News for and about the Internet2 community

["Lauren Rotman" <>]

MAGPI/University of Pennsylvania Connect To New Internet2 Network

Internet2 Network Transition in Key Northeast Corridor Complete, Node Goes
Live In Philadelphia 

ANN ARBOR, Mich. and PHILADELPHIA, Penn. - February 7, 2007 - Internet2
today announced that the MAGPI advanced networking hub at the University of
Pennsylvania has connected to the new Internet2 Network, providing the
research and education community in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and
Delaware region access to the most high-performance nationwide networking
capabilities available. The new network node located in Philadelphia extends
the reach of Internet2's 100 Gigabit per second (Gbps) nationwide network to
its members in the region. With over ten times the capacity of its current
network and with new on-demand bandwidth capabilities, the new Internet2
Network provides the foundation for even greater breakthroughs in research,
teaching and learning.  

The University of Pennsylvania, one of 11 Internet2 university members in
the MAGPI region and a founding member of the Internet2 consortium, has been
an active collaborator in the Internet2 community. In addition to serving as
the regional network aggregation point for the tri-state area, the school
has leveraged Internet2 network connectivity in several research and
education applications across Penn's 12 schools and many centers. 

Over the past several years, Penn's use of the Internet2 network has
included: research in tele-immersion, which involves connecting users in
geographically distributed locations as if they were in the same physical
environment; distributed telepathology consults within the School of
Medicine which enables live analysis of complex medical images by experts
around the world; as well as numerous international education and outreach
projects involving the Wharton Business School's French Project and the
Graduate School of Education's Penn Literacy Network Dublin project which
each used real time communications technologies. Penn also uses the
Internet2 network for distance-learning - connecting its Wharton West campus
in San Francisco with the West Philadelphia campus for live distributed
lectures and class interaction. These are just a few examples of the many
ways Penn and the other Internet2 member schools in this region are
leveraging the unique and advanced resources of Internet2.

Penn engineering professor Kostas Daniilidis, who uses the network for
high-bandwidth experimentation in tele-immersion technologies, is thrilled
with the news. "This is terrific for all of us who want to see telepresence
as a plug and play routine in education, training, medicine, and
entertainment. Having a 100 Gbps network at your fingertips makes the
physical location of your computer and even the location of the user
irrelevant."

"We are delighted to support the extension of our Internet2 hub," Penn
Provost Ron Daniels said. "Connectivity has empowered teaching and research
on this campus in countless ways. The transformational potential of such
technology demands that we share its fruits with the educational community
at large."

In June 2006, in a joint release with Level 3 Communications, Internet2
announced its plan to deploy its new advanced nationwide research network.
Level 3 is deploying Infinera's Digital Optical Networking equipment across
the infrastructure to enable dynamic optical circuit provisioning. Internet2
has also partnered with Ciena Corporation to deploy the CoreDirector
Multiservice Switch for switching and sub-wavelength grooming services.
Additionally, Internet2 will deploy its current Juniper T640 routers to
continue to provide IP capabilities on the new network. The network, which
went live from New York to Chicago in December 2006, is on schedule for full
nationwide deployment by mid-2007 and will support a full range of
production IP services as well as new on-demand, dedicated circuit
capabilities that provide custom capacity for the most demanding network
applications and experimentation.

"Internet2 members connected via MAGPI have had a long tradition of
developing unique and innovative applications for the Internet2 network
which have had a significant impact on teaching and learning in the U.S. We
believe the new network will provide this region with an even greater
platform for experimentation that will help to inspire the next-generation
of researchers, students, and entrepreneurs." said Steve Cotter, Internet2
director of network services. 

About MAGPI
MAGPI, The University of Pennsylvania's Internet2 hub, provides regional and
Internet2 connectivity to its member institutions in Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, and Delaware.  MAGPI is committed to promoting advanced
applications, collaborations, and services for the K20 research and
education community through high performance networking technology.  For
more information about MAGPI, visit http://www.magpi.net. 

About Penn
The University of Pennsylvania, the country's first university, is an Ivy
League institution with a distinctive past. Founded in the 18th century by
Benjamin Franklin, its 12 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools
are located in Philadelphia on an attractive urban campus that today serves
a diverse community of more than 20,000 students from throughout the nation
and around the world.  Ranked consistently among the top 10 universities in
the nation, Penn has a longstanding reputation for excellence in graduate
and professional education, with a number of those schools ranked at or near
the top in their fields.

About Internet2(R)
Internet2 is the foremost U.S. advanced networking consortium. Led by the
research and education community since 1996, Internet2 promotes the missions
of its members by providing both leading-edge network capabilities and
unique partnership opportunities that together facilitate the development,
deployment and use of revolutionary Internet technologies. Internet2 brings
the U.S. research and academic community together with technology leaders
from industry, government and the international community to undertake
collaborative efforts that have a fundamental impact on tomorrow's Internet.
For more information: http://www.internet2.edu

Media contact:
Lauren Rotman
Internet2
202.331.5345


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