CERN and Wigner Research Centre to be first users of multiple 100Gbps links

Cambridge, UK, 12 November 2012: CERN's new data centre in Budapest is set to be one of the first beneficiaries of GÉANT's new terabit network. The Wigner Research Centre for Physics in Hungary will host CERN's new remote data centre and will process and store data from CERN for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Together with CERN it will be the first to utilise multiple new 100Gbps links, and accurately represents the type of big data needs the network has been built to stay ahead of.

The LHC generates around 30 petabytes of data every year, and the rapid distribution of this data to centres around the world for analysis is vital to the success of the LHC. GÉANT, together with its National Research and Education Network (NREN) partners are essential to this fast and secure data transmission, providing a high-speed, pan-European managed network with global links to reach data centres across the world.

David Foster, Deputy Head of the CERN IT Department explained the importance of the network, "Having a remote site and operations places a lot of requirements on the networking solutions. Together with GÉANT and NIIF/Hungarnet, as well as our research and education and commercial partners we will be implementing state-of-the-art capabilities to connect CERN and Wigner. The GÉANT network is fundamental to our data transfer needs, and we're delighted that we will be continuing this successful relationship."

The Budapest facility will act as an extension to CERN's existing data centre as well as providing business continuity in case of any issues that could affect on-going service.

NIIF/Hungarnet, the Hungarian NREN has a central role to play in providing extreme high speed connectivity for data communication between the GÉANT Point of Presence in Budapest and the Wigner site hosting CERN's remote centre. Miklós Nagy, director general of the NIIF Institute operating the Hungarian research network, explains: "It is a distinct pleasure and a big challenge as well as an extraordinary opportunity for us to contribute in such a unique project. Indeed the CERN model of introducing distant facilities to serve as symbiotic segments of their extremely complex IT infrastructure assumes the highest transmission capacity and most demanding service quality on behalf of the network operators, in order to avoid complications stemming from remote operation. NIIF/Hungarnet is proud to work together with GÉANT and DANTE in making this leading-edge project a success."

In a joint statement, Matthew Scott and Niels Hersoug, joint General Managers of DANTE, the organisation which on behalf of Europe's NRENs has built and operates the GÉANT network, said, "We're delighted that CERN value the substantial benefits offered by the GÉANT network and services, and are continuing the long-standing and successful relationship that has seen GÉANT at the centre of the LHC data needs for many years. The Wigner data centre is exactly the kind of power user that the upgraded network will continue to support, and we look forward to working with all the partners involved to ensure the continued success of the LHC research."

GÉANT's migration to the latest transmission and switching technology is designed to support up to 2Tbps (terabits per second) capacity across the core network, effectively future-proofing Europe's critical network up until 2020. 500Gbps capacity will be available across the core network from first implementation, delivering circuits across Europe that will allow individual users to transfer data at speeds of up to 100Gbps, or multiples thereof, thereby enabling faster collaboration on critical projects and meeting the rapidly increasing demand for data transfer.

About GÉANT
GÉANT is the high speed European communication network dedicated to research and education. In combination with its NREN partners, GÉANT creates a secure, high-speed research infrastructure that serves 40 million users in over 8,000 institutions across 40 European countries. Building on the success of its predecessors, GÉANT has been created around the needs of users, providing flexible, end-to-end services that transform the way that researchers collaborate. GÉANT is at the heart of global research networking through wide ranging connections with other world regions, underpinning vital projects that bridge the digital divide and benefit society as a whole.

Co-funded by the European Commission under the EU's 7th Research and Development Framework Programme, GÉANT is the e-Infrastructure at the heart of the EU's European Research Area and contributes to the development of emerging Internet technologies. The project partners are 32 European National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), TERENA and DANTE. GÉANT is operated by DANTE on behalf of Europe's NRENs. For more information, visit www.geant.net

About DANTE
DANTE is a non-profit organisation, coordinator of large-scale projects co-funded by the European Commission, and working in partnership with European National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) to plan, build and operate advanced networks for research and education. Established in 1993, DANTE has been fundamental to the success of pan-European research and education networking. DANTE has built and operates GÉANT, which provides the data communications infrastructure essential to the success of many research projects in Europe. DANTE is involved in worldwide initiatives to interconnect countries in the other regions to one another and to GÉANT. DANTE currently manages projects focussed on the Mediterranean, Asia-Pacific, sub Saharan Africa and central Asia regions through the EUMEDCONNECT, TEIN, AfricaConnect and CAREN projects respectively. For more information, visit www.dante.net.