New Connections Establish Regional Services to Improve Research and Resource Sharing
Regional optical networks (RONs) in four Western States have agreed to expand and share network services in support of advanced research, operations, and support of academic, economic development, and inter-regional services. Pacific Northwest Gigapop (PNWGP), Front Range GigaPoP, New Mexico/University of New Mexico (UNM), and the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) announced the formation of the Western Regional Network (WRN), a multi-state partnership to ensure robust, advanced, high-speed networking availability for research, education, and related uses through the sharing of network services.
As a result of this collaboration among WRN members, the potential for shared applications among communities across the west has increased. These RONs provide networking services to the following states: Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington, and Wyoming.
“This new collaboration allows New Mexico/UNM to reinvent regional networking by establishing programmatic services within RONs,” said Gil Gonzales, UNM CIO. “WRN will help New Mexico, as wel as UNM’s faculty and students gain access to private high speed networks from faculty offices and labs to our regional partners.”
“WRN provides opportunities to benefit all participants in obtaining better services and lower costs. Networking offers tremendous economies of scale, which the WRN participants will be exploiting for the benefit of their members,” said Jim Dolgonas, President and CEO of CENIC. “For CENIC, WRN will not only provide us the ability to offer our members more diverse and therefore robust networking but also the ability to acquire commodity networking at lower costs for our members.”
“WRN creates a wonderful new and flexible vehicle for us to work together as we explore the challenges and opportunities facing our communities across the region” said Amy F. Philipson, executive director, PNWGP.
The Front Range GigaPoP is pleased to be partnering with CENIC, PNWGP, and New Mexico/UNM on this new, exciting endeavor that provides cost savings in the commodity and R&E areas, enhances opportunities via inter regional networking, peering, and new arrangements with vendors, stimulates new research opportunities for our members, and improves resiliency in our Wide Area Network made possible through cost effective back up paths,” said Marla Meehl, FRGP.
WRN will provide access to shared NLR, Internet2, Pacific Wave, and other regional fiber and IP based services for academic and economic development initiatives. This regional affiliation ensures a reliable connection to high-speed networks and research destinations.
The Western Regional Network will initiate services to partners in Spring 2010. For more information visit: Western Regional Network or contact Gil Gonzales, CIO UNM, Western Regional Network, at wrn@unm.edu or by telephone at, (505) 277-3486.
Media Contact: Vanessa Baca, (505) 277-0987; e-mail: vjbaca1@unm.edu
Posted by scarr at February 19, 2010 09:58 AM