Faster access speeds for users and the ability to collaborate on large European research projects are the expected benefits of a major upgrade to Malta’s connection to the pan-European GÉANT network.

GÉANT is the high speed European communication network dedicated to research and education, creating a secure, high-speed research infrastructure that serves 40 million researchers in over 8,000 institutions across 40 European countries.

Operating at speeds of up to 10 Gbps, GÉANT is the world’s largest and most advanced multi-gigabit network dedicated to research and education. It is co-funded by the European Commission.

As Malta’s national research and education network (NREN), the University of Malta has long been a partner of the GÉANT project.

However, until recently their connection to the network was an 80 Mb/s link, a far cry from the maximum speed of 10 Gbps (more than a hundred times faster) meaning researchers struggled to move or receive large amounts of data from collaborators in institutions across Europe, restricting their involvement in high profile research projects.

Following an upgrade to a 1Gb/s link Malta’s NREN is now better placed to actively contribute to research projects worldwide, as well as simply providing high speed internet access to connected students and researchers.

The upgrade and how it was achieved is seen as a success story resulting from a GÉANT initiative, which contributes to reducing the gap in research and education networking facilities by conducting country analysis and providing advice and assistance in the planning and procurement process. This initiative, in turn, supports a key focus of GÉANT to address what is known as the digital divide within Europe, in other words the large variances in availability and cost of bandwidth between countries and regions.

“We at the University of Malta are delighted to see this greatly increased bandwidth”, said Robert Sultana, University of Malta chief information officer. “Researchers need to be able to operate and collaborate effectively regardless of the country where they are located. Similarly, adequate access to research facilities must be available to researchers independent of whether such equipment and facilities happen to be sited in Malta or elsewhere in Europe.

“To take just one example, a sizeable computer cluster installed at our University will now be connected to the Grid through GÉANT. Other initiatives, such as the hosting of a radio telescope in Malta, are in the pipeline. Over the coming years we will continue working with DANTE and other European NRENs to be able to support even higher bandwidths that will be required for such research projects.”

DANTE is a non-profit organisation, coordinator of large-scale projects co-funded by the European Commission, and working in partnership with NRENs to plan, build and operate advanced networks for research and education

Achieving the upgrade in the most effective way, both from a cost and technical perspective, was to route data via a point-of-presence (PoP) located 200 km to the north in Catania and operated by GARR, the Italian NREN. Data is then transferred across the GARR infrastructure to Milan, where it is co-located with the GÉANT PoP. This link is part of GARR-X, a project that will see the implementation of optical fibre throughout the Italian research network, and could lead to similar opportunities to provide high bandwidth connectivity to other countries in the Mediterranean.

Claudia Battista, GARR deputy director and responsible for the GARR-X project said, “This solution – of a European NREN offering its infrastructure for carrying traffic generated by its neighbouring counterparts to GÉANT – opens interesting new opportunities to raise the level of connectivity and improve value for money in those parts of Europe that still suffer from the digital divide.”

Speaking on behalf of DANTE, operator of the GÉANT network, general manager Dai Davies added: “This major upgrade to Malta’s connection clearly demonstrates the success that is being achieved in raising the standard of access across Europe. I’m delighted to see a long term project partner such as the University of Malta benefiting from this program of assistance.”

www.geant.net