Project increases and strengthens the statewide reach of the University of Missouri System 

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Missouri Research and Education Network (MOREnet), a business entity of the University of Missouri System, today announced a partnership with Sho-Me Technologies to expand the fiber infrastructure for high capacity, low cost Internet access in the southeastern area of Missouri, an area underserved by existing broadband infrastructure. The new long-term commitment from MOREnet and the University of Missouri will spur economic development in all areas of Missouri, another example of the system’s significant influence on the entire state every day.

“The University of Missouri has a major presence in every region of our state, and is a driving force in the economic wellbeing of all Missourians,” said Tim Wolfe, president of the University of Missouri System. “MOREnet’s expansion in southeast Missouri will have a profound effect on the entire region, bringing greater technology to where it is scarce and improving the lifestyles of the area’s citizens.”

“By increasing the available bandwidth and helping to stabilize connectivity costs for years to come for our schools, libraries and government organizations in southeast Missouri, we are enabling education, health, cultural and social resources to reach more Missourians in a more efficient manner,” said John Gillispie, executive director of MOREnet.

The upgraded Internet infrastructure will further enable distance learning and ensure students receive equitable access as they prepare for college and career readiness. The capacity that will be available to each participating site will be able to grow beyond one gigabit per second (1 Gbps) and enable educators to accelerate the use of technology in their lessons, adopting innovative student-centered learning tools for both K-12 and lifelong learners.

“This proposed infrastructure project will ensure that Poplar Bluff Schools and other school districts in southeast Missouri will be prepared for expansion and growth without concerns about connectivity issues because of costs,” stated Jim Thomas, director of media services for Poplar Bluff R-1. “This allows school districts to focus on the mission of serving needs of students and not worrying about whether we will have enough bandwidth for adding or expanding programs.”

Bringing robust and reliable Internet access to this area of Missouri will benefit health care through the Missouri Telehealth Network, offering local communities greater access to healthcare specialists, while broadening remote educational opportunities for health care providers and clinicians wishing to learn and collaborate via technology. Local citizens who utilize public libraries for services such as genealogical research, adult literacy skills or career enhancement will also benefit from the upgraded infrastructure.

“The Sho-Me Technologies network is continually looking for new telecommunication opportunities for rural Missouri with the latest products and services to improve education and commerce through technology. This project continues our strong partnership with MOREnet and will provide numerous schools and local communities in southeast Missouri with high-speed broadband communications, “ said Gary Fulks, general manager for Sho-Me Technologies.

About MOREnet

The Missouri Research and Education Network (MOREnet) is a member-driven consortium serving Missouri’s K-12 schools, colleges and universities, public libraries, state and local government, teaching hospitals and clinics and other affiliate organizations. MOREnet, which operates as a separate business unit within the University of Missouri System, was created in 1991 to deliver secure, reliable and robust Internet connectivity to its members. Today, MOREnet has evolved from an Internet service provider to an organization deploying and supporting the technology resources its members need to be successful. MOREnet provides technical support, videoconferencing support, technical training, hosted and managed cloud services, disaster recovery services and network security. MOREnet is committed to supporting and enabling its members’ missions through the use of technology to enhance opportunities for public access, learning and research.

About Sho-Me Technologies

Sho-Me Technologies is a subsidiary of Sho-Me Power Electric Cooperative in Marshfield, Mo. Sho-Me Technologies operates an advanced optical network spanning electric transmission lines in Missouri that encompasses over 2,000 miles of fiber optic connectivity. With over 120 Points of Presence, Sho-Me Technologies boasts the highest coverage of optimal bandwidth in the area.

COLLEGE PARK, MD (March 6, 2014) – Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX), in conjunction with Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc., announced today the successful transmission of data at rates of 400 Gbps and 800 Gbps over MAX’s optical network from Baltimore, MD, to McLean, VA, during a field trial based in College Park, MD. The week-long trial, which is the first ever to demonstrate Fujitsu’s new super-channel capabilities on a deployed network, showed that MAX will be able to provide a 400 Gbps-capable networking infrastructure to the surrounding research and education (R&E) community, as well as blaze a future path to even higher speeds on the existing installed base of equipment.

This record-speed transmission was made possible by using the Fujitsu FLASHWAVE® 9500 Packet Optical Networking Platform to transmit data with a 25% improvement in channel spacing over conventional dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM). These condensed channels are a result of flexible grid utilization and are combined with advanced modulation techniques including dual-polarization quadrature phase shift keying (DP-QPSK) and dual-polarization 16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (DP-16QAM) to greatly increase network utilization without requiring any physical adjustments to the MAX network infrastructure. The end result is a super-channel that allows more than 2.5 times increase in bandwidth in the same amount of spectral width as current DWDM technologies.

The field trial focused on achieving a stable 400 Gbps transmission over the MAX network footprint, alongside existing 10 Gbps and 100 Gbps channels. After this was demonstrated, an error-free rate of 800 Gbps was also attempted and achieved during the test – indicating a wealth of possibilities for the current state of optical networking, while also shining a light on future networking capabilities.

“This field trial provided a significant opportunity for MAX and Fujitsu to collaborate on a leading technological advancement in the optical networking field,” said Tripti Sinha, Executive Director of MAX. “The achievement of such a fast networking speed will not only benefit MAX participants, but it will also set the standard for the future of advanced networking, helping to unlock previously unavailable resources for researchers across the world.”

This dramatic increase in network speed will allow MAX to provide its participants with even more robust and scalable network communication capabilities across Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. 400 Gbps will help scientists across the mid-Atlantic minimize the limitations of geographic distance and maximize the demands of science applications in order to expedite the transmission of data and, ultimately, discoveries through groundbreaking research.

“Fujitsu has established a track record of continuously evolving and expanding technology solutions to meet the most demanding networking requirements,” said Rod Naphan, CTO and Senior Vice President of Solutions, Product Planning and Portfolio Management, Fujitsu Network Communications. “Our collaboration with MAX is one example that we’re particularly proud of. Today we’re achieving 400 Gbps, and we can already see greater capacity in the not-too-distant future.” 

The field trial demonstrated several key technical advancements which could lead to the next generation of optical transmission. Fujitsu’s 400 Gbps and 800 Gbps super-channel capabilities enable higher per-channel scalability. Support for multiple modulation schemes including DP-QPSK and DP-16QAM opens up the ability to optimize spectral efficiency while accommodating dynamically-changing reach demands. Additionally, Nyquist filtering techniques leverage spectral shaping resulting in an increase in spectral density. With nonlinear fiber impairments being a major limiting factor of optical transmission, the field trial demonstrated nonlinear compensation (NLC) techniques to reduce the resulting optical penalties and extend the achievable transmission distance. All of these advancements enable a much higher utilization of costly fiber infrastructure and maximize the bandwidth available for demanding R&E applications.

For more information about MAX and MAX services, please visit www.maxgigapop.net.

February 6, 2014

Ann Arbor, Mich. — Merit Network announced today at The Quilt’s annual meeting a special savings programs on Michigan Cyber Range courses and Merit Secure Sandbox for members of The Quilt, the national coalition of advanced regional networks for research and education.

“The Michigan Cyber Range provides cybersecurity courses and infrastructure that are unique and provide great value to members of The Quilt,” said Don Welch, president and CEO of Merit Network. “Quilt members can offer these courses and Merit Secure Sandbox to their member organizations at reduced prices.”

“Merit’s Cyber Range service offering to other Quilt members is yet another way Quilt members collaborate with one another to leverage specific member experience and expertise for the benefit of the research and education network community,” said Jen Leasure, president and CEO of The Quilt. “We look forward to continuing to grow our Quilt member-to-member service catalog and facilitate the exchange of services among our Quilt members who understand, create and deliver services in a manner consistent with the way Quilt member institutions desire to utilize them.”

The Michigan Cyber Range offers numerous cybersecurity certification courses throughout the year online and in-person. Through the exclusive program with Merit, organizations can get 10 percent off of cybersecurity training. Each course includes a certification test provided by Mile2, a respected provider of cybersecurity certifications. For a current schedule of classes, please see: http://www.merit.edu/cyberrange/

In addition, members of The Quilt can provide 10% to 30% off on Merit Secure Sandbox to their member organizations. Merit Secure Sandbox is a highly secure platform that organizations can use for their own cybersecurity training purposes, for cybersecurity practice exercises, and for software testing.

“Merit Secure Sandbox is an innovative cybersecurity resource that an organization can use for their own educational purposes. They can let their students try cybersecurity techniques and procedures in an enclosed environment that is completely separated from the Internet and their own network. It provides a high level of security and safety while giving students and instructors the freedom to practice real-world situations,” Welch said.

Members of The Quilt should contact Merit Network by phone at 734-527-5785 or by email atsales@merit.edu for more information about these exclusive discount programs.

http://www.merit.edu/news/newsarchive/article.php?article=20140206_quilt