Thursday, March 14, 2024

CANARIE, ESnet, GÉANT, and Internet2 expand transatlantic bandwidth

Internet2, CANARIE, the Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), and GÉANT, have added three 400 Gbps circuits to boost transoceanic capacity for data-intensive science.

The Advanced North Atlantic (ANA) collaboration supports multinational, data-intensive science collaborations, including the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, and the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), the ongoing effort to build the world's largest radio astronomy observatory.

The joint effort adds three 400 Gbps spectrum circuits between exchange points in the U.S., U.K., and France using the new  Amitié subsea cable system, which was completed in July 2023 and spans 6,783 kilometers (4,215 miles).

With the addition of the new circuits, the combined capacity of the ANA collaboration’s trans-Atlantic network is now 2.4 Tbps

Key points:

  • ESnet will operate two of the 400 Gbps transoceanic circuits in support of U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories, supercomputing facilities, major scientific instruments, and global collaborators, bringing its total 400 Gbps transoceanic circuits to three. 
  • Internet2 will operate one circuit for members of the U.S. R&E community, as well as its North American partner CANARIE.
  •  Internet2 recently added a new 400 Gbps exchange point in Boston. 
  • Internet2 also augmented two existing exchange points with 400 Gbps switching capacity: the Manhattan Landing (MAN-LAN) in New York, NY, and the Washington International Exchange (WIX) in McLean, VA.
  • From the endpoints of the Amitié cable systems in the U.K. and France, GÉANT is providing the connectivity to deliver the trans-Atlantic traffic to the London, Geneva, and Paris points of presence on its pan-European network backbone. 
  •  GÉANT is also planning to further reinforce the ANA collaboration's capacity by upgrading its trans-Atlantic connectivity via the GN5-IC1 project.

“We are thrilled to be part of this momentous undertaking alongside our partners Internet2, ESnet, and GÉANT,” said Mark Wolff, chief technology officer at CANARIE. “This advancement in trans-Atlantic high-speed connectivity will enable researchers and students in Canada to contribute to and benefit from global scientific discoveries and is truly a testament to the collaborative ethos of the global research and education networking community.”

“ESnet is excited to be working with the R&E networking community to fulfill our goal of building the necessary bandwidth to support the expanding data-intensive needs of global scientific research collaborations, such as the high-luminosity upgrade of the LHC,” said Jon-Paul Herron, head of ESnet Network Services.

https://www.es.net/news-and-publications/esnet-news/2024/ana-transatlantic-400g-circuits/