GÉANT2 Researchers and Engineers Collaborate to Build Tomorrow's Network and Services

The GÉANT2 project has taken another step towards achieving its end-to-end vision of co-ordinated research and development for research networking, with the announcement of the first GEANT2 Technical Workshop. This week-long event will take place over 9-13 January 2006 in Cambridge, UK, and will bring together all the project’s technical staff, as well as others outside the project carrying out research into networking in Europe.

The workshops will provide an opportunity for all individuals involved in the GÉANT2 project's technical developments, from operations staff responsible for the running of the network to those involved in research and services, to exchange information and ideas on the project’s technical developments. Several research activities will offer “Meet the NRENs” workshops, designed to encourage the uptake of their findings by other researchers not directly participating in those activities, including NREN staff who are not currently participating in GÉANT2.

“GÉANT2 is a huge project with ambitious aims, and its many participants are spread across the continent,” said Roberto Sabatino, chair of the project’s Technical Committee and DANTE’s Chief Technical Officer. “This workshop will provide an invaluable opportunity to bring the technical teams involved in GÉANT2 together, to ensure that GÉANT2 builds on the track record of its predecessor in being the most advanced research network offering state-of-the-art network services. We expect exciting results from this creation of a truly unified team.”

Up to 140 network engineers and researchers will meet to present the results of their work so far and share best practice, using the exchanged information to further their own work. The workshops will include one plenary session dedicated to providing an overview of the plans and progress of each joint research activity to all attendees. Alongside these plenary presentaions, a number of other meetings will run, including cross-activity seminars on topics of interest such as software development and network performance issues, and working meetings for the research activities.

The GÉANT2 technical workshops will be held twice a year, to ensure continuing and efficient information flow between the project’s various activities. This first workshop will set the scene for future events, allowing the project to build on its experiences to ensure ever better opportunities for collaboration and co-ordinated technical development.