The Quilt welcomes CAAREN as our newest affiliate member

The Quilt is pleased to welcome the Capital Area Advanced Research and Education Network (CAAREN) as our newest affiliate member. CAAREN is working to facilitate world-class research, education and knowledge sharing in the nation’s capital.

Powered by the George Washington University, CAAREN is an initiative designed to build a high-performance research and education network infrastructure serving the Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia areas.

CAAREN is partnering with DC-Net, a program managed by the DC Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), to reach public and private K-12 schools, public libraries, museums, hospitals and independent research organizations as part of the Sponsored Education Group Participants (SEGP) program at Internet2 under the United States Unified Community Anchor Network (U.S. UCAN).

Their goal is to bring the rich capabilities of the Internet2 community deeper into the communities around research institutions. Also, using the George Washington University’s dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) infrastructure, CAAREN has established a connection to Internet2’s established fiber paths throughout the country and will be looking to connect individual customers to this network in situations where commercial service providers are unable to do so.

CAAREN is a research network built to support the most demanding research, with a dedicated 100Gbps connection to Internet2’s Advanced Layer 2 Service (AL2S).  The network consists of a Juniper MX480 with 100Gbps, 10Gbps and 1Gbps interfaces. To reach Internet2, they use GW’s DWDM infrastructure.  Currently, they have four circuits enabled to reach the Advanced Layer 3 Service IP services nodes in Washington and New York (IPv4 and IPv6 are on separate circuits, for a total of four).

“We are happy to welcome CAAREN to The Quilt,” said Quilt President and CEO Jen Leasure. “This new network will greatly enhance collaboration and reduce barriers to research, education and health applications to support the DC area.”

To learn more about the CAAREN, visit www.caaren.org or follow them on Twitter @CAARENgw.

 

Networking leaders connect at Quilt Winter Meeting

Some of the country’s best in networking met last week to discuss advancements in research and education networks at The Quilt 2015 Winter Member Meeting in California.

The Quilt, a national coalition of advanced regional networks for research and education representing nearly 40 networks across the country, hosted the event with almost 100 participants from Quilt member organizations, affiliates and guests from throughout the country and world.

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Representatives from the federal level also joined and included the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The formal event got underway with an informative briefing/overview of CC*IIE Regional Collaboration Awards featuring KINBER, OARnet, GPN, and FRGP. Kevin Thompson of the National Science Foundation provided an update from the NSF Division of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure.

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Experts in cybersecurity from UEN, GPN, CENIC, Merit Network and MCNC organized a panel discussion to share insights into how their organizations are preparing for and responding to direct network attacks as well as attacks on member institutions.

And, finally, Jason Zurawski of ESnet gave a great presentation on understanding big data trends and the key role of regional networks in bridging needs and solutions. He added, “It’s not just infrastructure anymore, it’s an instrument.”

One of the more dynamic discussions featured a panel of representatives from the FCC who provided an overview of some of the commission’s broadband programs and opportunities available for research and education networks.

The Quilt President and CEO Jen Leasure said the organization’s bi-annual member meetings are designed to inform members on interesting topics for regional networks as well as provide a forum for members to leverage each other’s knowledge and expertise to collectively advance networking for research and education throughout the country.

“We saw excellent engagement among our members and our community partners at this year’s winter meeting,” she said.

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Of course there was plenty of time to network as well as attend a number of member briefings and breakout sessions on topics such as advanced networking, network security, R&E networking community building and much more.

 

Quilt 2015 Winter Member Meeting: Support for research and more

Nearly 100 representatives from our Quilt member organizations have registered for our 2015 Winter Member Meeting in La Jolla next month. This year’s event will be at the Shores Hotel and La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club in California on Feb. 10-12. And, in addition to some California sunshine, we also have a high-energy agenda to warm you up during these chilly February days.

Before the formal event gets underway, we will have our CEO Roundtable discussion on Tuesday afternoon, which continues to be our semiannual tradition where executive leaders from R&E networks meet with peers for a roundtable exchange of views, concerns and opportunities. This session is open to all with primary participation by CEOs of R&E networking organizations.

We officially get going on Wednesday, and we have some great topics of conversations lined up.

We start with an informative briefing/overview of CC*IIE Regional Collaboration Awards featuring KINBER, OARnet, GPN, FRGP, and Clemson University. Also joining us for our member meeting to provide invited addresses are: Kevin Thompson, Program Director at the NSF to update us from the National Science Foundation Division of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure; Jason Zurawski of ESnet to speak on Big Data Trends and the Key Role of the Regionals in Bridging Needs and Solutions; and representatives from the FCC to provide an overview of FCC Broadband Programs and Opportunities for R&E Networks.

Of course there will be plenty of time to network and catch up with colleagues as well as attend a number of member briefings and breakout sessions throughout the meeting on topics such as, advanced networking, network security, R&E networking community building and much more.

Click here to view the full agenda.

Finally, after receiving positive feedback from our original leadership workshop attendees and requests from other members, we will host a second Leadership Workshop at the conclusion of the 2015 Winter Member Meeting facilitated by Don Welch, President and CEO of Quilt member Merit Network. This will be another opportunity for Quilt member staff to further develop its leadership skills.

If you have not registered, please be sure to do so by Jan. 23. Online registration is available and space is limited.

You can follow the conversation now and throughout the meeting using #WMM15 or @TweettheQuilt.

We look forward to seeing you in February!

Deep dive on E-Rate 2.0 and what it means for R&E networks

The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 on Thursday to dramatically boost spending to bring high-speed Internet access to schools and libraries in poor or rural areas, a move that would likely increase Americans’ phone bills by about $2 a year.

The FCC also is mandating higher Internet speeds in rural areas for consumers.

E-Rate is the nation’s largest program supporting education technology. Today, the FCC implemented a fundamental reset of the program, the first such effort since the program’s creation 18 years ago, so that it can keep pace with the exploding demands for ever-faster Internet service placed on school and library networks by digital learning applications, which often rely on individually connected tablets and laptops.

The FCC Order adopted yesterday aimed at closing this connectivity gap by making more funding available for libraries and schools to purchase broadband connectivity capable of delivering gigabit service over the next five years. The Order also provides schools and libraries additional flexibility and options for purchasing broadband services to meet their Internet capacity needs in the most cost-effective way possible.

The Order builds on action taken by the FCC in July to meet another critical need: robust Wi-Fi networks inside libraries and schools capable of supporting individualized learning. The July Order freed up funds for Wi-Fi through improved fiscal management and by ending or phasing out legacy services like paging and phone service. The July Order also increased program fairness by ensuring all schools and libraries have equitable access to funding for Wi-Fi.

Thursday’s Order also takes further steps to improve the overall administration of the program and maximizes the options schools and libraries have for purchasing affordable high-speed broadband connectivity.

Included in yesterday’s Order were items that The Quilt recommended to the FCC through its written comments in the proceeding.

  • Suspending the requirement that applicants seek funding for large up-front construction costs over several years, and allowing applicants to pay their share of one-time, up-front construction costs over multiple years
  • Equalizing the treatment of schools and libraries seeking support for dark fiber with those seeking support for lit fiber.  Dark fiber leases allow the purchase of capacity without the service of transmitting data – lighting the fiber. Dark fiber can be an especially cost-effective option for smaller, rural districts
  • Allowing schools and libraries to build high-speed broadband facilities themselves when that is the most cost-effective option, subject to a number of safeguards
  • Increasing the certainty and predictability of funding for Wi-Fi by expanding the five-year budget approach to providing more equitable support for internal connections – known as category two – through funding year 2019

Two other provisions were included in yesterday’s order:

  • Providing an incentive for state support of last-mile broadband facilities through a match from E-Rate of up to 10 percent of the cost of construction, with special consideration for Tribal schools
  • Requiring carriers that receive subsidies from the universal service program for rural areas – called the High Cost program – to offer high-speed broadband to schools and libraries located in geographic areas receiving those subsidies at rates reasonably comparable to similar services in urban areas

Where it once was revolutionary to connect a computer lab down the hall to the Internet, harnessing the full value of digital learning today means enabling all students to go online from their desk or from any library workspace. While schools and libraries are now on a path to providing robust Wi-Fi for students, teachers and patrons over the next five years, data the FCC has been gathering over the past six months has revealed the depth of the connectivity gap. For example, the FCC noted that 63 percent of public schools don’t have broadband connections to the building capable of taking advantage of modern digital learning.

FCC chairman proposes $1.5 billion cap to boost E-Rate

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is proposing a more direct way to boost funding to E-Rate.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said on Wednesday that he wants a 62 percent, or $1.5 billion, increase on the cap that the agency can spend to bring Internet to schools (from $2.4 billion to $3.9 billion).

The White House called the FCC proposal to raise the E-Rate cap an “essential step” in the ConnectED initiative.

There’s a cost to the FCC’s proposal, of course; consumers and businesses could pay up to an additional 16 cents per phone line per month as part of the Universal Service Fund fee on their phone bills. That cost currently is a monthly fee of 99 cents for each phone line.

In June 2013, President Barack Obama made a trip to North Carolina to formally announce ConnectED, which included calling on the FCC to spur high-speed connectivity to schools.

“Since that time, the FCC has taken steps to modernize the E-Rate program to support high-speed connectivity for America’s schools and libraries,” a White House spokesperson said this week, citing the FCC’s action in February of this year to begin the expansion a “$2 billion down payment on the President’s ConnectED goals.

The FCC adopted an order in July to make the program more efficient and transparent so that schools get the most “bang for their E-Rate buck.” At the same time, the FCC also is moving to close the Wi-Fi gap by targeting $1 billion annually to expand Wi-Fi connections in all the nation’s schools and libraries to support modern digital learning.

The Quilt submitted ex-parte comments last week and followed up with in-person meetings with FCC Commissioners and staff to discuss further action. Among the items in our submitted comments, we were pleased with several of the changes made in the July E-Rate Modernization Order, especially the decisions to make more funding available for internal connections (Wi-Fi equipment) and to promote consortia.

The Quilt has long pointed out that it is inefficient and ineffective to bring high-capacity broadband to the building if there is insufficient capacity within the classroom or library building. Now that the FCC has given greater priority to making funding available for Category 2 equipment inside the building, it is proper for the commission to focus its next decision on how to incentivize the build-out of additional broadband capacity to the building.

According to EducationSuperHighway, 63 percent of schools lack the proper Internet infrastructure to support digital learning. The Wireline Competition Bureau and Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis released an E-Rate Data Update this week summarizing the information the FCC has received since the July E-Rate Modernization Order.

This fact sheet also provides a succinct description of the Internet connectivity gaps and Chairman Wheeler’s proposal to adjust the spending cap to a level that will enable long-term E-Rate connectivity targets to be met. The order the chairman circulated this week also will propose a series of targeted rule changes designed to ensure that the nation’s students and life-long learners can get the 21st century education required to keep the nation globally competitive.

A vote on the proposal is expected by the commission on Dec. 11.

Collaboration, gentle tension key to innovation for research and education networks

Leaders of state networks from Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio talked about the role of their organizations in driving innovation recently at MCNC’s annual event in North Carolina.

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Representatives from these Quilt members provided great insight and thought leadership as to the importance of RENs in today’s networking environment during the panel discussion.

A general theme resonated during the discussion – collaboration is the key for RENs to prosper, but some “gentle tension” also creates an environment for us to learn from each other and continue to innovate. “If everything is smooth and easy, then we’re not pushing or innovating enough,” said panel moderator Tracy Futhey, Vice President of Information Technology & CIO at Duke University.

The panel included Wendy Huntoon, Executive Director, Keystone Initiative for Network Based Education and Research (KINBER), Tim Lance, President, New York State Education and Research Network (NYSERNet), and Pankaj Shah, Executive Director, Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet), who joined the conversation via video conference.

Streaming video of the entire discussion is here. (The chapter begins at the 23-minute mark).

Each state and region is different when it comes to networking and high-speed connectivity, so what works in one area of the country or region may not in another area and vice-versa. This is a great discussion on the networking ecosystem seen today for RENs and worth a quick view.

Congratulations to MCNC on another successful annual event, NCREN Community Day 2014.

MCNC names Jean Davis president and CEO

Quilt member MCNC today announced that Jean Davis has been named president and CEO of the non-profit operator of the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN).

The organization made the surprise announcement at NCREN Community Day 2014 at NC State University.

Jean Davis

Davis comes to MCNC from the N.C. Department of Commerce, where she served as both COO and Executive Director of Business, Industry and Trade. Jean’s background includes executive management experience with major technology multinationals, entrepreneurial startups and government.

She will begin her tenure at MCNC officially on Nov. 17. She is just the eighth CEO in this history of the organization since 1983 and is the first woman to hold the position.

“MCNC has a rich history of innovation in North Carolina, and I’m excited for the opportunity to build upon that path of success for the next phase of MCNC’s growth,” said Davis. “Technology changes daily, and by working in collaboration with the NCREN Community, staff, private-sector partners and others, we can create new opportunities that will keep North Carolina as a leader in broadband connectivity.”

For 30 years, North Carolina has set the pace for national research and education networking by leveraging NCREN, which provides true high-performance broadband connectivity for community institutions in K-20 public and private education, non-profit health care, public safety and many federal, state and private research institutions.

Each year, MCNC recognizes and celebrates the progress and achievements from the NCREN community with this two-day event is being held at the Institute for Emerging Issues and the James B. Hunt Jr. Library.

State Connectivity Profiles highlight efforts of R&E networks

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released State Connectivity Profiles based on data they have been gathering from schools and libraries nationwide.

Distributed last Friday, it is a compilation of several state connectivity profiles describing the connectivity strategies, options and pricing for schools and libraries. The FCC said they hope to use this data to inform their ongoing analysis of the state of broadband connectivity to school and library sites, and identify successful trends in the approaches to promoting connectivity used in different areas.

According to FCC Managing Director Jon Wilkins in a blogpost on Sept. 19, outreach to state and school district staff and library leaders has been a critical element of the E-rate modernization process and that commission staff has been in frequent contact with staff from school districts, state agencies, libraries and research and education networks (RENs) from across the country. These outreach efforts, he wrote, provide important insights on the varying approaches that states are taking to the challenge of delivering high-speed broadband to all schools and libraries.

Much of the knowledge gained is compiled in the State Connectivity Profiles. Each State Connectivity Profile lays out an overview of K-12 school and library connectivity in these states, including an explanation of any state network or REN infrastructure and a breakdown overview of how schools and libraries purchase Internet access, wide area network (WAN) connections, and internal connections.

The document containing the 12 profiles (embedded below) also has sections on Internet speeds, library connectivity, funding and more. Quilt Members CENIC, Networkmaine, Merit, MOREnet, MCNC, OARnet and WiscNet are highlighted in the state profiles.

These profiles provide a thorough summary of connectivity data, purchasing strategies, and broadband deployment policies from a geographically diverse sample of states with differing populations and approaches to delivering high-speed broadband to all schools and libraries. All connectivity data and narrative descriptions are drawn from conversations with school district, state agency, or REN staff and have been reviewed and verified by the appropriate staff in each state.

“The State Connectivity Profiles are also an important element of our data-driven strategy for modernizing E-rate,” according to Wilkins, who thanked the many who worked to compile the data to date.

Many states collect detailed data on the bandwidth and rates purchased by schools and libraries, and many more are conducting statewide surveys this year. State and school district staff and library organizations also provided much of the underlying data for the E-rate modernization staff report and school and library fiber maps.

Fall Member Meeting: Network with networking influencers

Our 2014 Fall Member Meeting is coming up in September, and we have an extraordinary line-up of keynote speakers and guests scheduled to participate.

At the invitation of Quilt member WiscNet, The Quilt will be holding its Fall Member Meeting on Sept. 9-11 at the Monona Terrace on the shores of Lake Monona in Madison, Wisc. Registration closes on Friday, Aug. 22.

We are very excited to see more than 75 networking leaders from around the country attend for some exciting discussions on how R&E networks are uniquely positioned to meet the challenges of today’s infrastructure challenges.

David HotchkissDavid Hotchkiss, CIO at Medical College of Wisconsin and new member of WiscNet Board of Directors, is one of our keynote participants with a discussion focused on meeting the infrastructure challenges of supporting large-scale medical research and education. Here he plans to share experiences from the largest research institution in eastern Wisconsin and learn from others who may have similar stories and challenges.

Mark LukerDr. Mark Luker, Associate Director for the National Coordination Office for the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program, also highlights this year’s agenda. The NITRD Program provides a framework in which many federal agencies come together to coordinate their networking and IT research and development efforts. We’re really looking forward to learning how the program is serving as a catalyst for collaboration and innovation for U.S. global leadership in networking, information technology and applications.

We also have break-out sessions scheduled for advanced networking topics, network security, how to best serve niche communities on your network such as K-12 or health care, UEN operations, an updated on Quilt Peer-Review services, a briefing on the Net+ Regional Partner Program, discussions on the Quilt-InCommon Pilots and Regional Network-InCommon Business Models, and much more.

Click here to view the full agenda.

Following the conclusion Fall Member Meeting on Sept. 11, The Quilt is hosting a Leadership Workshop facilitated by Don Welch, President and CEO of Quilt member Merit Network.

It’s going to be exciting event. Thanks again to WiscNet for hosting this year’s meeting.

If you have not registered, please be sure to do so by Aug. 22. Online registration is available and space is limited.

You can follow the conversation now and throughout the meeting using #FMM14 or @TweettheQuilt.

We look forward to seeing you in September!