Higgs Boson network to reach 2Tbps
The superfast pan-European research network that helped discover the Higgs Boson will be able to reach speeds of 2Tbps following a major network upgrade. The advancement means individual users across 32,000 universities, research institutes, schools, libraries, museums and hospitals will be able to transfer data at speeds of up to 100Gbps.
The Vice President of the European Commission with responsibility for the Digital Agenda for Europe, Neelie Kroes, commented: “We need high speed and high capacity to keep in the global research race. The data side of the research equation is almost as important as the research itself today. With this upgrade, GÉANT demonstrates it is the leader of the research network pack.”
A capacity of up to 500Gbps will now be available across the core network. The new higher speed will enable faster collaboration on critical research projects whilst meeting the rapidly increasing demand for data transfer capacity. The creation and sharing of research data is increasing exponentially, impacting the ICT infrastructures in particular research networks. Major projects involving global partners generate massive amounts of data that need to be distributed, analysed, stored and accessed. Multi-national collaboration and the exchange of data are key ambitions of Horizon 2020, the next research and innovation framework programme.
With today’s high speeds the GÉANT network will provide the essential capacity to support all scientific disciplines, from high-energy physics and deep space research to those addressing societal challenges like ageing populations, disease diagnosis and climate change, a particular focus of Horizon 2020.
GÉANT’s goal is to ensure 99.999% availability through the rapid identification and resolution of network errors and powerful security features to detect and prevent malicious attacks. The GÉANT network currently receives €41.8m in funding from the European Commission.
