Ultra broadband research net to close

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 28 March 2006 11:12

Business IT - Networking

GrangeNet -  a Government funded high performance research network that provides the enabling technology for the development of grid and advanced communications services -  will cease operations at the end of 2006 when its current funding from DCITA expires.

GrangeNet (Grid and Next Generation Network) was build as the core of a five year program to assist researchers to understand how they might make best use of high performance networks without the restrictions of bandwidth and cost

Executive director, Paul Davis has written to all members of the GrangeNet community  announcing the closure.

"The funding from DCITA (the Department of Communications, IT and the Arts) will run out at the end of this year, this coincides with the expiration of the PowerTel fibre lease," Davis said. "During the next nine months we will be working very hard to minimise the impact of shutting down the GrangeNet network and ensuring that the services we run (eg eduroam, the network attached storage systems, access grid activities, workshops etc) find good homes so that they might continue to serve you into the future."

The announcement comes only three months after GrangeNet announced a major upgrade with the replacement of the original optical core network with a network of four Cisco 15454 Multiservice Provisioning Platform (MSPP) systems and with the latest Cisco 7609 routers in the edge of its network.

GrangeNet is a non-incorporated joint venture of AARNet, APAC, DSTC, Cisco Systems and PowerTel. The network is exclusively for research and education. It offers "a high performance, gigabit network built from the latest technology and protocols (including IPv6 and multicast)." The only cost to institutions is an annual subscription.