CSC to update the Funet communications network

CSC, the Finnish IT center for science, is renewing the Funet communications network that covers the whole of Finland. The new high-speed and reliable optical fiber network will operate as part of the international research network. The largest optical fiber suppliers in the gigantic project are TDC and Teknomeria. The equipment and implementation will be supplied by Nokia Siemens Networks.

Funet, the Finnish university and research network, serves the Finnish research community by providing more than 80 universities and research organisations, a total of 350,000 users, with high-speed and reliable data connections. The new network is based on optical fibers between universities and efficient communications equipment. The new network will be taken into use stepwise starting from the Helsinki metropolitan area. The utilization rate of the new network will be high as new locations will be connected to secure connections. Network users can be provided with up to 10 Gbit/s user-specific domestic and international connections or light paths. Furthermore, the network’s reliability will be improved as the light path load will not strain normal network traffic.

”CSC will be responsible for the development and maintenance of the nationwide Funet network. We needed a more versatile, efficient and reliable frame network that can flexibly respond to the special needs of research cooperation and education inside Finland and internationally,” says Janne Kanner, Director responsible for the Funet services. The updated network will use Grid applications, i.e. geometrically widely spread heavy-duty calculation services. The new network scaling up to several dozens of gigabytes will make this possible. At the same time, we can make savings as the data amounts produced by scientific projects and network traffic are continuously increasing.

”We are pleased to see that CSC regards TDC as the most suitable partner in future development work and will provide the network services as an integral part of their needs. The agreement strengthens our position as a service supplier within the data network community in the Nordic area,” says Hanna Grönberg, Director, Wholesale at TDC Oy. In Sweden, TDC delivered in 2006 an optical fiber network to SUNET, the Swedish University Network, for building a second generation university network.

”Teknomeria guarantees regional availability of the updated Funet network throughout Finland. The agreement is very important for Teknomeria and a significant launch into the research network area,” says Markku Vainio, Managing Director of Teknomeria.

Nokia Siemens Networks will provide the optical transmission network and routers based on DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) technology. “We are very happy to be chosen as supplier to this high technology network that will allow fast and reliable data communications for researchers around Finland. This agreement is a further proof on the ability of our hiT7300 platform to flexibly serve the customer's sophisticated, data intensive needs. The network can easily be expanded both in size and capacity for many years to come,” says Thomas Högberg, responsible for Nordic local accounts, Nokia Siemens Networks.

The Funet network will provide its users with high-quality connections to the international research network infrastructure, such as NORDUnet, the Nordic research network, and the European GÉANT research network.