Progress of the SERENATE studies Karel Vietsch TERENA Secretary General SERENATE Project Manager GÉANT Policy Committee meeting Schiphol, 28 November 2002

SERENATE basics  Strategic study into the evolution of research & education networking in Europe over the next 5-10 years. Looking into the technical, organisational and financial aspects, the market conditions and the regulatory environment. Will provide inputs to the policy-making of the EC, national governments and funding bodies, research institutions and research & education networks.  May 2002 – September 2003  Project partners: TERENA, DANTE, CTI, Academia Europaea, ESF. With strong involvement of national research & education networks.  Needs active participation from all stakeholders!

SERENATE’s 14 work items a.Initial Workshop b.Transport Infrastructure c.Regulatory Situation d.Operators Workshop e.Infrastructure Forecast f.NREN Models g.Infrastructure Scenarios h.Equipment i.User Needs j.Overall Strategic Scenarios k.Extensions of Research Networks l.Geographic Coverage m.Final Workshop n.Final Report

Where are we today? We are about to complete some work items and start a few new ones

Where are we today?

Initial Workshop (1)  took place at La Hulpe from September 2002  94 participants from: national research & education networks, researchers, government and funding bodies, telecom operators, equipment manufacturers  interesting plenary presentations:  researcher’s, educationalist’s and librarian’s view  policies/politics (EP, EC, ENPG)  the view from the campus (FR, UK)  the continental view (GÉANT, Internet2)  optical networking  problems in real life  breakout discussion sessions on Technology, Economics, Geography, Researchers’ Needs, Other Users’ Needs

Initial Workshop (2)  breakout discussion sessions on five questions: 1.Security inhibits user-to-user connectivity. Discuss. 2.Is geographically ubiquitous connectivity for European researchers (a) sustainable? (b) extensible? 3.What should Europe do about connectivity to “neighbouring areas”? 4.How should the national research & education networks community transfer their experience and/or expertise to other communities? 5.Can (should) we recommend a minimum/average/acceptable level of service for each European researcher?  plenary session, including preliminary impressions

Initial Workshop (3) Some preliminary impressions (1):  From hardware to services: Research networking is evolving fast. It is not so much just getting “hardware connectivity” to the researcher’s desk, but it is increasingly about delivering a set of services needed by researchers (and others). The user wants information access, collaborative tools, “disciplinary Grids”. AAA and Web/Grid services will be part of the delivery mechanism.  Research & education networks are a resource: Lots of expertise. Growing understanding by government of the importance of ICT as a driver for economic prosperity. Growing understanding by governments of the value of their research & education network’s expertise. Increasing requests to capitalise on that expertise.

Initial Workshop (4) Some preliminary impressions (2):  Technology: The “optical wave” is a powerful one. We need to find a coherent approach to the “steadily increasing amplitude” of optical networking.  Economics: We need a clear understanding of any regulatory barriers that we could face in deploying pan-European fibre. Does it matter whether you actually own fibre, or lease it on a long- term basis, or maybe even lease wavelengths?  Geography: There is a conflict between two fundamental EU-policy concepts: equal opportunities for researchers wherever they are (ERA)  subsidiarity. Researcher-User Needs: As much as they can get (and afford). AAA, Grids etc.

Initial Workshop (5) Some preliminary impressions (3):  Other Users’ Needs: Could one develop benchmarks for schools, libraries, hospitals etc.?  Policy and funding: Dialogue with governments and politicians (national and European level) needed.

Where are we today?

Regulatory situation  study into the status of regulatory development in:  each of the EU Accession States  Portugal, Greece  the other EU Member States as a whole  carried out by CTI and Antelope Consulting  started in May 2002 (one month before schedule)  study to be completed in November 2002  report in December 2002 Your help needed!

Where are we today?

Transport Infrastructure  fact-finding on the transport and infrastructure market – deployment and trends, incl. pricing and availability and market development as well as global connectivity issues  carried out by DANTE and CTI  started in June 2002  material GÉANT procurements as one of the inputs  confidential interviews with European-level operators  taking into account results of Operators Workshop  study to be completed in November 2002  report in December 2002

Operators Workshop (1)  took place in Amsterdam on 8 November 2002  organised by TERENA and DANTE  directed at traditional and “alternative” operators:  new pan-European operators  traditional operators that have developed pan-European capabilities  unreconstructured monopolists  regional operators

Operators Workshop (2)  discussion sessions on:  technology: “Protocol Wars: Return of the Circuit Switch”  pricing and geography: “How to close the Digital Price Divide in Europe?”  stability of the industry: “Will we see more operators getting into serious problems?”  relations between operators and research networks: “Business relationship or partnership?”

Where are we today?

Equipment  study into the availability and characteristics of equipment for next-generation networks  carried out by DANTE and TERENA  contributions from technical experts from TERENA TF-NGN  started in July 2002  questionnaire developed; interviews with equipment manufacturers to take place in November and December 2002  study to be completed in December 2002  report in January 2003

Where are we today?

NREN Models  case studies on novel infrastructure acquisition initiatives  analytic report  carried out by CTI  results to be discussed in workshop aimed at NRENs, organised by TERENA on 5 February 2003 in Noordwijkerhout (NL)  started in August 2002  study to be completed in February 2003  end-report in March 2003

Where are we today?

Researchers’ Needs  study of the networking needs of users in the European research community  carried out by Academia Europaea and ESF  started in August 2002  Web questionnaire developed and large number of researchers invited to respond  draft report to be discussed in workshop in Montpellier from January 2003  study to be completed in February 2003  end-report in February 2003

Workshop for NRENs !  Noordwijkerhout, 4-5 February 2003  Expect ~ 40 participants (at least one from each NREN)  Discuss progress and issues, a.o.:  Research user needs  Development of the regulatory situation  Present status of international connectivity  Case studies on “alternative” models  Equipment for very high-speed networking  The new complexity of networking and how to handle it Very important that all NRENs are there!

Keep watching this space….

Issues for discussion here:  Different classes of research-users. Research networking moving from “one size fits all” to more advanced facilities with a smaller footprint.  The new complexity of networking. Different services for different kinds of users introduce a new complexity, even more so because many need end-to-end across multiple domains.  How can the voice of users be heard more clearly?  Can the current model of network procurement and management accommodate these changes?  How will SERENATE influence the Commission’s policies/actions in FP6?  How will the results of SERENATE affect the behaviour of the GÉANT Policy Committee?