JANET Networking Support Services

JANET(UK) offers a number of supplementary services to assist with the underlying support of our customers' networks.

Authentication:

• JANET Roaming enables guest users to use their home network username and password to gain authenticated independent network access at visited participating JANET sites in the UK and eduroam organisations throughout the world, without the usual administrative burden or added complexities for either the user or the local IT staff. The guest user can then access the Internet and use whatever remote access facilities are provided by their own organisation and facilities offered by the visited organisation.

• Server Certificate Service enables JANET(UK) to act as a Registration Authority to provide GlobalSign server certificates to JANET-connected organisations. Server certificates are used to encrypt data and to identify a web server. The certificate contains information about the certificate holder, the domain that the certificate was issued to, the name of the Certificate Authority that issued the certificate, and the root and the country it was issued in. The security of information and transactions from the certified server is assured.

• UK Access Management Federation is operated by JANET(UK) and provides a single sign-on solution for access to online resources and services for the education and research community. Organisations may join as an Identity Provider (IdP) (eg. a university or local authority), or as a Service Provider (SP), (eg. a publisher or content provider) or both. The federation provides many benefits and uses the standards-based Shibboleth software developed by the Internet2 community in the United States. This defines a common framework for access management which is being adopted by education and commercial sectors across the world.

DNS:

• Primary Nameserver Service provides a basic DNS service for JANET customers based on high availability primary and secondary nameservers that satisfy DNS queries for the zone data they hold. The servers are situated on the JANET backbone and geographically separated as a precaution against fire or the failure of network connection. The service is ideal for some small organisations which do not have the resources themselves to operate nameservers and maintain DNS information.

• Secondary Nameserver Service is available to any customer with a primary connection to JANET. Under this service JANET(UK) will arrange for a secondary nameserver to be run on the customer's behalf at a remote site on the JANET network. There is currently no charge for this service.

• Off-site Resolver Service provides a DNS resolver service for organisations with very small networks for whom it is inappropriate to use an on-site resolver. Dedicated resolvers located on the core of the JANET network answer queries for domain name resolution that come from client computers on a customer organisation's network. Having sent a DNS query to the appropriate nameserver to find the required IP address, the information is returned to the client enabling the computer to access the remote host machine.

Network Status:

• JANET Netsight is a network monitoring service providing an easy to understand view of the status and performance of the JANET network. The service comprises a number of monitoring systems deployed around the backbone that cover all the JANET regional networks. Each Netsight system monitors the performance of the backbone, the links to the Internet and the JANET customer links - data on traffic levels, packet loss and latency is made available through a set of the password protected private pages.

Networking Support:

• JANET Lightpath is a centrally managed service which can help support large research projects requiring massive data transfer on the JANET network through point to point optical connectivity. The service is available to any eligible organisation with a primary connection to JANET, subject to capacity and budget considerations.

• JANET Co-location Service offers an allocation of rack space, power management and remote access facilities within the SuperJANET backbone. Co-location facilities are physically secure with intruder detection systems, CCTV, card access and 24x7 security guards. A single 100Mbit/s or 10Mbit/s Ethernet connection to JANET is provided. Organisations are responsible for the installation and network security of their equipment. This is a chargeable service and is not restricted to JANET organisations although it must be of benefit to the JANET community.

• Network Time Service delivers a stable time reference to organisations using the Network Time Protocol (NTP). It is intended for use by organisations in buidling their own distributed time services, not for access by end users. The time is distributed hierarchically to servers at organisation sites, and from there on to end user systems.

• Managed Router Service provides remote support to JANET customers with a Primary Connection who require additional assistance and expertise in supporting their network router. The service runs parallel to the existing maintenance contract held for JANET network equipment and is only available to those sites whose routers are covered by the JANET(UK) maintenance agreement with a sub­contractor.