Internet2 to support the DoE's next research net

Internet2 and the Department of Energy’s Energy Sciences Network announced they are partnering to build a next generation network to support the Department of Energy’s scientific research efforts.

The new network will be called ESnet4 and will initially operate on two dedicated 10Gbps wavelengths on the Internet2’s new next generation network. ESnet4 will “seamless scale by one wavelength per year for the next four to five years,” according the organizations.

The Department of Energy needs the higher bandwidth to support projects such as the agency’s participation in the Large Hadron Collider, the largest particle accelerator, and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.

ESnet is funded by the Department of Energy’s office of Science and is operated by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The ESnet is accessed by 30 Department of Energy labs, 100,000 scientists and 18,000 researchers.

The new network “will provide a quantum leap in providing the network support required by our scientific research community, and is a natural culmination of the extremely close working relationship the [Department of Energy] networking community has with Internet2,” says Scott Bradley, network operations and voice services manager at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, in a printed statement.

The DoE will be taking advantage of Internet2’s upgraded network that significantly increases capacity while supporting enhanced IP services and new dynamic optical capabilities.

In May Internet2 laid out its goals for its new network and in June announced that Level3 would be the network provider for its new high-capacity network. In April, Internet2 announced that it would not renew its contract with Qwest Communications, the prime network provider for its current Abilene network.

Check out Network World's Alpha Doggs blog for the latest in networking research at universities and other labs.