400G Production Link Advances Critical Support for Regional and National Research Platforms

La Mirada & Berkeley, CA, Dec. 12, 2019 — CENIC has built a 400 gigabit-per-second (Gbps) single-carrier optical circuit between Los Angeles and Riverside in California, one of the first-ever 400G superchannels to be deployed by a US regional research and education network. Construction included upgrading nodes in Los Angeles, Tustin, Oceanside, San Diego (home to the San Diego Supercomputer Center), Escondido, Sun City, and Riverside to 400G capabilities.

This next-generation superchannel ensures CENIC can easily meet today’s networking demands while remaining future-proof and flexible to meet the needs of tomorrow. CENIC’s California Research and Education Network (CalREN) serves the vast majority of K-20 students, educators, researchers, and individuals at other vital public-serving institutions. CalREN operates over 8,000 miles of fiber optic cable and serves more than 20 million users. [Read the full news release at News | CENIC]

Former OARnet leader returns to Ohio after four years leading Texas network

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Dec 3, 2019) — Pankaj Shah, president and chief executive officer of the Lonestar Education and Research Network (LEARN) in Texas, has been named the seventh executive director of the Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet).

Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) Chancellor Randy Gardner announced Shah’s appointment today. Shah had served as executive director of the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) and OARnet before taking the Texas post in 2015; he will return to Ohio in February 2020. Denis Walsh, OARnet’s chief relationship officer, has been serving as interim executive director of OARnet since Paul Schopis retired earlier this year. Schopis replaced Shah as executive director of OARnet upon the latter’s 2015 departure. [Read the full press release on OARnet | Press]

BOULDER, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZAYO) was selected by Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX) to provide data center colocation in zColo’s Ashburn facility and fiber connectivity to support MAX’s network services to its academic, research, government, scientific and business communities. MAX is a center at the University of Maryland (UMD) that operates a regional advanced cyberinfrastructure platform. [Read the full announcement on Zayo.com | News]