SNAP was formed to meet industry demand for next-generation Internet Exchange (IX) and Software Defined Networking (SDN)

Atlanta, November 5, 2012 – SNAP, a leading provider of next-generation Internet Exchange (IX) solutions, announces today the availability of the Southeast Network Access Point (SNAP). This exchange point will offer neutral Internet exchange services for all categories of Internet Service Providers, Content Service Providers, Cloud Service Providers, Academic Networks, Government Networks, or Enterprise Networks desiring a neutral peering point serving the Southeastern United States.
Located in Colo Atl’s Atlanta, Georgia facility, SNAP will initially offer 100 Mbps ~ 10Gbps access ports, and both IPv4 and IPv6 peering. Route servers will allow networks to simplify their peering operations, while SNAP will permit other traditional peering models utilizing either user-managed peering or VLANs as needed to meet member objectives. SNAP will operate to meet both the vision and operational objectives of the global Internet community.

“SNAP was established to provide a stable platform for global and IP network peering and cutting edge Internet Exchange services,” comments Tim Kiser, Owner and Founder of Colo Atl. “Our charter members have a mission to meet the demands and advance the vision and operational objectives of the global Internet community.”
SNAP will also provide an exchange for Software Defined Networks (SDN), initially peering with the regional research and education networks, and ultimately into the commercial networking space. SDN peering on the SNAP benefits from the technical expertise of the Georgia Institute of Technology, US Ignite and transformative research provided through the National Science Foundation’s Global Environment for Network Innovations (GENI), all of which are Charter Members.

Members joining SNAP during the first year will enjoy financial incentives and charter membership status. SNAP will be available to all networks later this year.

To learn more about SNAP please visit www.southeastnap.com or email info@southeastnap.com

For more information about Colo Atl, visit www.coloatl.com or email info@coloatl.com

About Southeast Network Access Point (SNAP)

SNAP is a next-generation Internet Exchange (IX) supporting IPv4, IPv6 as well as OpenFlow and Software Defined Networking (SDN). Its mission is to not only support global peering, but also the collaborative development of an entirely new structure for Internet Protocol network peering. SNAP, located within the Georgia Technology Center, is a public IX built on Brocade equipment and the support of its Founding Members, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Global Environment for Network Innovations (GENI), US Ignite, Southern Light Rail and PeachNet. For more information about the SNAP or to schedule a briefing, contact us at info@SoutheastNAP.com. Follow SNAP on Twitter @SoutheastNAP

About Colo Atl

Located in the global telecom hub of Atlanta, Georgia, Colo Atl, a JT Communications Company, provides colocation, data center & interconnection services, at an affordable rate. Colo Atl is a neutral-colocation facility that allows tenants and carriers to securely and conveniently cross-connect within a SSAE16 certified facility. Colo Atl has no monthly recurring cross connect fees between tenants and provides exceptional customer service. Visit Colo Atl online at: www.coloatl.comand follow us on Twitter @ColoAtl

11/08/2012 04:52 PM EST

The National Science Foundation today awarded a $2.5-million grant to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to enable its participation in a new international organization that will accelerate research data sharing among scientists around the globe.

The grant will be used to develop a Research Data Alliance (RDA) that will allow researchers the world over to collaboratively use scientific data to speed up innovation.

To date, more than 120 U.S. and international participants are helping conceptualize the organization and populate its first efforts. Along with scientific and data leaders from the United States, members from Australia and the European Union are part of the new alliance’s organizational steering committee. U.S. participation will be led by Rensselaer Computer Science Professor Francine Berman.

“The Research Data Alliance addresses a world-wide need for efforts that accelerate data-driven innovation,” Berman said. “The National Science Foundation, with U.S. and international partners, is expanding the global conversation on data-driven research. Community development of the RDA will contribute to the global infrastructure needed for new discovery and insights.”

The international launch and first plenary of the RDA will be held in Gothenburg, Sweden, in March of 2013.

As an example of gains that can be expected from the RDA, Berman explained that researchers sharing open-access data sets about a particular disease would increase the pool of information, and therefore, the potential for insights that can only be gained at large scale.

She added that the coordination of economic data sets, geographic data sets and census data to create urban data sets can be used to make strategic predictions about programs and initiatives that can improve the quality of life in cities. “All of us use digital information every day to augment our lives in innovative ways,” Berman said. “The goal of the Research Data Alliance is to help researchers work with a world of useful digital information more innovatively and at scale.”

“RDA today is a timely, ambitious and practical advance in data sharing that is key to scientific collaboration, enabling discoveries to address needs of our global society,” said Robert Chadduck, NSF program director for data and cyberinfrastructure, which funded the grant. “We are proud to join our global colleagues in supporting this initiative.”

More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=126010&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click

Boulder, Colorado – The WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET) is pleased to announce NJEDge.Net (New Jersey Research & Education Network): NJVID is a recipient of a 2012 WCET Outstanding Work (WOW) award, a competition that recognizes innovative uses of educational technologies in higher education. Since 2004 the WOW award has been presented to colleges, universities, and organizations for exceptionally creative, technology-based solutions to a significant problem or need in higher education.

NJEDge.Net (New Jersey Research & Education Network): NJVID

NJVID is a state-of-the-art digital video repository service for streaming and preservation of academic and research videos for higher education. By providing cost effective video streaming and repository services, NJVID enables institutions to overcome the technical barriers in digitizing and making video available to users through a secure portal. This service is provided by NJEDge.Net – New Jersey Research and Education Network – and builds upon a strong, statewide collaboration among universities, libraries, museums and K-12 education.

The NJVID service enables faculty to implement visual media into their courses by allowing them to upload their own videos and share them with students to enhance the learning experience. Users can create their own virtual clips from full-length videos and add their own notes to it, as well as string videos and clips to create personalized playlists. By using a simplified user management system, metadata cataloging and search tools, any institutional user can discover, collaborate and share resources. These video resources can also be made available within learning management systems, on websites and blogs.

NJVID also hosts a huge collection of over 5000 cataloged commercial educational digital videos that relate to a diverse array of fields from reputed vendors such as Films Media Group, PBS, Ambrose, Intelecom and others, allowing institutions that have licensed this content to easily add these videos to their video collection for streaming.

In creating a unified portal for faculty uploaded, locally owned and commercial licensed videos, NJVID has today grown to fulfill a much greater need of educators and students alike: the use of video as a major tool in teaching and learning.

“The significance of the WOW Award is more than just some cool, new technology tools,” notes James Bowey, professor at Winona State University and chair of the WOW Awards Committee. “At the heart of the award and this year’s three honored projects is that each addresses a real and important need that is shared widely across higher education. It’s the innovative, often collaborative, way in which these projects were carried forward that merits the award, as well as the fact that each serves as a model for others to replicate.”

The winning projects will be honored at the WCET Annual Meeting<http://wcetconference.wiche.edu> on November 2 in San Antonio.

The WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET) (www.wcet.wiche.edu<http://www.wcet.wiche.edu/>) is a cooperative, membership-driven, non-profit provider of strategies and services that accelerate the adoption of effective practices and policies, advancing excellence in technology-enhanced teaching and learning in higher education. More information is available on WCET’s Website: wcet.wiche.edu<http://wcet.wiche.edu>