D3.8: Study on protocols with respect to identity and identification – an insight on network protocols and privacy-aware communication

Title: GÉANT2

GÉANT2

GÉANT can be seen as the European answer to Internet2. GÉANT is the 7th generation of a pan-European research network infrastructure, meaning that GÉANT is, like Abilene, right now a network infrastructure for its participating partners. Participants are European universities, 30 of Europe’s national research and education networks, 3500 research groups in 34 European countries. But GÉANT also reaches out of Europe, there are many connections to other, outer-European countries, like to the Abilene network in the US. The project, which currently has funding until August 2008, is getting most of the needed research money from the European Commission and the national research and education networks.

The objectives of GÉANT2 are to (Karapandzic 2007): 

1. Provide a gigabit-speed infrastructure to support European research and education – extend geographic reach of the network; 

2. Deploy the first international hybrid network: routed IP traffic combined with switched point-to-point circuits; 

3. Implement end-to-end QoS provision; 

4. Develop a wider range of network services: 

1. Performance monitoring; 

2. Security; 

3. Bandwidth on demand; 

4. Test-bed facility; 

5. Mobility and roaming; 

6. Provide user support and consultancy. 

Right now the GÉANT initiative is putting together its request for further funding for the GÉANT3 project which will continue the work done by the former seven network generations.