To support the user consultation process, the following generic areas were identified for further technical review.
There is a trend amongst research communities outside the UK to move to procurement of dark fibre and JANET(UK) felt this area need further research and consideration. We therefore commissioned Analysys Consulting to conduct a strategic review for the next generation of transmission infrastructure to support the JANET network (SuperJANET5). This study has help JANET(UK) understand the merits of this approach as well as the implications, risks and costs, compared with the other possible options including provision of wavelength, SDH and Ethernet services.
As the JANET network has evolved, the need to provide greater levels of reliability has become more apparent. An increasing number of institutions, across the customer base, view access to JANET and the global Internet as essential for the operation of their business.
As the need for reliability increases, so do the demands on the network to offer a wider variety of services, some of which are at the leading edge of development. The need to develop and roll out these services may conflict with the need to provide reliability. JANET(UK) therefore carried out some discussion with the JANET community to determine the actual need for reliability, the requirement to develop new services and a way to manage these conflicting demands to produce a balanced network service
Balancing the demands of production stability alongside diverse development requirements in the future may turn out to be difficult within the existing model of a single IP production network. For example, it must be possible to provide each community and the applications that it uses with the network resources it requires without undue interference from other demands. Although an overall architecture of a backbone connecting Regional Networks will be continued, there is a need to define an architecture to meet these demands.
A document describing, at a high level, some considerations for the architecture of SuperJANET5 has been produced. This document draws on the results of the work undertaken as part of the requirements analysis in the areas of transmission infrastructure, IP routing equipment, network infrastructure reliability and defining the multi-services concept. This document is available as a PDF.
If the UK is to maintain a world-class network for research and education then it is important to understand the status and plans of other NRENs in Europe and North America in order to set a benchmark for SuperJANET5. Therefore a survey of the current status and future plans of other NRENs in Europe and North America in particular was undertaken. The results of this survey are summarised in the document 'SuperJANET5 - International Comparisons'
