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The GÉANT research and education network connects Europe’s researchers, academics and students with each other – and the world. It does this via a dedicated high-bandwidth, high-speed and highly resilient pan-European network infrastructure.
Currently, the network handles an impressive three exabytes of data annually. However, with users relying on more data than ever, the network is seeing demand grow by as much as 30 % per year. “It became clear that GÉANT’s network infrastructure needed to expand to sustainably stay ahead of such growth,” says Bram Peeters, GÉANT chief network operations officer.
That expansion is happening through the EU-funded GN4-3N (GN4 Phase 3 Network) project. This oversaw the most significant restructuring of the GÉANT backbone network in a decade – adding more than 24 000 km of new fibre and expanding network coverage from 14 countries to 30, with additional countries being provided a 100-gigabit-per-second link.
“This upgrade ensures that GÉANT’s infrastructure continues to stay ahead of today’s exponential data growth, as it empowers research and education without boundaries, and facilitates seamless and equitable knowledge exchange across Europe and beyond,” adds Peeters.
Improving capabilities, reducing costs
The first step in building such a state-of-the-art network for the future was to find suppliers. To start, the project procured a leading-edge Open Line System. “The shift towards such an open optical system allows GÉANT to introduce new vendors for transponder equipment in the future,” notes Peeters. “This means that new technologies can be applied when they emerge, effectively future-proofing the network.”
The project then used a dynamic purchasing system to manage the procurement of specific connectivity services. Through 17 tenders for fibre-optic connectivity, 64 contracts were issued, worth a total of EUR 32.8 million.
The GN4-3N project also adopted solutions from commercial providers and national research and education networks (NRENs), consisting of 30 dark fibre routes (unused lines that offer future additional capacity) and seven leased spectrum routes, resulting in a minimum of 100 Gb to all countries. Compared to previous connections in some countries of 1 Gb or 10 Gb, 100 Gb allows greater participation by everyone.
“Not only have we drastically improved the network’s capabilities and capacity, thanks to the use of new technology and long-term contracts, we’ve done so at reduced annual running costs,” remarks Peeters. “This creates a solution that allows us to technically and financially sustain all demands in the longer term.”
The final route builds will be completed in October 2023, with migrations completed soon after. However, NRENs are already migrating to the new network, with Portugal’s FCCN being the first to do so in June 2021.
A European success story
As a direct result of this comprehensive restructuring of the GÉANT backbone network, users are now benefiting from new, improved and faster routes. The improvement in connectivity speed and reliability means increased participation across the entire research and education community, offering more access to big data paradigms and high-performance computing.
GÉANT’s enhanced and unrivalled connectivity to the rest of the world will help science and education teams fully participate in emerging projects and economic activities regardless of borders.
“The GN4-3N project is a European success story,” concludes Peeters. “Together, we’ve built a very capable network covering 40 European countries and connecting all European research and education networks in a way that facilitates future, long-term user networking requirements.”
Last but not least, SMEs are also set to benefit from the improvement in connectivity, which both facilitates more collaborations and makes international projects more easily accessible.