MEDIA RELEASE

The Government’s super-fast research and education network began its proof of concept phase this week, with the “lighting up” of the first fibre optic-based link between Auckland and Canterbury. 

Research and Education Advanced Network New Zealand (REANNZ), the company set up by the Government to build and operate the network, said today that the equipment on the network successfully exchanged data between Internet Protocol addresses.

The advanced network is a fibre optic telecommunications network that runs from Auckland to Dunedin. That “backbone” will carry data at 10Gbit per second – which is 40,000 times faster than domestic broadband (Using 256kbps as a basic broadband speed) – and aims to deliver high speed data connectivity to users’ desktops at up to 100Mbit per second.

The users will be academics and researchers at New Zealand’s educational institutions, Crown Research Institutes and their partners. The network is needed to share resources and analytical tools on a secure, stable dedicated network, and exchange very large amounts of data nationally and internationally, at data throughput speeds not achievable over the standard internet.

That means that 10Gbytes of data used for research such as building movement dynamics, or plant and animal genetic analysis, could theoretically be delivered in 8 seconds, rather than the 22 hours it might currently take on a 1Mbit per second link (10Gbytes = 80Gbits, which at 10Gbits/s is 8 secs.  22 hours is approx 80,000 secs, implying a 1Mpbs link, for comparison).

The government has put $43 million into developing the network in partnership with 17 founding member institutions, including all New Zealand’s universities, Crown research institutes and the National Library.

REANNZ Development Manager Charles Jarvie said the network had been built over the past few months. It comprises dedicated fibre optic capacity provided by TelstraClear, REANNZ owned switches and routers at regional points of presence plus international connectivity to the USA and Australia. It supports both Ethernet and Internet Protocol providing flexibility in the ways computers and networks can ‘talk’ to each other.

The proof of concept phase that started this week will “test and stress” various functions and configurations of the network to confirm expected performance. 

“For instance, we’ll be testing its ability to support the multi-cast protocol, where the network preserves access bandwidth by replicating large data streams – such as occur with high quality video links.  This allows the sender to deliver to several different locations using a single stream, instead of generating multiple streams which would quickly congest slower local access arrangements.

“We’ll also use ‘jumbo frames’, which improves the ability of the network to send large data files. Essentially they’re linked into a train, rather than sent as separate ‘cars’. Again, that reduces the overhead placed on the sending and receiving systems managing the data flows and thus speeds up the process,” he said. This week, the network was lit up between Canterbury and Auckland Universities. However Mr Jarvie said by the end of November the network will be live to Dunedin, with the ability to connect between “nodes” to several parts of the country, including Waikato, Rotorua, Palmerston North, Havelock North, Nelson and the Hutt Valley.

“Initially it is universities, the National Library and Crown research institutes that will connect, but there is huge potential for schools, polytechnics, private research organisations and relevant government departments to come on board,” said Charles Jarvie.

At least forty other countries currently have one or more advanced networks, all of which are reachable from each other. REANNZ’s network will allow New Zealand to catch up with, and connect to, its international research and education partners.

“We are now about two-thirds of the way to delivering to New Zealand’s researchers and educators a fantastically valuable new tool. But it will be their relationships, skill and imagination which will unlock the huge potential, ,” Mr Jarvie said.