Integrated e-Infrastructure

GARR-X Progress is implementing in the 4 Regions of Convergence a fully-optical next-generation multiservice telecommunication network, to be integrated with the GARR National Research and Education Network -and with its peers in Europe and worldwide.

A fully-optical next-generation network

This infrastructure will extend the provision of advanced network services, such as optical private networks, to areas which were, up to this moment, affected by the digital divide. The new infrastructure will thus offer an enabling tool for scientific, educational and cultural institutions to communicate and collaborate at the national and global level.

Cloud services will be offered over this new network infrastructure GARR-X to permit a transparent and secure use of computing and storage resources, both existing and implemented by the project.


Network

GARR-X, the Network for Universities and Research in Italy

GARR-X, the Next Generation National Network for Universities and Research, is part of the Roadmap of the Italian Research Infrastructures of pan-European interest, recently presented by the Ministry of Education. The new network is fully embedded in the planning of the European Research Area.

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GARR-X Progress aims to strengthen the optical network dedicated to the Research and Education community in the four regions of convergence, to include, by the end of the project, about 3.900 km backbone, 24 Points of Presence (PoP) and over 2.200 km of user access links.
The transmission and IP/MPLS levels will be implemented with leading-edge equipment, characterized by high degrees od scalability, speed and flexibility, which will deliver capacities in the order of 100Gbps and its multiples. User access links will also be upgraded, thanks to the implementation of symmetric fiber links with capacities of at least 100Mbps.

Overall, the project includes a minimum of 120 sites belonging to universities and research institutions (which could increase to 400 as the project progresses), and about 380 secondary schools located in main urban areas, for more than 2.000 km of access fiber links to be rolled out by the project.

The project will deploy two types of access link:

  • direct link to the nearest GARR PoP, for user sites with important requirements in terms of bandwidth and services;
  • link through aggregation points, suitable for user sites with more limited requirements, e.g. schools.

OWherever possible, in order to optimize penetration of the network, the project will set up interconnections with local MANs and RANs. In order to foster the uptake of ultra-broadband in the South as well as support the competitiveness of local ICT players, the project will actively promote the creation of neutral Internet exchanges (NAP) among telcos and service providers.


Cloud

GARR-X Progress will deploy a technological platform capable of offering ICT and Cloud services to ensure transparent and secure IaaS and SaaS access to geographically distributed resources, including applications, data, storage and computing infrastructures.

The project will implement a computing and storage infrastructure counting 6.144 virtual CPUs and a medium-to-large storage system with a capacity of 6 PB (PetaBytes). Resources will be hosted in GARR PoPs in Campania, Calabria, Puglia and Sicily, all interconnected at high speed.
In addition to the new resources, GARR-X Progress will harmonise and make interoperable and more easily accessible those already existing in the Research and Education community, including the computing farms installed by Universities and Research Centres with previous investments.

 

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