High-Performance Networking:
Brief descriptions of consortiums and network linkages*
Internet2®
Internet2 is a consortium being led by over 200 universities working in partnership with industry and government to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies, accelerating the creation of tomorrow's Internet. Internet2 is recreating the partnership among academia, industry, and government that fostered today's Internet in its infancy. The primary goals of Internet2 are to:
- Create a leading edge network capability for the national research community
- Enable revolutionary Internet applications
- Ensure the rapid transfer of new network services and applications to the broader Internet community.
For more information on Internet2, please see the FAQs about Internet2 on the Internet2 website.
Great Plains Network Consortium
The Great Plains Network (GPN) is a consortium of midwestern states dedicated to supporting research and education through the use of advanced networking technology. Assisted by the National Science Foundation Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program in 1997 (grant #EPS-9720159), and coordinated by principal investigator Jerry Niebaum, the consortium has developed a variety of network based services to serve its member states. The states are North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri.
The GPN is a north-south high-performance data communications corridor interconnecting institutions in seven states through an aggregation point (called a gigaPoP) located in Kansas City.
Work of GPN is guided by a seven-person Executive Council with one member selected from each state. Kent Hendrickson, Associate Vice Chancellor for Information Services, serves as Nebraska's member.
The Quilt
The Quilt gathers over twenty leading research and education networking organizations in the United States to promote consistent, reliable, interoperable and efficient advanced networking services that extend to the broadest possible community; and to represent common interests in the development and delivery of advanced network services. Participants in The Quilt provide network service for over 150 Internet2 universities and thousands of other educational institutions. The University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID), a university-led research and development consortium, provides organizational support for The Quilt.
GPN is one of the participants that provide regional network aggregation.
Abilene Network
The Abilene Network is an Internet2 high-performance backbone network that enables the development of advanced Internet applications and the deployment of leading-edge network services to Internet2 universities and research labs across the country. The network has become the most advanced native IP backbone network available to universities participating in Internet2.
The Abilene Network supports the development of applications such as virtual laboratories, digital libraries, distance education and tele-immersion, as well as the advanced networking capabilities that are the focus of Internet2. Abilene complements and peers with other high-performance research networks in the U.S. and internationally.
Created by the Internet2 community, Abilene connects regional network aggregation points—called gigaPoPs—to provide advanced network services to over 220 Internet2 university, corporate, and affiliate member institutions in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The current network is a primarily OC-192c (10 Gbps) backbone employing optical transport technology and advanced high-performance routers.
The Abilene Network is partnership of Internet2, Qwest Communications, Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks, Juniper Networks, and Indiana University.
National LambdaRail
National LambdaRail (NLR), begun May 2003, is a major initiative of US research universities and private sector technology companies. NLR's fundamental mission is to provide an enabling network infrastructure for new forms and methods for research in science, engineering, health care, and education as well as for research and development of new Internet technologies, protocols, applications and services. As evidence of the commitment to this mission, NLR will allocate 50 percent wave allocation to network research.
Internet2 is one of ten founding participants.
* These brief descriptions are taken from each respective website.
