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Advanced networks, often called research networks, are super-high-performance networks that connect the world's universities and other research and education institutions.
Why Do They Exist?
Advanced networks are designed exclusively to support experimental and collaborative efforts in education and research and are highly flexible and customizable for specialized projects. They act as a testing ground for new network technologies and applications and can include the following:
- greater bandwidth high-speed networks (up to 10,000 times faster than the commercial Internet)
- support for a variety of data formats
- high-performance computing
- grid computing
- specialized storage systems
- scientific visualization tools
- advanced collaboration technologies such as video conferencing
- computers that store and provide multimedia teaching tools
Where Do They Exist?
In Canada, each of the 10 provinces is responsible for building and managing an optical regional advanced network. In British Columbia, BCNET builds and manages the advanced network. Each of these networks connect to the Canadian national advanced network, CA*net 4, operated by CANARIE, which then connects to the worldwide research network. The global system of education and research networks involves 42 nations around the world. All European and Pacific Rim countries have research networks. |
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