Periodic Reporting for period 2 - GN5-1 (GN5-1)
Berichtszeitraum: 2024-01-01 bis 2024-12-31
Using the GÉANT Consortium’s operational and infrastructure-led expertise, GN5-1 provided scientists, researchers and students access to connectivity and collaboration services needed to support evidence-based decision making and effective collaboration of virtual research communities around the world. In addition, the challenge posed by the increase in the diversity of the user community across multiple disciplines and data types and applications (e.g. Open Science, EOSC, Quantum Key Distribution (QKD)) expanded the target audience for the GÉANT connectivity will also be addressed, in particular, through T&I development.
Through GN5-1, GÉANT maintained the operational excellence of the established GÉANT services, while still achieving economies on the costs of the backbone network. The reliable, secure and state-of-the-art, high-speed network services, together with authentication mechanisms, offered to researchers and other network users across Europe, remains exceptional. In addition, developing and implementing a number of security products and services was also vital to GN5-1.
GN5-1’s overall objectives:
1. To advance, deliver and support a secure, pan-European network connectivity infrastructure and related services able to support science, research and education requirements and connect European researchers, staff and students anywhere in the world for the wider European Digital Infrastructure (WP6, WP7) (Service DevOps).
2. To understand and serve the communication networking needs and collaboration between the European NRENs, their expanding user community and important European and global stakeholder groups (WP1, 2, 3) (Support).
3. To enable researchers, students and staff to cooperate and exchange data with their peers through interoperable and secure connectivity infrastructure and services. (WP8) (Service DevOps).
4. To facilitate and enable, through the project, the needs of a wide user base across multiple disciplines for excellent science and research by delivering a broad range of existing and innovative new services. These services incorporate agile incubator development and sustainable operation following thorough business model practices. (all WPs) (Support and Service DevOps).
5. To prototype, pilot and, where appropriate, procure new online above-the-net services and operate and continuously enhance the T&I services and underlying infrastructure to enable students and researchers to preserve privacy (WP4 and WP5) (Service DevOps).
6. To provide operations support for first- and second-line functions (including training) to ensure that developed applications are secure and fit-for-service before going into operation. (WP9) (Operations).
Through GN5-1, GÉANT maintained the operational excellence of the established GÉANT services, while still achieving economies on the costs of the backbone network. The reliable, secure and state-of-the-art, high-speed network services, together with authentication mechanisms, offered to researchers and other network users across Europe, remains exceptional. In addition, developing and implementing a number of security products and services was also vital to GN5-1.
GN5-1’s overall objectives:
1. To advance, deliver and support a secure, pan-European network connectivity infrastructure and related services able to support science, research and education requirements and connect European researchers, staff and students anywhere in the world for the wider European Digital Infrastructure (WP6, WP7) (Service DevOps).
2. To understand and serve the communication networking needs and collaboration between the European NRENs, their expanding user community and important European and global stakeholder groups (WP1, 2, 3) (Support).
3. To enable researchers, students and staff to cooperate and exchange data with their peers through interoperable and secure connectivity infrastructure and services. (WP8) (Service DevOps).
4. To facilitate and enable, through the project, the needs of a wide user base across multiple disciplines for excellent science and research by delivering a broad range of existing and innovative new services. These services incorporate agile incubator development and sustainable operation following thorough business model practices. (all WPs) (Support and Service DevOps).
5. To prototype, pilot and, where appropriate, procure new online above-the-net services and operate and continuously enhance the T&I services and underlying infrastructure to enable students and researchers to preserve privacy (WP4 and WP5) (Service DevOps).
6. To provide operations support for first- and second-line functions (including training) to ensure that developed applications are secure and fit-for-service before going into operation. (WP9) (Operations).
All work packages in GN5-1 contributed to the project outcomes. Ultimately, the work of GN5-1 provided:
• A current and up-to-date connectivity service to the European scientific and educational user community, matching the expectations and requirements for faster, more resilient, innovative and secure connectivity and collaboration services.
• Unconstrained capacity ahead of demand in the backbone network and NREN access in multiples of 100Gbps, to pave the way for Terabit connectivity, where needed.
• Best-in-class services based on this connectivity (including trusted access to data sources and services, including T&I services); expanding NREN users beyond traditional scientific and research communities.
• Access for researchers and students to the valued services required for Open Science;
• Learning and training, and community building, as well as aligning with EU policy and ongoing participation with standardisation bodies.
• Robust processes for governance, service delivery and development, as well as a sustainable approach to funding, with long-standing and effective cost sharing mechanism in the Consortium.
• Increased understanding and response to the requirements of R&E communities and evolving the Communication Commons towards data-driven research and education.
• A strengthened collaborative ecosystem of GÉANT and the NRENs maintaining their position as an indispensable end-to-end connectivity infrastructure for European research and education.
• A current and up-to-date connectivity service to the European scientific and educational user community, matching the expectations and requirements for faster, more resilient, innovative and secure connectivity and collaboration services.
• Unconstrained capacity ahead of demand in the backbone network and NREN access in multiples of 100Gbps, to pave the way for Terabit connectivity, where needed.
• Best-in-class services based on this connectivity (including trusted access to data sources and services, including T&I services); expanding NREN users beyond traditional scientific and research communities.
• Access for researchers and students to the valued services required for Open Science;
• Learning and training, and community building, as well as aligning with EU policy and ongoing participation with standardisation bodies.
• Robust processes for governance, service delivery and development, as well as a sustainable approach to funding, with long-standing and effective cost sharing mechanism in the Consortium.
• Increased understanding and response to the requirements of R&E communities and evolving the Communication Commons towards data-driven research and education.
• A strengthened collaborative ecosystem of GÉANT and the NRENs maintaining their position as an indispensable end-to-end connectivity infrastructure for European research and education.
Action C of GN5-FPA supports the delivery of state-of-the-art network connectivity and operational excellence. This includes continuing and developing cost-effective, secure and resilient connectivity and collaboration services within Europe (including trusted access to data sources and services and AAI services, such as eIDAS).
The network infrastructure must be secured and operated to offer state-of-the-art services for extracting the full potential and value from the investments in data sources, research infrastructures and computing resources. The network services are designed to cater for virtual research teams from different domains and affiliations, providing trusted and secure access to heterogeneous digital resources and allowing collaboration with the private sector and SMEs, when necessary. The provision should cover national (NREN) as well as international (REN) connectivity within the ERA.
GN5-1 extended its reach to new research communities such as quantum key distribution (QKD) and metrology or Time and Frequency (T&F). This will require discussion of special connectivity services with the relevant communities, which must be implemented at a reasonable cost without impacting the excellent availability, security and reliability of the general services already offered to the R&E community.
Following the 2020 IaaS+ Framework from the OCRE project, WP4 is preparing to run a pan-European infrastructure-cloud procurement and seeks to have new frameworks signed for consumption before Q3 2024, with a four-year run time and offering the best terms and conditions for the R&E community that other e-infrastructures cannot easily deliver. The goal is a Framework portfolio that gives R&E access to state-of-the-art infrastructure-cloud services while also addressing digital autonomy and data sovereignty concerns.
The network infrastructure must be secured and operated to offer state-of-the-art services for extracting the full potential and value from the investments in data sources, research infrastructures and computing resources. The network services are designed to cater for virtual research teams from different domains and affiliations, providing trusted and secure access to heterogeneous digital resources and allowing collaboration with the private sector and SMEs, when necessary. The provision should cover national (NREN) as well as international (REN) connectivity within the ERA.
GN5-1 extended its reach to new research communities such as quantum key distribution (QKD) and metrology or Time and Frequency (T&F). This will require discussion of special connectivity services with the relevant communities, which must be implemented at a reasonable cost without impacting the excellent availability, security and reliability of the general services already offered to the R&E community.
Following the 2020 IaaS+ Framework from the OCRE project, WP4 is preparing to run a pan-European infrastructure-cloud procurement and seeks to have new frameworks signed for consumption before Q3 2024, with a four-year run time and offering the best terms and conditions for the R&E community that other e-infrastructures cannot easily deliver. The goal is a Framework portfolio that gives R&E access to state-of-the-art infrastructure-cloud services while also addressing digital autonomy and data sovereignty concerns.