Now More Than Ever, Leverage Your Advanced Network Infrastructure–Built to Anticipate the Unexpected

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

By George Loftus, Internet2 Associate Vice President, Network Services

2020 has definitely been a unique time for everyone in the research and education (R&E) community. As Internet2 members continue to navigate the seismic shift in operations that has been thrust upon them, Internet2 continues to focus on helping our members succeed in delivering on their academic, research, and service missions. A key part of our collective success is ensuring the unique national and regional R&E network ecosystem that connects universities, scientific and research facilities, community anchor institutions, and data assets in over 100 countries, has the capacity and flexibility to meet quickly changing demands.

Because it’s designed and operated based on community input and requirements, the Internet2 network has always been built to anticipate the unexpected–as seen when it fully supported the most recent shift in academic and research operations. You can rest assured that your national and regional networks are optimized to keep your institution in front of the latest demands.

In addition to the multiple network peering and cloud provider operations that have been augmented and changed to support the latest demands, Internet2 is also focused on making sure members know about all of the capabilities that can help with operational agility as times continue to change and evolve.

This new Solutions Guide provides graphics and details to give members quick reference for leveraging the vast capabilities of the Internet2 network and other solutions. We’re hopeful that this guide and the resources below will help you further leverage Internet2 resources and increase impact for your academic enterprise and all of the high-performance science, scholarship and research you support–especially when you may need it most:

• Integrated cloud services and capabilities designed by and for the research and education community that help get your campus to the cloud;
• network scalability and bandwidth abundance that help you provide on-demand capabilities and ensure continuity of operations;
• embedded security, cloud security and performance analytics that are evaluated by peers to help you maintain a secure infrastructure;
• connectivity and support for research collaboration at a global scale, including direct access of multiple 100G links to Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America;
• access to testbeds and advanced software prototypes;
• eduroam–a global roaming Wi-Fi service for your researchers, students and staff wherever they are in the world–at no cost for Internet2 members; and
• ongoing investments in next-generation technology that deliver increased capacity, software-based measurement, automation and orchestration capabilities to support edge-to-edge connectivity, and a reduced carbon footprint that will remove 668 metric tons of carbon per year from the environment.

If you have any questions about the Internet2 network infrastructure, cloud connectivity, Internet2 membership, connecting with peers on specific topics, or how to further leverage any Internet2 program, please contact membership@internet2.edu for assistance.

Related articles and blog posts:

• Next Generation Infrastructure Project From 30,000 Feet
• An Update on R&E Networks Supporting the Academic Enterprise in Unprecedented Times
• I2 Online: Embracing the “New Normal” for Campus Operations Virtual Event
• Transparent Operations