Today, two contracts were signed to start the construction of the network component of the new national e-infrastructure Croatian Science and Education Cloud (HR-ZOO). The network component will provide a 100 Gbit / s connection to the HR-ZOO data centres, which will also upgrade the backbone of the CARNET network.
Aiming to build an advanced computer and data cloud as a fundamental component of the national research and innovation e-infrastructure, the HR-ZOO project activities related to establishing a new high-capacity network backbone were designed and launched. Implementing these activities has been assigned to CARNET, which participates in the HR-ZOO project as a project partner.
In addition to connecting the HR-ZOO headquarters with transmission capacities of 100 Gbit / s, the establishment of a new transport network will expand the CARNET network services catalogue by enabling the creation of virtual private networks (VPNs), whether it is a solution based on user traffic overlap (L2VPN) or on routing (L3VPN)
Active network equipment and telecommunication capacities will connect HR-ZOO headquarters in four university cities at the locations of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Split, student dormitory within the University Campus Osijek of J. J. Strossmayer University in Osijek, University Department buildings within the University Campus Trsat of University in Rijeka, the Borongaj Science and University Campus of the University of Zagreb and the building of the University Computing Centre Srce in Zagreb. Most of the work on converting the existing space into modern data centres ready to accept ICT equipment is planned to be completed by September 2021.
Broadband network infrastructure will consist of two layers: a physical / transport layer that establishes physical connections between headquarters’ locations and a logical / service layer of network connectivity that establishes network services for the needs of HR-ZOO users. Data centre locations will be connected respecting the principles of robustness so that each element of the network will have redundancy. It will ensure reliability and scalability, meaning the possibility of future upgrades of interfaces and network devices to expand capacity or connect new users.
The HR-ZOO project is strategic in the science and education system, building a new generation of national e-infrastructure that will provide the scientific and academic community with advanced computer and storage resources and related digital services. In addition to Srce as the project beneficiary, partner institutions also participate in project implementation: CARNET, J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, University of Rijeka, University of Split, University of Zagreb, and Ruđer Bošković Institute.
The total value of the HR-ZOO project is almost HRK 200 million. European Union co-finances the project in the amount of 85% from the European Regional Development Fund, while the Ministry of Science and Education provided the remaining 15%.
