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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION
FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY / MAY 19, 2003: VOL. 2 NO. 20
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Scientific
Applications:
SURFnet SELECTS GLOBAL CROSSING
FOR NEW TRANSATLANTIC LINK
Global Crossing has been awarded a contract by the Netherlands national
research network, SURFnet, to provision a 10 Gbit/s lambda link between the
Dutch advanced optical infrastructure NetherLight in Amsterdam and the
StarLight research facility in Chicago. This transatlantic connection is one
of the essential pieces in the creation of TransLight, a global-scale
experimental networking initiative that will support the most aggressive
e-science applications of this decade. Half of the link capacity will also be
used to connect the national research networks in the U.S. and Canada to the
GEANT Network in Europe.
Planned to go live in July, this new circuit completes a transparent,
global,
super performance network. SURFnet's selection to complete the transatlantic
connection confirms its reputation as a leading European center for networking
innovation and excellence.
The move to lambda technology is part of a renewal plan by SURFnet in the
Netherlands to extend and enhance its network. SURFnet enjoys a close working
relationship with StarLight, the two centers acting as hubs for a vast optical
network serving scientists and engineers worldwide. The latest link is a
result of this partnership, with StarLight providing funds from the U.S.
National Science Foundation (NSF) and SURFnet procuring and managing the
link.
TransLight is an international grid of electronically and optically
switched
circuits. It currently consists of multiple lambda circuits between North
America and Europe.
Tom DeFanti, principal investigator of StarLight, said, "NSF's e-scientists
are clear that the most aggressive e-science applications of this decade
require ultra-high-bandwidth international Internet services with known and
knowable qualities. TransLight will enable e-scientists and grid researchers
to experiment with deterministic provisioning of dedicated circuits for moving
huge amounts of data and supporting real-time collaboration with
high-resolution visualization. TransLight will provide high-performance
capabilities that complement, but do not replace, international research
production services."
Kees Neggers, managing director of SURFnet, said, "We're pleased that
SURFnet
has been chosen for this NSF sponsored connection between North America and
Europe. It confirms the success of the Gigaport project to position the
Netherlands as a leader in the development and use of innovative Internet
technology."
Erik-Jan Bos, network manager of SURFnet, said, "For massive data
transfers,
lambda switching will play an important role for the next generation of our
network. Our challenge is to upgrade to these new features while matching the
robustness and stability of commercial networks. We are confident that the
Global Crossing lambda will contribute to this goal."
Phil Metcalf, managing director of Global Crossing Europe, said, "Once
again
we are delighted to help SURFnet and their research partners worldwide turn
their vision into reality. SURFnet and Global Crossing have collaborated
closely over the years and we continue to meet their advanced networking
aspirations as SURFnet pursues its quest for the promotion of new levels of
scientific research."
Lambda networking uses the technology and services surrounding multiple
optical wavelengths (referred to as lambdas) to provide independent
communications channels along a strand of optical fibre. It provides speeds
easily scaleable up to 10Gbit/s, lowers the costs of high capacity circuits
and directly interfaces with high-speed local area network technologies.
Chicago's StarLight facility and SURFnet in the Netherlands are pushing the
limits of this technology. SURFnet expects that lambda switching will be in
production for its own next generation network, SURFnet6, part of a
far-sighted roadmap to make available multitudes of 1Gbit/s and 10Gbit/s light
paths to service-demanding customers.
Global Crossing has provided SURFnet direct connectivity between SARA, the
computer center of Amsterdam University, and StarLight since October 2001. In
July 2002, Global Crossing signed a 15-year contract with SURFnet for a dark
fibre link with ASTRON, the Netherlands foundation for Research in Astronomy.
And in October 2002, Global Crossing commissioned a multi-gigabit Internet and
a 10Gbit/s lambda circuit to CERN, the European organization for nuclear
research in Geneva. In April, Global Crossing was again selected for a
multiple fiber connection to pass terabyte traffic streams between ASTRON and
its radio telescopes.
Global Crossing has a reputation as a premier network provider to the
international academic and research community. It supports DANTE, the
organization responsible for managing the world's largest academic and
research network, GEANT. Global Crossing has commissioned a multi-gigabit IP
Transit Service to DANTE which operates a 10Gbit/s European IP backbone to
connect up to 3,500 research and educational establishments in more than 30
countries around Europe. In addition, Global Crossing supports the Brazilian
National Research and Education Network (RNP) and FAPESP (Fundacao de Amparo a
Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo), the largest academic research institution in
Brazil.
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