Meeting of European NREN Operators Held in Prague

A meeting of access point operators for national research and education networks (NRENs) to the GÉANT network took place in Prague on February 24–25. This time, the GÉANT APM (Access Point Manager) Meeting was hosted by the CESNET Association. Similar meetings take place on a regular basis every four months under the organization of the DANTE Association. Within the framework of the meeting, the topics of discussion included issues related not only to the current status of the GÉANT network and the portfolio of services provided, but also those regarding strategic plans for building a new generation European network for research (GÉANT2), which is to be brought into operation during the third quarter of this year. The most interesting subjects of the meeting addressed PERT creation (Performance Enhancement Response Team) (http://www.geant2.net/server/show/conWebDoc.1061) focused on resolving network tuning performance issues and the problems surrounding the construction of research networks on the basis of leased optical fibers.

The DANTE association is the coordinator for the GN2 project, which has as its goal the replacement of the current pan-European GÉANT educational and research network with a new generation network called GÉANT2. This project, which is a part of the Sixth EU Framework Programme, was started in September of last year and its purpose is to offer European research infrastructures the use of advanced network applications, such as grid computing, the ability to transfer large volumes of data over very short time periods, and the capability to cooperate mutually on joint projects in real time. This network – GÉANT2 – will include the provision of access to services that are of the highest level of quality and are designed for the most demanding users – scientists and researchers. The developed roaming services will ensure European scientists with actual mobility, i.e., it will allow them easy access to their data, research laboratories, and universities throughout Europe. This guaranteed connectivity between end points (end-to-end services) and the resolution of mobility requirements are among the project's top priorities. Thirty-two organizations dealing with the high-speed networks for research and education are participating in the project.

The GN2 project will continue until September 2008 and the European Commission will contribute EUR 93 million, which is approximately one-half of the estimated expenses. The remainder should be covered by contributions from the participating countries. At the current time, GÉANT and its partners – national research and education networks (NRENs) – provide services to researchers in thirty-four countries. Within the project, the Czech Republic is represented by CESNET and its CESNET2 network, which is connected directly to the core of the network via a 10 Gb/s circuit.

The participation of the CESNET Association in the GN2 project provides the Czech Republic with the opportunity to participate actively in the creation of an international infrastructure that will connect research laboratories within the boundaries of Europe and thus ensure CESNET2 network users with quality access to information resources abroad. Within the framework of the project, CESNET is involved in research activities primarily in the areas of monitoring, network security, authentication and authorization, mobility, and in the area of monitoring and optimizing network performance.

The CESNET association was founded by universities and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. It is currently financed primarily by its members and the Research and Development Council. The association operates and develops CESNET2, the national gigabit optical network intended for research and education, and participates in the research and development of information and communication technologies. Thanks to its research activities and achieved results, the CESNET association represents the Czech Republic in the European GN2 project, as well as in other international projects. Among other countries, the association currently cooperates with Canada, the Netherlands, and the USA on the construction of GLIF (Global Lambda Integrated Facility), a global lambda network whose Czech section is called CzechLight.