Board of Examiners: CESNET's Research Plan Solution Was Highly Professional in 2005

The research plan of the CESNET Association, i.e. Optical National Research Network and its New Applications, was solved at a highly professional level in 2005. This conclusion was agreed upon by the board of examiners, evaluating the research plan results for the previous calendar year within the framework of continuous opposition proceedings prescribed by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, as the provider of institutional support. The opposition proceedings held on January 26, 2006 in Prague were based on an interim annual research report (see http://www.cesnet.cz/doc/2005/zprava/). The research plan was launched in 2004 and its planned completion is set to 2010.

According to the board of examiners, consisting of experts from the field of information and communication technology, the objectives of the research plan set out for last year have been achieved. The board of examiners acknowledged that within the framework of the research plan, sixteen prototypes were developed in the course of the year, and the researchers contributed to three independent publications, published 76 papers in anthologies, nineteen articles in professional journals, and eighteen online publications. The research plan solution also included 36 technical reports. The researchers organized eight workshops for the expert community, two of which were international. According to the board of examiners, the funds expended throughout the evaluated period correspond to the achieved results and their utilisation was efficient.

As implied by the minutes from the evaluation (see http://www.cesnet.cz/doc/2005/oponentura/), the research activities effected within the research plan are mainly motivated by conceivable use in the CESNET2 academic network, built and developed by CESNET and designed for the direct support of research, development and education in the Czech Republic. None the less, the potential for exploitation of the research plan results is much broader.

The Optical National Research Network and its New Applications research plan links up with the High-Speed National Research Network and its New Applications research plan, solved by CESNET in the course of the years 1999–2003, the results of which were successfully defended by CESNET in early 2004. The present research plan follows up on the achieved results. The objective of the research plan is to develop and gradually transform the CESNET2 network into an integrated information and communication environment. The research plan comprises the solution of the issues of optical and IP networks, computational and access grids, mobility, multimedia services, or End-to-End Performance. The research plan counts on CESNET's participation in significant international projects, whereas emphasis is laid on its involvement in the GN2 pan-European project, which follows up on the GÉANT project within the EU Sixth framework programme.

The CESNET association was founded by Czech universities and the Czech Academy of Sciences. It is currently financed primarily from the budget of the governmental Council for Research and Development, and member contributions. The association conducts research and development in the area of information and communication technologies, builds and develops the national gigabit optical network CESNET2 dedicated to science, development and education. Thanks to the its research activities and the results achieved, CESNET acts as a representative of the Czech Republic within the development project of the pan-European network GEANT2 and actively partakes in its implementation. Besides other activities, the association partakes in the Global Lambda Integrated Facility (GLIF) project.