Search for: All records

Higher education and research science is being conducted in an era of information abundance. Sharing educational resources (e.g. Libraries, Curriculums, Online courses) and science resources, such as data commons, instrumentation, technology, and best practices, across national borders, can promote expanded global education goals and scientific inquiry and has the potential to advance discovery. Providing robust diverse Research and Education Networks (RENs) linking the U.S., Brazil (S. America) and African researcher and education communities is an increasingly strategic priority. Africa has developed research and education communities with unique biological, environmental, geological, anthropological, and cultural resources. Research challenges in atmospheric and geosciences, materials sciences, tropical diseases, biology, astronomy, and other disciplines will benefit by enhancing the technological and social connections between the research and education communities of these three continents via a S. Atlantic route to complement the existing North Atlantic routes via Europe. This paper will discuss the availability of new submarine cable spectrum for RENs via SACS between Luanda, Angola and Fortaleza, Brazil and the Monet cable between Fortaleza and Florida in the U.S. for use by research and education communities. This new infrastructure creates an unprecedented opportunity for the stakeholders to coordinate planning efforts to strategically make use of the offered spectrum towards serving the broadest communities of interest in research and education. The new links will be a foundational layer for the employment of R&E networks outfitted with leading edge technologies (e.g. Science DMZ, SDN, SDX, cybersecurity etc.). The paper seeks to leverage a discussion of opportunities for a new R&E Exchange point at Luanda, Angola, other connectivity options, and to further promote discussion and identify synergies with UbuntuNet members. Florida International University and AmLight consortium partners are planning, designing, and defining a strategy for high capacity connectivity research and education network connectivity between the US and Southwest Africa, called Americas Africa Research and eduCation Lightpaths (AARCLight). Furthermore, the other “end” of the SACS cable is being connected to an Open Fortaleza R&E Exchange point in Brazil. The new academic exchange point, South Atlantic Crossroads (SAX), is managed by Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa (RNP), where AmLight connects and continues on the Monet spectrum to Boca Raton Miami Florida. Having the transport service opened in Fortaleza will allow RENs from South America to collaborate with partners in Africa with significantly less delay, (at least 150ms lower) than using the current paths available. Interactive high-resolution video and big data applications will benefit from the establishment of the SAX international exchange point in Fortaleza. 

Higher education and research science is being conducted in an era of information abundance. Sharing educational resources (e.g. Libraries, Curriculums, Online courses) and science resources, such as data commons, instrumentation, technology, and best practices, across national borders, can promote expanded global education goals and scientific inquiry and has the potential to advance discovery. Providing robust diverse Research and Education Networks (RENs) linking the U.S., Brazil (S. America) and African researcher and education communities is an increasingly strategic priority. Africa has developed research and education communities with unique biological, environmental, geological, anthropological, and cultural resources. Research challenges in atmospheric and geosciences, materials sciences, tropical diseases, biology, astronomy, and other disciplines will benefit by enhancing the technological and social connections between the research and education communities of these three continents via an S. Atlantic route to complement the existing North Atlantic routes via Europe. This paper will discuss the availability of new submarine cable spectrum for RENs via SACS between Luanda, Angola and Fortaleza, Brazil and the Monet cable between Fortaleza and Florida in the U.S. for use by research and education communities. This new infrastructure creates an unprecedented opportunity for the stakeholders to coordinate planning efforts to strategically make use of the offered spectrum towards serving the broadest communities of interest in research and education. The new links will be a foundational layer for the employment of R&E networks outfitted with leading-edge technologies (e.g. Science DMZ, SDN, SDX, cybersecurity etc.). The paper seeks to leverage a discussion of opportunities for a new R&E Exchange point at Luanda, Angola, other connectivity options, and to further promote discussion and identify synergies with UbuntuNet members. Florida International University and AmLight consortium partners are planning, designing, and defining a strategy for high capacity connectivity research and education network connectivity between the US and Southwest Africa, called Americas Africa Research and eduCation Lightpaths (AARCLight). Furthermore, the other “end” of the SACS cable is being connected to an Open Fortaleza R&E Exchange point in Brazil. The new academic exchange point, South Atlantic Crossroads (SAX), is managed by Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa (RNP), where AmLight connects and continues on the Monet spectrum to Boca Raton Miami Florida. Having the transport service opened in Fortaleza will allow RENs from South America to collaborate with partners in Africa with significantly less delay, (at least 150ms lower) than using the current paths available. Interactive high-resolution video and big data applications will benefit from the establishment of the SAX international exchange point in Fortaleza.