Major breakthrough for Australian Research Community

The imminent launch of SX TransPORT will be a ‘gigantic leap’ for the Australian research community.

The Southern Cross Trans-Pacific Optical Research Testbed (SX TransPORT) will provide dual 10 gigabit per second capacity circuits, to connect Australia to the advanced Research and Educations Networks in North America. The use of the Circuits will be contributed by Southern Cross on a sponsorship basis and access by approved non-commercial scientific, research and educational users will be administered by AARNet, an existing customer of Southern Cross providing telecommunication services to the Australian Academic Community.

SX TransPORT will create an immense opportunity for Australian researchers to improve their access to global scientific and academic research and could have far reaching implications for Australia’s future both socially and economically, Southern Cross Director Asia Pacific Market Ross Pfeffer said.

“SX Transport offers unprecedented capacity that will be solely and exclusively available on a ‘not for profit use’ basis in accordance with an Acceptable Use policy. Southern Cross, in partnership with AARNet and the Australian Government, is pleased to be able to make its contribution available to the research community of Australia,” Mr Pfeffer said.

AARNet’s Director of International Developments, George McLaughlin said the launch of SX TransPORT effectively removes the economic barriers to Australia’s participation in the global research and education community.

Access to the SX TransPORT facility will be managed by AARNet, which was also providing many of the terrestrial networks and terminating equipment components.

Meanwhile, involvement at the US end is being coordinated by another Southern Cross customer the University of Hawaii, which has had a special relationship with AARNet spanning several years.

Among the key scientific resources in Hawaii that will be made available to the global research community via SX TransPORT are the world’s premier astronomical observatories on Mauna Kea.

One of the SX TransPORT 10Gbps circuits will be connected through Hawaii and will be terminated in the US at Hillsboro in Oregon. Arrangements are also underway to interconnect with the new Pacific Lambda Rail initiative to transit to the Pacific Wave advanced exchange point in Seattle where SX TransPORT will then be interconnected with Internet2’s Abilene, with National Lambda Rail and CANARIE’s CANet4 (both of which use switched optical lightpaths), as well as other national and international research and education networks.

The second 10Gbps circuit will be terminated at San Luis Obispo in California and arrangements are being made to transit from there to the Los Angeles advanced exchange point where again interconnections will be made to Abilene, National Lambda Rail, TransPAC and other national and international research and education networks.

AARNet’s rights to use the capacity will last for an initial period of five years. Approved ‘not for profit’ organisations will be able to enter into agreements with AARNet to use SX TransPORT under the direction of an Advisory Board. The Board will have representation from Southern Cross, AARNet, Internet2, the Australian Research Council and another authorised institution still to be agreed.

Schematic diagrams of the new interconnections to other global research and education networks are shown at: www.aarnet.edu.au/news/pacific10gbs.jpg and www.aarnet.edu.au/news/international.jpg.