News:KAREN Network now live

From BeSTGRID

KAREN blog

http://www.karen.net.nz/blog/

KAREN goes live New Zealand’s high speed research, education and innovation network is up and running The Kiwi Advanced Research and Education Network, or KAREN, is now live. This 10Gb/s network is immediately available to all KAREN’s foundation members: New Zealand’s eight Universities, nine Crown Research Institutes and the National Library. The network is dedicated to fostering collaboration in teaching, learning, research and innovation by seamlessly connecting members with researchers, educators, data and internet resources anywhere in the world at any time.

"Initially the advantages for members connected to KAREN will be vastly increased speeds accessing data and better quality and more reliable video conferencing platforms,” says Donald Clark Chief Executive, KAREN. “Very quickly our members will develop their capabilities to use this 21st century enabling technology to transform their teaching and research practices. In the longer term as schools, museums and libraries are connected, along with private sector innovation partners, KAREN will become an essential piece of infrastructure an innovative New Zealand."

"TelstraClear has worked consistently with the KAREN team to provide the live backbone of KAREN, which we intend to continue to develop and operate in a flexible way to meet the needs of the R & E Community,” says Dr Allan Freeth, Chief Executive, TelstraClear. “This is a significant milestone for research and education in New Zealand and TelstraClear is committed to enabling this capability to continue."

Several members have been using the network on a pilot basis since August 2006. Immediate uses include real-time access to data sets and resources nationally and internationally, high quality video conferencing and increased computational power through GRID computing.

Researchers in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Auckland University are actively participating in earthquake simulation experiments at the US based Network Earthquake Engineering Simulation. KAREN gives the engineers in Auckland the ability to carry out remote experiments through the use of advanced telepresence technologies. Where once they were solely observers of international earthquake experimentation, they now participate on an equal footing with their international collaborators.

The Human Interface Technology Lab (HITLab) has developed AccessGrid venue servers to enable people to log in and link up with others on the network nationally or internationally. KAREN has enabled the HITLab to push forward the boundaries of high definition virtual reality from its New Zealand base.

SCION, a recognized leader in biomaterials science, is an early adopter of this technology sharing large data sets with their Australian joint venture research counterparts. KAREN will underpin the communications of this trans-Tasman organization.

Auckland and Oxford Universities held the first of their videoconferencing sessions using Auckland University’s BeSTGRID Portable AccessGRID. Five Maths Educationists, three in New Zealand and two in Oxford, were able to discuss new possibilities for collaboration provided to them as if they were in the same room, particularly joint viewing of numerical and video data (from research projects) and discussions in real time.

Media contact

Julie Watson, Communities Manager, REANNZ Phone +64 4 913 1095, +64 21 674 954

KIWI ADVANCED RESEARCH AND EDUCATION NETWORK

REANNZ