RENUThe Knowledge Network for

Collaborating Communities of Practice

21 May, 2013

Agenda

• The NREN Hour in Africa • A Brief Overview of RENU• RENU Network Implementation• The Horizons

Agenda

• The NREN Hour in Africa • A Brief Overview of RENU• RENU Network Implementation• The Horizons

The NREN Hour in Africa

NRENs in Ubuntu Alliance

Connected We Stand!• Post-deregulation: new challenges, uneven

landscape, gaps in licensing • The survival of tertiary education/research • The connectivity opportunities: undersea, terrestrial,

intra- and inter-campus • The power of cooperation:Bandwidth, cost of core

technologies, quality of service, LANs• Building and maintaining HR capacity

A Supportive Ecosystem

• Examples from other regions• Partnerships in technology, capacity building

---> development partners, other NRENS, • UA leverages a range of initiatives• Institutional development imperatives: access

to technologies that transform research and education

Connect or Perish!

Univ of Louisiana

Campus Campus Campus Campus KIST

LONI NREN NREN NREN RwEdNet

Campus Campus Campus Campus Campus

Internet2 Géant UbuntuNet

UCU

Campus

RENU

NREN Genome• Normally, members must be research and/or

educational institutions• Recognised by other RENS

– Inclusiveness and Acceptable Use Policy• Provides member institutions with

– Fast links between member campuses– Connectivity to other RENs worldwide & the Internet

• Carries only traffic coming from or destined for a REN– Never transit traffic that both comes from and is

destined for a commodity network

NRENs at the Cutting Edge

• Ensure that advanced networking traffic is not disabled by congestion from commodity-type traffic

• Develop next-generation networking and applications in research and higher education

Focus on the Basics

• Human network that provides a structure to produce and share knowledge– Users of physical network

• A “bandwidth consortium”– Negotiate affordable Internet access– Lobby government and regulator

• Help develop ICT capacity within members• Nurture local content networks• Represent country in regional initiatives –RRENs- like

UbuntuNet-Alliance

Our Thesis

“Improved and affordable regional and international connectivity is critical success factor for open access in all its forms and will enable African researchers to generate a proportionate amount of intellectual property goods to achieve parity with the rest of the world”

A Brief Overview of RENU

Step by Step• VCs & CEOs meet in Entebbe, sign MOU to

create RENU, Jan 2006– This was a second attempt at creating RENU

• IEEAF capacity & equipment donation, Oct 2007• Formal legal registration, Nov 2007• Formal recognition by MoES, Nov 2009• RENU ASN and IP address space announced

online, Jan 2010• RENU Bandwidth Consortium April 2010

12/15/10 15

We fill a networking gap..

Geant, IEEAF, I2 ...

UbuntuNet, etcNREN National Infrastructure

Teachers, Researchers, Libraries,Classrooms, Labs, Management

Regional Infrastructure

Campus Infrastructure

Content Networks (Researchers,Libraries, Universities

Management)

Global REN Infrastructure

RENU, etc

Campus level

RENU services• Provide dedicated high-speed physical network

– Operations and maintenance• Provide Internet access

– Other NRENs vs. commodity Internet • Provide network services and applications• Support teaching and learning• Undertake and support advanced research• Promote interests of members / communities

RENU Network Implementation

The NREN TrinityPhysical NetworkConnects educational and research institutions to each other and to other NRENs“Commercial” or “Commodity” Internet

Human Network

Provide a structure to produce and share knowledge

Users of the physical network

Technology Relationships Network

The Sharing Imperative• Provide strong foundation for better connectivity

as we strive to effectively participate in a globalized, knowledge driven society

• Sharing (academic) human resource and expertise– Common courses that can be delivered over E-

learning platforms– Easy portability of students and their records

• Sharing costs for common software and platforms as well as ICT expertise

• Increasing research and academic collaboration among institutions

The NREN MotivationAccess to more and cheaper Internet bandwidth (Mitigate the “famine”)Fostering a collaborative community; economies of scale; stronger negotiation position, advocacy

Share expensive specialized education and research equipment; and advanced applications

New Horizons: Grid Computing

Phased: 3 Proposed PhasesRENU Network Design

TEP Location

NREN POP

Transport POP

Participant Node

NREN Transport PathTCN Transport Path

Network Implementation

Network Ownership Models

Purchase capacityFrom providers between two or more points

Purchase managed servicesLease dedicated channel, all equipment is owned by provider

Lease infrastructureLease existing unused infrastructure from provider, buy own transmission equipment

Build own infrastructure

RENU Network Progress• Advanced Network designs (2008)• ASN and IP address space from AfriNIC (2009)• Readiness survey of Phase 1 institutions (2009)• Allocation of IPs to MAK, UCU & MUST (2009)• UTL announces ASN and IP address space (2010)• RENU Bandwidth Consortium Sep 2010• Equipment Delivery by USAID to light up Phase 1

backbone (implementation)

12/15/10 25

There is still a lot to do..Formal REN, advanced network and sufficient bandwidth: NONE .. so Af Connect

Formal REN and underlying operational infrastructure: Kenya, South Africa

Formal REN but no underlying operational infrastructure: Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, DRC, Uganda, Malawi, Mozambique, Sudan

REN in formation: Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Ethiopia, Namibia, Somalia, Eritrea

The Horizon

Horizons I: Network Services & Applications

Domain Name Services (DNS)Network security and security advisory

Web and email hosting

Bandwidth management

Network storage, file servers and mirroring

Collocation and NOC services

IP telephony and video services

Help-desk for technical problems

Horizons II: General Services

Capacity building through practical trainingICT procurement advisorySupport to content networks National Internet eXchange Point (IXP)Exists but is currently neglectedProviders are each afraid of the other running itNRENs are domain name registrars in some countries - Egyptian EUN is the manager of the .eg domain

Horizons III: More Options

• Transforming learning, teaching and research

• Affordable access to information resources

• Global communities of practice• E-Content development• Leverage e-learning and e-health• Admin reform of HEIs and RIs

Opportunities Thru NRENs

• Transforming learning, teaching and research

• Affordable access to information resources

• Global communities of practice• E-Content development• Leverage e-learning and e-health• Admin reform of HEIs and RIs

Horizons III: More Options

• Distributed Learning• Virtual Laboratories• Distributed

Computation • Digital Libraries• Interactive Digital Video

& Audio• Remote Instrument

Access & Manipulation

• Arts Performance• Tele-immersion• Astronomy• Bio-sciences• High Energy & Nuclear

Physics• Earth & Environment

Observations, • Combinations of these

Acknowledgements

Thank you

• To the many NRENs around the world that have shared different kinds of resources with RENU

• To the many partners who continue to make generous contributions and prod RENU on as we learn how to walk

• To our members for having the audacity to dream where nothing existed

• Thank you all for listening!

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