The U.S. Department of Energy and Internet2 said today they’ve finished work on a new nationwide network that will serve as the backbone of the DOE’s scientific network.

The network, known as ESnet4, is made up of five interconnected rings that each have at least one 10Gbps path. The purpose of the network, says Internet2, will be to “enhance the capabilities of scientists at national laboratories and universities across the country.” The network was designed as a joint collaboration between Internet2, a nonprofit research network, and the DOE’s Energy Sciences Network.

“The deployment of ESnet4 is remarkable both for its technical achievement and for the fact that it is proceeding ahead of schedule,” says Michael Strayer, the director of DOE’s Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research, who added that the new network would bring “more robust and innovative services to the U.S. research community and their collaborators around the globe.”

Internet2 and the DOE say they are planning to add a sixth ring that will connect the northern and southern sections of the national network, and also are working on adding more 10Gbps paths to the five existing rings. According to Internet2, the network will provide production IP services, as well as point-to-point dynamic circuit networking. The network figures to primarily benefit the DOE Office of Science, which oversees more than 100,000 DOE laboratory scientists and 18,000 university researchers.

Last month, Internet2 announced it had completed its own nationwide network infrastructure, which it says has an initial capacity of 100Gbps and bandwidth-on-demand capabilities.

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