The GÉANT IP service offers NRENs access to the shared European IP backbone. This allows transit for IP traffic from European NRENs to one another and between European NRENs and associated networks globally.

The IP service is designed to provide a robust high-bandwidth solution to the international connectivity requirements of the majority of academic users. It provides resilient service in the case of hardware failure or fibre cuts and uses advanced routing equipment to ensure fast recovery from unexpected events.

GÉANT IP access is available to NRENs at capacities of up to 20 Gbps, subject to technical and commercial considerations.

Features of GÉANT IP

IPv4: IPv4 is the dominant and most widely deployed standard internet protocol used around the world today. The GÉANT network provides transit to all IPv4 unicast packets to and from connected NRENs and towards international partners.

IPv6: IPv6 resolves, in particular, the problem of the limited number of available IPv4 addresses. The provision of IPv6 services means that, together with several of its counterparts in other regions of the world, GÉANT forms part of the world’s first next-generation Internet network and indeed, many of GÉANT’s NRENs already provide IPv6.  (map or table of availability)

Virtual private networks: A virtual private network (VPN) is a network linking two sites that is built on the common IP infrastructure, yet appears to the user as a dedicated circuit. VPNs combine the privacy of a private circuit with the cost efficiency and robustness of the Internet. Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) is the technology framework used by GÉANT to set up VPNs over the IP network, providing a pre-determined protected route over multiple network domains.

Multicast: Multicast provides efficient delivery of data traffic in one–to-many and many-to-many scenarios, and saving valuable network and system resources at the edge. GÉANT is multicast “enabled”; meaning that data traffic with the appropriate multicast group destination will be recognised and treated accordingly.

Premium IP: Premium IP offers a low loss, low delay, low jitter service. By allowing certain traffic to have priority over all other traffic on the IP network, it provides a service similar to that of a virtual leased line. PIP is useful for real-time data transfer, such as videoconferencing, voice over IP (VoIP) and specialist project traffic.

The GÉANT IP service is available to pan-European projects and users via Europe’s NRENs.

Registered NREN users please click here to view further information about how to access GÉANT IP.