Internet 2

Internet 2

Abilene Network was a high-performance backbone network created by the Internet2 community. It is now part of the Internet2 Network.
Internet2 is an advanced networking consortium led by the research and education community. The not-for-profit partnership includes leaders from research, academia, industry and government. In 2009, Internet2 member rolls included over 200 higher education institutions, over 40 members from industry, over 30 research and education network and connector organizations, and over 50 affiliate members. The internet2 was intended as neither a separate physical network nor a replacement for the existing Internet. Instead, the Internet2 was conceived as an application-driven project designed to be a complementary network to support advanced scientific applications.
Today, the Internet2 project is dedicated exclusively to research. The goals of the project are to:
.   Create and sustain a leading edge network capability for the research community,
.   Direct network development efforts to enable and support advanced technology development,
. Ensure the rapid transfer of new network services and applications to the broader Internet                                     community, and
.   Accommodate anticipated explosive growth.
Internet2 operates the Internet2 Network, a next-generation Internet Protocol and optical network that delivers production network services to meet the high-performance demands of research and education, and provides a secure network testing and research environment. In late 2007, Internet2 began operating its newest dynamic circuit network, the Internet2 DCN, an advanced technology that allows user-based allocation of high-capacity data circuits over the fiber-optic network.
The Internet2 Network, through its regional network and connector members, connects over 60,000 U.S. educational, research, government and "community anchor" institutions, from primary and secondary schools to community colleges and...