10 Gb/s for the Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic

On 20th August, the Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Ondřejov was connected to the high-speed metropolitan PASNET Network, and hence integrated in the system administered by the CESNET academic association and provided with the 10 Gb/s available.

Among other things, the new connection provides the academic research workers with the opportunity to participate actively in ESO projects (European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, ESO, www.eso.org), seated in Chile, that operates a suite of the world s most advanced astronomical telescopes in Chile. In addition to cooperation in the optical spectral range, the new high-speed connection means full participation in the ALMA project using the giant ALMA microwave interferometer (www.almaobservatory.org), in which the ESO – along with the American NRAO (National Radio Astronomy Observatory) and Japanese NAOJ (National Astronomical Observatory of Japan) – greatly participates as well. Another step ahead will be lambda services established for the Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences CR for the purposes of other international projects.

PASNET (Prague Academic and Scientific NETwork) is a high-speed metropolitan network designed for digital data transfer. The primary objective is to connect LAN networks installed in Prague universities with the Academy of Sciences CR. The internet connection is provided via CESNET2.
More info www.pasnet.cz.

The CESNET association was founded by universities and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. The association is currently financed mainly from the resources of the governmental Research and Development Board and funds of the association members. The association performs the research and development of information and communication technologies, building and developing the national gigabit optical network, CESNET2, designed for research and educational purposes. With its research activities and accomplishments, the CESNET association can represent the Czech Republic in the pan-European GÉANT2 network construction project, actively participating in the project implementation.