The Works of DANTE - Issue 2

The DANTE view...

When a network performs well, the vast majority of users have little or no awareness of the underlying infrastructure. Users are also largely uninformed as to the potential applications that the network can support. Both GÉANT and the national networks can be considered victims of their own success – smooth, uninterrupted service goes unnoticed, whilst any problems result in greater awareness of the network, and not necessarily displayed in the best light.

The first GÉANT network successfully increased bandwidth and performance for pan-European collaboration. Now, with this solid foundation in place, the focus of GÉANT2 is to develop services which will improve the usability, flexibility and transparency of the networks. The emphasis is now on improving ease of use, convenience and overall customer satisfaction with the network.

Research networking is an increasingly global activity, and DANTE remains at the forefront of developments. The recent launch of the RedCLARA network (created by the ALICE project), and the announcement of the TEIN2 network for South East Asia demonstrates this. Both networks, along with EUMEDCONNECT for the Mediterranean region, will link to GÉANT2, allowing researchers unparalleled access to colleagues around the world.

At the same time, it is no longer enough simply to provide connectivity. As Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) improve the capacity of their networks, the differential between their services and what is available via NREN’s may become an issue. There are some very bad ISP’s, but the best are already implementing 10 Gbps networks.

The future challenge for the research networking community lies very much in the support and service that can be provided to its users across multiple management domains. Here, the collaborative nature of research activities, gives a real advantage and the challenge for GÉANT2. Technology is, today, global. Service is not.

Dai Davies

DANTE Co-General Manager