Global Data Sharing for Earth Observation through R&E Networks At a Glance – The Earth Observation Challenge From scientists to policy makers, meteorologists, R&E networks can play a fundamental role in providing the Earth forecasters, transport planners and insurers, a Observation community with the high-speed, high-capacity, secure diverse mix of Earth Observation users are data transmission capability it requires to collect, integrate, share increasingly collaborating on a global scale. As and analyse environmental data. satellite imaging, radar and seismic probes offer In particular R&E networking can support Earth Scientists by more detailed ways of recording information, facilitating: increasingly sophisticated instruments, tools and • Transfer of extremely large files such as satellite images over large models are needed to cope with this growing distances in real time. volume and complexity of data. • Real-time distribution of monitoring data to provide early warning of impending natural disasters, such as earthquakes or typhoons. • Parallel dissemination of satellite data to weather agencies using multicast. Managing this data on a global scale represents a great challenge for • Simulations via grid infrastructures requiring colossal amounts of the earth science community. The intergovernmental Group on Earth computing power and bandwidth. Observations (GEO) was established in response to this challenge and • Dedicated private connectivity between two or more institutions is leading a plan to globally interconnect the different user for research projects with specific security or computing needs. communities, facilitating collaboration and knowledge through the • Seamless secure access to distributed data archives via single sign- creation of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). on. Earth Observation is a key area for Research and Education Networks. GÉANT is Europe’s leading collaboration on e-infrastructures and Together with high-energy physics, life sciences and astronomy, it is services for research and education. Operating at speeds of up to one of the most data-intensive areas of science in terms of 500Gbps the GÉANT network interconnects Europe’s National bandwidth required, computational demands and collaboration Research and reaching over 100 national networks worldwide. GÉANT services. has extensive experience working with Earth Observation and supports a number of GEO activities including TIGGE, GEONETCAST Today many Earth Observation collaborations rely on the and the Geohazard Supersites. infrastructure and services offered by Research and Education (R&E) networks. R&E networks are high-speed, high-capacity data- The information that follows gives an overview of R&E Networks and communications networks designed to meet the specific demands of GÉANT and how these facilitate seamless data exchange on a global the academic and research communities. Organised at both national scale. Examples of use cases from GEO activities that already benefit and international level, their mutual interconnections create a global from R&E network services are also shown to illustrate the support infrastructure that enables scientists to collaborate in real time even these networks can provide for Earth Observation collaborations. when thousands of miles apart. 2 Global Data Sharing for Earth Observation through R&E Networks The Power of R&E Networks R&E networks are high-speed, high-capacity data- As well as physical connectivity, R&E networks provide services communication networks that are independent of such as wireless roaming, videoconferencing, media streaming, (but connected to) the commercial internet and are federated access, troubleshooting, cloud-based computing and designed to meet the specific demands of the storage services. Beyond that they facilitate community activities promoting knowledge and best practice sharing. academic and research communities. These range from enabling secure access to services worldwide Innovative services are essential to ensuring the Earth Observation via single sign-on to providing dedicated high-speed community get the most out of this powerful, unrestricted networks connecting research groups irrespective of bandwidth. R&E networks fuel the Internet’s innovation engine and their geographical location. play an important role in its development. They eliminate the boundaries of local and national collaboration and introduce new The specific needs of the R&E community cannot typically be met standards and services, such as the IPv6 protocol, multicast and by the commercial internet, whereas building a dedicated single sign-on to services worldwide for students and researchers. infrastructure would not be cost-effective for individual institutions. By consolidating national and global requirements in Thanks to R&E networks and the services that support them, the one network, connectivity costs for individual member institutions Earth Observation community has access to tailored services and are significantly reduced, while at the same time their users receive consistently high performance – at its fingertips. the benefit of being able to access a wider range of services. When very high data rates are required, dedicated connectivity can provide reliable and secure date exchange at predictable speeds and with an assured quality-of-service which is especially important for transferring huge amounts of time-critical data. Congestion, delays, interruptions and limitations caused by overbooking and competing traffic on public internet services are also avoided. See the Case Studies and How to Connect to find out how you can benefit from international research networking, or request more info by contacting: [email protected]. Global Data Sharing for Earth Observation through R&E Networks 3 Creating a global infrastructure R&E networks are structured on both a national and Today’s NREN landscape is diverse, and includes networks ranging international level. At a national level, these from long-established and advanced NRENs and regional R&E networks are organised as National Research and networks with over 20 years of experience, alongside newly Education Networks (NRENs), which link together emerging networks that build on that experience. The number and some or all of the universities, research institutions, kind of services offered differ, due to differences between the user schools, hospitals and museums within a country. groups and availability in terms of resources and infrastructure in the various countries. This allows them to benefit from access to increased Some NRENs are invested in connecting schools and public bandwidth and to share services and applications, institutions and focus on services that facilitate educational working collaboratively on projects of national activities such as online learning. Others are concerned with interest and concern. providing services for highly demanding research collaborations, and offer supercomputing and grid computing facilities. The organisational models on which the various NRENs are based can be diverse, in that they may be either independent legal Most National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) are entities or part of the government or a university, but they are connected to international networks such as GÉANT, which in turn usually not-for-profit organisations supported by public funding. mutually interconnect to create a global infrastructure serving the R&E community. NRENs fund their own in-country costs, and may contribute to the costs of the regional network they are part of and pay their share of global networking costs. Users who are part of a connected institution gain free access to the services offered nationally as well as to those offered at a regional level if their NREN is part of a regional network. 4 Global Data Sharing for Earth Observation through R&E Networks GÉANT – the European Network at the Heart of Global Research and Education Networking GÉANT is Europe’s leading collaboration on e-infrastructures and services for research and education. The GÉANT network interconnects Europe’s National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) to each other and to the rest of the world. Reaching over 100 national networks worldwide, GÉANT operates at the heart of international R&E networking, eliminating geographical boundaries and accelerating collaboration in scientific research. The GÉANT network is the largest and most advanced research and Responsibility for the network is allocated to the individual NREN education network in the world, connecting over 50 million users at organisations for supporting and maintaining their respective 10,000 institutions across Europe and supporting research in areas national networks, while GÉANT also maintains and operates the such as energy, the environment, space and medicine. The network network on a pan-European basis. operates at speeds of up to 500Gbps and reaches over 100 national networks worldwide. GÉANT has a long history in engaging with the Earth Observation sector both through its coordination of the International User The network and associated services are co-funded by the European Advisory Committee and with its participation in GEO. GÉANT is Commission through the GÉANT project (a collaboration of 38 also strongly engaged in this area on an operational level, providing partners consisting of the GÉANT organisation), 35 European NRENs tailored services to Earth Observation collaborations, programmes and NORDUnet (representing