KAREN consists of a highspeed optical network connecting Points of Presence (PoPs) throughout New Zealand.

A PoP is an interconnection point between member sites around the network. Members may connect at one or more than POPs as they wish.

International links connect KAREN to other National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) in Australia and the United States, and through them to Asia and Europe.

A distinguishing feature of any NREN is its flexibility to meet the diverse needs of all its users. The numbers involved, coupled with increasing sophistication of personal applications, mean that managing demand and maintaining performance require the use of a hybrid Ethernet and Internet Protocol (IP) network architecture.

The research community, driven by the development of various e-science GRIDs, has developed large-scale applications that will individually use high amounts of bandwidth and can in some cases also have strict demands on the network that may require defined resources allocated temporarily to meet performance demands.

KAREN will need to continually evolve so the range of production and development demands can co-exist. This means taking into account the collaborative nature of the development, and research processes, and therefore the need to deliver both advanced network services and associated development facilities to participating organisations.

Related information

• About KAREN
• Topology
• Frequently Asked Questions