REANNZ international network update December 2020

Work has been completed to strengthen the international network with additional capacity and completed resiliency. REANNZ engineers began the project in February 2020, working closely with Hawaiki and NREN partners the University of Hawai'i and the University of Guam, to implement a resiliency solution that would meet growing research needs into the Asian region, increase our presence and networking capabilities in the international NREN community and replace an interim solution.

Leveraging the existing long-term contract with Hawaiki, REANNZ was able to design a highly competitive solution that provides a long term approach to ensuring that the REANNZ network is future fit, sustainable and able to support the growing needs of its members.

The final stage of the solution offered by Hawaiki allows for resilient connectivity into Sydney, with connectivity on to Guam, which provides REANNZ with more locations to pick up NREN to NREN services within Asia. Completion of the project has been a testament to the collaborative nature of the global NREN (Nation Research and Education Network) community.

REANNZ's Guam point of presence (PoP) is located within Guam's new, purpose built, carrier neutral data centre, the GNC Data Centre. All REANNZ equipment is adjacent to the Guam Open Research Education eXchange (GOREX). NRENs within the region use GOREX to easily connect to one another, including connectivity to Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and the US mainland. 

To connect Hawai'i and Guam, the University of Hawai'i have provided access to their 100Gbps connectivity, which is funded as a part of the Pacific Island Research Education Network (PIREN) initiative (you can see the sites linked here between Guam (GUM) and Hawai'i (HNL) on the live Weathermap)
 
The University of Guam’s team were instrumental in the physical equipment install, in first taking the initial delivery of the various shipments including Juniper gear, optics and cables, then completing the install within the new GNC Data Centre. The install went smoothly and was completed to an excellent standard.

REANNZ engineers are currently exploring options with the University of Hawai'i  to provide resilient connectivity back to Internet2 (the US NREN) giving the network the added benefit of resilient NREN connectivity. REANNZ have also provided the university with a backup path for NREN connectivity as a way of supporting and enabling simplified connectivity for each partner and their users. Guam is a landing point for multiple Sub Sea Cable Systems and hosts the GOREX (Guam Open Research & Education Exchange) that offers a rich array of NREN connectivity and services, especially into Asia. 

As well as this extended reach into Asia, the international arm of the network connects directly to the US. If members experience any issues directing traffic or sharing data between international collaborators or providers, REANNZ are able to directly work with partners to resolve any issues far more efficiently. One key aspect of the purpose of REANNZ is enabling this ability for New Zealand research institutions to utilise and participate in international collaboration.

The last stage was the installation of two new 10 Gbps services from Guam to Sydney which has now been completed. Some further work is required to establish the peering links with the various GOREX members so we will slowly see more traffic sourced from Guam as this work progresses.

With the completion of this work, REANNZ is closer to supporting and enabling research capacity into Asia, resilient NREN connectivity and opportunities to develop more relationships with NREN partners by supporting the GOREX peering exchange. If you would like to know more or have any questions for the team around the project, please get in touch at help@reannz.co.nz.