresses. ​Dayto-day management of the GÉANT network
is handled by the Operations Centre (GÉANT
OC), open 24x7x365.
KNOWLEDGE FORA
Collaboration across teams, geographical
locations and disciplines is crucial. Providing
a mechanism to facilitate and support the
development of new ideas, products and
services, the GÉANT special interest groups
and task forces provide fora in which NRENs,
industry participants and academic and
research institutions can share experiences,
knowledge, best practices and ideas.
Network Architects
GÉANT helps network architects to share
expertise and collaborate through Network
Architects workshops, and supports the ongoing exchange of experience between the
GÉANT Operations Centre (GOC) personnel.
Services and Technology Forum
GÉANT coordinates meetings for GÉANT
network access port managers and organises
the Service and Technology Forum (STF) in
which these managers are provided with
relevant service and network information for
dissemination within their respective NRENS.
SIG-NOC
From 1 April 2015, the former Task Force on
Network Operation Centres agreed its new
objectives as a Special Interest Group (SIG).
The main direction and objectives that SIGNOC has for its first annual reporting period
are:
• Develop recommendations for NOC
personnel basic training and a potential
certification programme to maintain a
‘standard’ level.
• Invite NOC tool developers and organise
half-day technical tutorial sessions.
• Extend the community to reach campus,
regional and metropolitan NOCs.
GLIF
GÉANT provides secretariat support to, and
contributes to the technical work of, GLIF
the Global Lambda Integrated Facility.
GÉANT INNOVATION PROGRAMME
An integral part of the GÉANT Project, the
GÉANT Innovation Programme provides a way
for the wider community to pool resources
and collaborate on the researching and
developing of innovative technologies that
address the future needs of the community
and its users.
The programme consists of the research and
development work carried out within the
GÉANT project by participants in the Joint
Research Activities (JRAs), Task Forces and
Special Interest Groups, which include
experts from outside the project, and the
GÉANT Open Call projects.
Several network and innovation activities are part of the GÉANT Project (GN4-1)
which has applied for funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research
and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 691567 (GN4-1)