BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—In collaboration with the University of Guam, International Networks at Indiana University (IN@IU) recently put in place two 10 gigabyte circuits connecting Guam to research and education networks in Hong Kong. The circuits increase bandwidth, resiliency, and redundancy across the Pacific Ocean to help support global scientific research.
In 2017, a group of four separate research and education networks—TransPAC4, led by IN@IU, Pacific Wave, Japan’s Science Information Network (SINET), and the Singapore Advanced Research and Education Network (SingAREN)—joined forces to create the Asia-Pacific Ring (APR), a coordinated effort to build a reliable high speed network system linking Asia and North America. The APR was the first 100G research and education network.
Reliability is the overall challenge when putting computer networks in place in Asia. With two different paths going from Guam to Hong Kong, we’re contributing to a strong, redundant network that helps science.
Dr. Jennifer Schopf, director, International Networks at IU
The redundancy added by the Guam-Hong Kong circuits supports and strengthens these global R&E networks, according to Dr. Jennifer Schopf, director, IN@IU. “Reliability is the overall challenge when putting computer networks in place in Asia,” she said. “With two different paths going from Guam to Hong Kong, we’re contributing to a strong, redundant network that helps science.”
As a United States island territory in Micronesia in the Western Pacific, Guam is gaining significance as a juncture for computer networks. The bandwidth added by the new circuits allows for improved scientific collaborations worldwide.
The increased network capability is also beneficial to the work being done at the University of Guam, which is now a jurisdiction of the National Science Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) community. The program supports underfunded areas to promote sustainable improvements and scientific progress nationwide.
The University of Guam recently received a $6 million, five-year EPSCoR grant to study the effects of climate change on coral reefs specifically on a genetic basis. Because the island’s rich research terrain has incredible potential for the global research community, the increased connectivity effected by the collaboration between the university and IN@IU creates possibilities for scientific discoveries that were previously not possible.
The connections established by the Guam-Hong Kong circuits advance R & E networking between the U.S. and Asia to unprecedented levels of data accessibility and sharing, giving researchers the ability to work faster and better.
“We are thankful for Indiana University’s Collaboration on the GOREX project,” said Rommel Hidalgo, chief information officer at the University of Guam. “The new circuit from Hong Kong to Guam has created a second crucial link for increasing Pacific R&E networking diversity in the Southwestern Pacific, through GOREX. We say “Si Yu’os Ma’ase (Thank You)” and congratulations to Dr. Schopf and the International Networks team for this successful implementation.”
