CARNET in the GÉANT Project
Croatian Academic and Research Network – CARNET has been participating for a number of years in international GÉANT (Multi-Gigabit European Academic Network) projects co-financed by the European Union. CARNET was admitted to the GÉANT consortium as early as 2001, when the first generation of GÉANT was launched, and in September 2004 CARNET actively joined the work on the GÉANT2 project, and its involvement significantly contributed to that project and the construction and development of a pan-European network. Through GÉANT, all CARNET users (school children, teachers, college and university students, professors, scientists and employees in CARNET member institutions) have a direct connection with their colleagues from 40 European countries and more than 8000 research and education institutions.
GÉANT4 SGA2
The first day of May marked the commencement of the second stage of the pan-European infrastructure project GÉANT4. It will last 32 months, until 31 December 2018. GÉANT4 takes place under the auspices of the Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA), which covers a period of 7 years, and is financed within the framework of the Horizon 2020 programme, the European Union Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020). In the project, Croatia is represented by the Croatian Academic and Research Network (CARNET).
The GN4 SGA2 (Special Grant Agreement) will assist in raising European research to a higher level, encouraging scientific excellence, access to research data and their reuse, as well as supporting open science. It will also encourage a reduction in the cost of scientific infrastructure by promoting the interoperability of e-infrastructures at a European level.
The GÉANT project has developed through many iterations (GN2, GN3, GN3plus, GN4-1), and today with its award-winning 500 Gbps physical network, it comprises a portfolio of advanced, user-oriented services that push the boundaries of network technologies. The GÉANT network is an advanced Multi-gigabit PanEuropean Research and Education Network that ensures on its own optical infrastructure the interconnection of European academic and research networks with capacities of up to 500Gbit/s and connects Europe with other continents. The GÉANT network currently connects more than 50 million users all over Europe.
The University of Zagreb Computing Centre has also been involved in the capacity of a third party and as a years-long partner of CARNET on GÉANT projects. CARNET continued with its active contribution during the new generation of the project, with its large number of employees participating in it and further actively participates in the development of the most advanced pan-European research network.
A great deal of trust has been given to CARNET representatives, who will also be task and activities managers. Ivana Golub will be deputy manager for the activity SA2 and manager of the task SA2 T3, and Branko Radojević from CARNET will manage the task JRA4 T1.
You can find more information on the official web site of the GÉANT project.
GÉANT European Network Topology
History of GÉANT
The GÉANT 2 project was a big international project of upgrading the then pan-European research and education network. GÉANT 2 started as a part of the 6th Framework Programme – FP6, of the European Union, with the aim of improving the infrastructure at gigabit data rates and introducing advanced applications into academic networks during a four-year period. This was the first integrated FP6 project which Croatia had joined, and 31 European academic networks (NRENs), the TERENA and DANTE international organisations and the European Commission also participated in the project. Integrated projects involve performing particular planned project activities throughout Europe, which achieves better international connection and develops international cooperation.
The total value of the project was 191.32 million euros, of which 93 million euros were provided by the European budget through the FP6 programme. The project was realised through a model of work represented by NA (Networking Activities), JRA (Joint Research Activities) and SA (Specific Service Activities).
The GÉANT 2 project enabled high-quality and intense involvement of the Croatian scientists and researchers in international research projects, and the connection of Croatia and Croatian scientists with the European research (ERA) and higher-education area (EHEA).
The pan-European network enables the improvement of network infrastructure at gigabit data rates and the introduction of advanced applications into European academic networks. The pan-European network is intended for education and research through National Research and Education Networks.
GÉANT is the largest network ever built for the purposes of the European academic community, to which it offers access to a wide range of sources of information and experts, by means of a high-quality connection with research organisations in North America, Japan, Latin America, Africa and Asia. GÉANT to a large extent simplifies the process of global cooperation and makes the world’s largest community of researchers (over 3 million).
For more information on the project, visit http://www.geant2.net/.
The GÉANT 3 project was launched in April 2009. It is supported and financed by the European Union with 93 million euros through the 7th EC Framework Programme, a special research and technology development programme. It was intended as a follow-up to the GÉANT2 project and represents the third generation of GÉANT. The planned duration of the project is 4 years, and 36 European countries are involved.
The main feature of the GÉANT 2 project was its revolutionary development technology, whereas the GÉANT 3 is designed to be revolutionary in the construction of services which will be provided to users.
The focus of the GÉANT 3 project is the development of Service Activities (SA), i.e. activities developing specific services. These service activities will be supplemented by Joint Research Activities (JRA). Project mission is building an innovative multidomain hybrid network infrastructure which provides the scientific and research community and its users with flexible, scalable and high-quality services through partner research and education networks.
Work on the project has been divided into three categories of activities:
SA- Service Activities
SA1: Network architecture procurement and operations
SA2: Multidomain network service operation
SA3: End user services
SA4: Software Governance
JRA- Joint Research Activities
JRA1: Future network
JRA2: Multi domain resources and services
JRA3: Enabling communities
NA- Network Activities
NA1: Project Management
NA2: Joint dissemination and outreach
NA3: Status and Trends
NA4: Liaison and support
As part of the above activities within the project, CARNET employees, in cooperation with the SRCE University Computing Centre employees, have been involved in the work of the following working groups: SA2 T3, SA2 T4, SA3 T2, SA3 T3, SA3 T4, SA4 T1, SA4 T2, JRA1 T3, JRA3 T1, JRA3 T2.
For more information on the project, visit http://www.geant.net/.
A new generation of GÉANT projects was initiated – GÉANT4, which was to be carried out under the auspices of FPA (Framework Partnership Agreement) in several phases and will last seven years. The first stage of the project was entitled GÉANT4 SGA1 (Specific Grant Agreement 1) and was supposed to last for 12 months (from 1 May 2015 to 30 April 2016). SGA2 and SGA3 were to follow after this, with each of them lasting three years.
The GÉANT project grew through its iterations (GN2, GN3, GN3plus) and it contains, in addition to the award-winning 500 Gbps physical network, a portfolio of advanced, user-oriented services which shift the boundaries of network technologies. The GÉANT network is an advanced pan-European academic and research network (Multi-gigabit PanEuropean Research and Education Network) and using its own optical infrastructure it ensures the mutual connection of European academic and research networks with capacities of up to 500Gbit/s and the connection of Europe to other continents. The GÉANT network currently connects more than 50 millions of users in 10 000 institutions throughout Europe.
For almost 15 years, National Research and Education Networks (NREN) have combined forces to represent the vital part of European e-infrastructural strategy by providing the high-speed connectivity required for the sharing, availability and processing of huge amounts of data. This data is generated and vital for various research communities in the field such as particle physics, bioinformatics, Earth observation, medication research, art and culture.
As part of the GÉANT2020 Framework Partnership Agreement, the GÉANT4 Project is financed by the European Union through the Horizon2020 programme, Framework Programme for Research and Innovations (2014-2020). 40 partners, European academic and research networks will participate in the project, lead by the organisation of GÉANT. The organisation of GÉANT was formally established on 7 October 2014 at the Berlin Meeting, by uniting of the organisations of TERENA and DANTE, as a response to the request of the community of European academic and research networks for the rationalisation of the management structures of the GÉANT project and the TERENA organisation. In addition to the service of Internet connectivity, GÉANT provides a series of advanced network services, such as eduroam, EduGAIN, perfSONAR, Multidomain Virtual Private Network (MD VPN) etc.
The new generation of the GÉANT4 project provides improvements in all areas relevant for ensuring the continuous improvement of the GÉANT network, and at the heart of it is the research and development of new user-oriented network services.
CARNET is the official Croatian representative in this project, and in this sense collaborates with the University Computing Centre – Srce, which participates in the project as a third party. CARNET continued its active contribution in the new generation of the project, and in addition to the high number of employees participating in the project, Ivana Golub will be the SA4 Activity Leader. A lot of confidence was shown to Croatian representatives who will also be Task Leaders. Branko Radojević from CARNET will lead SA7, Damir Regvart from CARNET will lead JRA1, and Miroslav Milinović from Srce will lead SA5. Ivan Marić (Srce) is a member of the new Management Board of the GÉANT organisation.
