RHnet The Icelandic Research and University Network

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RHnetThe Icelandic Research and University
Network

• A few aspects of RHnet and some remarks about
  future prospects
• Presenter Jón Ingi Einarsson,
• general manager of RHnet

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RHnet Inc. - establishment

• Was formally established on January 24, 2001
• The establishment was initiated by the University
  of Iceland
• Objective
• To link together Icelandic universities and
  research institutions by means of an high
  capacity computer network
• Supply services in the field of computer
  communications, both domestically and
  internationally
• The company handles relations with NORDUnet,
  which is the collective university and research
  network of the Nordic countries
• RHnet is only open to acknowledged Icelandic
  institutions of research and higher learning
• A member of TERENA from May 2003
• Trans-European Research and Education Networking
  Association

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RHnet Inc. mostly dark fiber connections

• Leased dark fibers have been used for most of
  the links from the beginning.
• Today only one connection is not with dark fiber
• The use of dark fibers enabled gigabit
  connectivity from the very beginning
• Institutions at that time had connectivity from
  64 kb/s to 2 Mb/s (only one of them had 10 Mb/s)
  and were forced to go to 1 Gb/s ?

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RHnet Inc. - staff

• Staff
• One full time employee
• Two others part time, through agreements with
  two companies
• Five people are on the governing board
• Three are appointed by the University of Iceland
• One by research institutes
• And one by other universities and institutes
  outside the Reykjavik area

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RHnet Inc.
The founding members were seventeen

• The University of Iceland
• Iceland University of Education
• The University of Akureyri
• Reykjavík University
• Iceland Academy of the Arts
• Hvanneyri Agricultural University
• Bifröst School of Business
• Hólar College
• The State Horticultural School

• The National University Hospital,
• The Nordic Volcanological Institute
• The Icelandic Technological Institute
• The Construction Research Institute
• The Agricultural Research Institute
• National Energy Authority
• Marine Research Institute
• The Icelandic Fisheries Laboratories

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Other items

• The router for the RIX connection upgraded in
  June 2003 to have room for a planned upgrade of
  that connection
• The connection upgraded to to Gigabit in autumn
  2003
• RHnet hosts streaming audio/video servers owned
  by a consortium of Institutes interested in or
  focusing on distance education/learning
• Installed in August 2003
• Ipv6 and Multicast Trials have been conducted
  between the University of Iceland and RHnet with
  a connection to NORDUnet

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RHnet connectivity today in Reykjavik
The actual fiber layout (red lines) that is used
in RHnets fiber ring in Reykjavik..
To/from Hvanneyri Bifröst
RHnet headquarters
To Vestmann Islands (international connectivity)
Fjarski
Reserve connectivity to Akureyri,Bifröst and
Hvanneyri
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RHnet equipment in POPs

• In most connection sites there is a 4908 switch
  (router) from Cisco
• Two Cisco 7206 NPE-G1 1GB are at RHnets
  headquarters and one at the CANTAT-3 landing
  station in Vestmannaeyjar
• Other connection equipment include Cisco
  3750-12S, Cisco 3524 and 3508
• In many sites there is also an extra reserve
  power - surge protection.
• All this is from APC (American Power Comapny)
• Included in most of the sites are also
  environmental sensors

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RHnet outside Reykjavík

• The aim of RHnet has been from the start to have
  all connections through dark fiber.
• This is no different from similar networks around
  the globe
• But getting such connectivity outside Reykjavik
  has been problematic because of
• pricing strategies and/or availabitlity issues
• RHnet is very small company with gross yearly
  budget about 45 Mkr
• But RHnet was probably one of the biggest
  catalyst when decisions were made to lay a fiber
  optic cable from the southern part of Iceland,
  across the highland and to Akureyri in the
  summer/autumn of 2001.

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Telecomm operator Fjarski system overview
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RHnet connectivity today in Akureyri
Part of the fiber layout in Akureyri (pink
lines) The fiber is leased from Tengir (Fjarski).
University of Akureyri
Communications center
Department from the National and University
Library
To/from Reykjavik
FSA University Hospital Regional Hospital
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Fiber owned by the Icelandic telecom Síminn
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The NORDUnet connections in August 2003
The connection to Iceland 1990 9,6 kb/s 1992
56 kb/s 1994 128 kb/s 1995 1 Mb/s 1996
2Mb/s 1997 6Mb/s 1998 10 Mb/s 1999 12
Mb/s In September 1999 it was increased to 45 Mb/s
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The NORDUnet connectivity map
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RHnet the international situation
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Submarine cables to Iceland CANTAT-3 and Farice
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Farice The path in Britain

• Increased dependability
• The path from Inverness in Scotland to London was
  doubled in Mars 2006
• At the same time the customers connection point
  was moved from Edinburgh to London
• Dependability in 2005 was 97,94
• Dependability in 2006 was 99,89

Information taken from a talk given by Gudmundur
Gunnarsson, general manager of Farice, in January
2007
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RHnet future perspectives - domestically

• Domestically
• Upgrading all major paths to 10 GE or go directly
  to DWDM
• Going to 10 GE is considered business as usual
• Price on 10 GE equipment (with two 10 GE) ports
  is getting to the point that we are starting to
  consider it
• We see two possibilities when going to DWDM
• The more expensive Buying more or less total
  solutions from vendors
• Or try to put something together with off the
  shelf components
• Leasing fiber or wavelength between Reykjavik and
  Akureyri (currently the only path of the network
  not with dark fiber)
• Cost is still the most limiting factor

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RHnet future perspectives Internationally

• Internationally
• Government officials said at the beginning of
  this year that a new submarine cable was targeted
  to become operational at the beginning of 2009 ((
  in collaboration with Farice))
• The future of connectivity to Iceland is starting
  to look promishing if some of the projects we
  have heard about this year will be carried
  through
• The new cable from Farice with landing point in
  Denmark (Danice?)
• Addition to the Hibernia cable system with link
  to Iceland
• A cable from Greenland, that then goes on to
  Canada

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Hibernia the proposed connection to Iceland
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Finally...

• The next NORDUnet conference will be held in
  Espoo (Helsinki), Finland, on the 8. - 11. April
  2008.
• The theme of this years conference is
  "The Biosphere of Grids and
  Networks
• For more information
• http//www.nordu.net/conference/ndn2008web/program
  me.html
• The next TERENA conference will be held in Bruges
  (Brugge), Belgium, 19. 22. May 2008.
• The theme of this years conference is
  Beyond
  Connectivity
• For more information
• http//tnc2008.terena.org/

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Thank you!

• Questions?
• Surprice the speaker! ?

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Want to know more?

• www.nordu.net
• www.dante.net
• www.terena.org
• www.sunet.se
• www.uninett.no
• www.funet.fi
• www.uni-c.dk
• www.forskningsnet.dk
• www.uni-c.dk/produkter/sektornet

• www.ietf.org
• http//abilene.internet2.edu
• www.surfnet.nl/info/en
• www.arin.net
• www.startap.net
• www.apac.edu.au
• www.apan.net
• www.canarie.ca
• www.globalcrossing.net

It is also possible to send inquiries to
jie_at_rhnet.is Or just call 525-4300 / 892-4302
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In 1866 the first usable transatlantic cable was
laid
The first transatlantic telegraph cable was laid
in 1858, but failed within several weeks. A
second attempt was made in 1865. When a fault in
the cable was discovered a decision was made to
cut the cable and delay the project for the time
being. At that time about three fourths of the
way had been laid from Ireland to
Newfoundland. Everything went according to plan
in 1866. A new cable was laid across the ocean.
Also the end of the cable from 1865 was fished
up and a new cable spliced to its end and taken
to Newfoundland. So in reality two cables came
operational across the Atlantic Ocean that year
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Myndir af bás RHnets II