What is Internet2?

Internet2 is a non-profit membership organization of 208 universities working in conjunction with government and industry to operate a private national Internet Protocol (IP) network reserved for the exclusive use of the US research and education (R&E) community. The Internet2 network is an advanced, high-performance network that supports advanced or complex applications that do not work on the commercial Internet or do not work well. As the national R&E backbone, the Internet2 Network provides connectivity between institutions and connectivity to international research and education networks thereby providing access to the global research and education community.

What are the primary goals of Internet2?

The primary goals of Internet2 are to:

1. Create a leading-edge network capability for the national research community
2. Enable revolutionary Internet applications
3. Ensure the rapid transfer of new network services and applications to the broader Internet community

How is Internet2 different from the regular Internet?

Performance and purpose are the key differentials. The regular (or commodity) Internet was originally engineered for the transfer of raw data between computers. Over time, applications were developed to facilitate the transfer of more complex data such as graphics, sound and video. However, due to the inadequacies of bandwidth, type of access such as dial-up, ISDN, cable and wireless, and variable inter and intra regional transport connection points coupled with the exploding commercial use the network, problems such as latency, jitter and security caused advanced applications not to run on the Internet or not run well. Internet2 has to deal with these issues as well, but was purpose-built to lessen or alleviate the impact on applications.

Is Internet2 a separate network?

The Internet2 network is not a separate physical network from the commercial Internet and is not intended to ever replace the commercial Internet. Internet2 does not replace an organization’s connection to the commercial Internet but rather is a complement to their regular Internet connection for use of advanced applications for research and education.

Will Internet2 replace the current commercial Internet?

No. Internet2 is not designed to ever replace the commercial Internet. Much of the technology that is developed over Internet2 eventually trickles down to the home user on the commercial network but the purpose of Internet2 is to have a separate and dedicated network for research and education.

Why do we need Internet2? What can Internet2 do that the regular commercial Internet cannot?

The original regular or commercial Internet simply was not designed for the types of applications commonly in use today. The regular Internet does not adequately support rich multi-media exchange or huge amounts of data transfer. The regular Internet also simply was not designed for the amount of use and the number of users on the network today. Internet2 offers the performance, speed, and advanced services that allow for better performance of many different types of advanced applications. Specifically, the following are some examples of applications that are best suited for Internet2:

• Desktop video conferencing
• Remote Visualization
• Multicast video conferencing
• Remote Equipment Access
• HDTV Multicast conferencing
• Virtual Laboratories
• Tele-Immersion
• Digital Libraries
• One-to-one learning
• Transfer of large data sets (i.e. imaging)
• IPTV
• Distributed Collaboratories

How do I find out if I have access to Internet2?

From the end-user perspective, accessing Internet2 is transparent if your organization is connected. You may use the same applications (i.e., Web browsers and email clients) that you currently use on your classroom computer to access the commercial Internet, but with improved performance. If your school is connected to Internet2 and you have another Internet2 connected site as your destination address, the connection will automatically be made over the Internet2 network by your organization’s router (specialized networking hardware).

To check whether you have access to Internet2, the speed of your connection (bandwidth), and whether you have multicast capability, go to http://detective.internet2.edu/" and download the Internet2 Detective.

What is the K20 Initiative?

The Internet2 K20 Initiative was created to allow access to Internet2 for K12 schools, public libraries, museums, zoos, aquaria, and other educational organizations with the aim to bridge K12, higher education, and informal education.

The diffusion of what is now the commodity Internet took nearly 25 years after its inception in the research community to reach the broad education community (K12, community colleges, libraries, museums, science centers, etc.). For this reason, many Internet2 member concluded that it was essential to engage the education community in the development of Internet2, the next generation Internet - and to do so as close to its launch as possible, thereby engaging the innovators (across all education sectors) in the development of new applications that take advantage of this new network. Connecting state education networks (made up of K12 schools, post-secondary institutions, libraries, museums, science centers and aquariums, and other scientific and cultural institutions) was the most effective means of bringing the largest number of institutions into the Internet2 community quickly.

What does K20 stand for?

K20 stands for kindergarten through graduate school and beyond. The number stands for the number of years of school. Really, this number is technically inaccurate since there are pre-K learners as well as adult learners and lifelong learners who are also benefiting from Internet2 in their communities.

What are the goals of the Internet2 K20 Initiative?

To bring innovators in K12, community colleges, universities, libraries, and museums into appropriate regional, national, and international advanced networking efforts, via the Sponsored Education Group Participant (SEGP) process.

To encourage and help sustain partnerships among these education institutions, the private sector, and government.

To enhance teaching and learning by facilitating projects that explore the ways in which advanced network applications, services, tools, and digital content can extend access to education and educational resources.

To develop mechanisms for timely communication across all educational sectors and regions in order to enable quick, pervasive technology diffusion.

How many organizations are part of the K20 Initiative?

As of our last count, there were nearly 50,000 institutions that were part of the K20 Initiative in the United States. These include K12s, K12 connecting organizations, 2 and 4 year colleges and universities, libraries, museums, zoos, aquaria. To see more detail about the numbers and types of organizations connected, check out the K20 Initiative’s Connectivity Survey Data at http://k20.internet2.edu/survey/survey_index.php.

What types of organizations are eligible to be a part of the K20 Initiative?

The Internet2 K20 Initiative brings together Internet2 member institutions, primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, libraries, and museums to get innovative technologies applications, middleware, and content, across all educational sectors in the United States, as quickly as possible. It is important to note that school districts and libraries, etc., are not members of Internet2, although they may make a connection to Internet2 through an existing university member or State Education Network (SEGP). SEGPs are state networks that connect to Internet2 through an existing Internet2 member in order to provide high performance connections to the school districts, libraries or other groups on the state network.

How many state networks connect to the Internet2 backbone?

There are currently 38 SEGPs (or Sponsored Education Group Participants) that are connected to the Internet2 backbone in the US.

What is the process of connecting a state network?

If your state is not yet a SEGP state and you’d like to connect your state network, you can check out the information (including an application and fee structure) at http://abilene.internet2.edu/community/segp/fees.html

How do I find out if my state is a SEGP state?

There is a current list of all 38 SEGPs and the organizations that sponsor them at http://k20.internet2.edu/segp/segp_list.php

If my state is not a SEGP state, how do I help it to become one?

The best thing to do is to contact your local Internet2 provider (this could be a university or local Gigapop or RON). You can talk to them about how you would like to have your state become a SEGP state. You can find the GigaPop or RON closest to you at http://abilene.internet2.edu/community/connectors/list-imis.html Or, see the full university member listing at http://members.internet2.edu/university/universities.cfm

How does my k12 school, public library, zoo, museum, science center, or 2-4 year college get connected to Internet2?

Again, the best thing to do is to contact your local Internet2 provider (this could be a university or local Gigapop or RON). You can talk to them about how you would like to have your state become a SEGP state. You can find the GigaPop or RON closest to you at http://abilene.internet2.edu/community/connectors/list-imis.html Or, see the full university member listing at http://members.internet2.edu/university/universities.cfm

What is a GigaPop? What is a RON?

GigaPoPs (or “gigabit points of presence”) and RONs (Regional Optical Networks) are regional research and education networks that typically provide access to Internet2 for other research and education organizations in a particular region. You can think of them in some ways like an ISP (Internet Service Provider) on steroids for the Internet2 community.

What special equipment or connection do you need to use Internet2?

Generally, there is no special equipment needed once your organization has connectivity to Internet2. There is no special port or jack to plug into or any special computers needed. Depending on the application you would like to run over Internet2, you may need some specialized software or hardware. For example, if you are planning to do a videoconfernece over Internet2, you will need an H.323 (IP) videoconference unit. Most newer videoconfernece units are H.323 compatable. Check your system or speak with your video or network administrator to be sure.

What does broadband mean in Internet2 standards?

Broadband means many things to many people. By Internet2 standards broadband is typically at least 10 -100 Mbps or even higher. The current Internet2 network is a 100 Gbps backbone. In some cases, a T1 (1.5 Mbps) is enough bandwidth to do certain kinds of applications (like videoconferencing at 384 – 768 kbps) if there is no other congestion or utilization on that network. Many Internet2 providers (GigaPoPs and RONs) have minimum bandwidth requirements to help ensure quality of applications performance. The more bandwidth you can get, the better performance your research and education applications will experience.

Can I get access to Internet2 from my home or to reach home users?

No, Internet2 is not available to the home user. Internet2 is a dedicated network for research and education organizations.

What are the costs involved with getting connected to Internet2 as a SEGP member?

Internet2 will charge the local connector (the GigaPoP or RON) for the Sponsored Educational Group Participant an annual fee of $30,000 per connector per state, plus a variable fee of $2,000 times the current number of Congressional representatives for that state. Sponsored Educational Group Participants may pay fees to the Connector and/or to the sponsoring Internet2 member, where these fees apply to the specific conditions of connection. No fees are assessed directly of the Sponsored Educational Group Participant itself by Internet2.

My organization does not have a big budget, where can I get assistance with supporting my Internet2 costs?

This is something that is handled differently in every state. In some states, the state government picks up the costs of the SEGP membership, in other states, participating organizations share the cost to make it affordable for all participating organizations.

How much does it cost to do a virtual field trip or other Internet2 application?

Virtual field-trips and other Internet2 applications range in cost from free to nominal fees to cover costs to a bit higher. It depends on who is providing the field-trip or the project and whether costs are covered in a grant or need to be on a cost recovery basis. Typically, a virtual field-trip from a museum or other content provider can cost about $75-$150 per session. Most class to class collaborations and many larger national and international projects are free.

Where can I get funding to develop applications?

Many university and SEGP members of Internet2 provide local support for Internet2 applications development. However, the primary source of advanced-applications funding is the federal government. Federal agencies and departments, most notably the National Science Foundation (www.nsf.gov), National Endowment for the Humanities (www.neh.gov), NASA (www.nasa.gov) , the Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine (www.nlm.nih.gov) provide millions of dollars in research funding each year directly to Internet2 member universities. Many of these grants require or at least encourage collaboration with K20 organizations for outreach. Additionally, some funding is also available through private foundations such as MacArthur (http://digitallearning.macfound.org/) and Internet2 corporate members like Microsoft and Blackboard. Details on these funding opportunities can be found on their websites.

Where can I find all the resources available to me over Internet2?

While there is no comprehensive master list of all the possible resources available to you over Interner2, muse was designed to help you find new projects, connect with other innovators, and discover exciting opportunities using Internet2 and advanced networking worldwide.

How do I know which other schools are on Internet2?

You can find lists of the University members on Internet2 by going to http://members.internet2.edu/university/universities.cfm. Beyond that, it is hard to know which of the K20 organizations are connected through each of the 38 SEGPs. But, you can view the SEGP list at http://k20.internet2.edu/segp/segp_list.php. Muse will also help you find other schools that are on Internet2.

What is the “killer app” for K20 using Internet2?

There are so many applications being used by K20 over Internet2. Probably the most accessible application is advanced videoconferencing because it’s easy and many, if not most schools, have videoconferencing units available to them. In the very near future virtual worlds and educational gaming combined with 3D visualization show much promise as the next K20 killer application.

What if my partners or colleagues are outside the United States? Can I still use Internet2 networks to collaborate with them?

Absolutely! The international NRENs (National Research and Education Networks) that interconnect with Internet2 truly comprise a global research and education network that is now at your fingertips.

How many other international research and education networks are there around the world?

Currently there at 87 other high performance networks worldwide. You can find a complete list of these networks and URLs at http://international.internet2.edu/partners/.