JANET (UK)

JANET (UK) is the United Kingdom’s high-capacity research and education network, providing connectivity, services, and identity federations to universities, colleges, research councils, museums, and libraries. It interconnects institutions, national research facilities, and international networks to support data-intensive science, learning technologies, and collaborative platforms. JANET underpins collaborations across institutions such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, University College London, and connects to international backbones including GEANT and national research and education networks like Internet2, CANARIE, and AARNet.

History

JANET evolved from early UK academic networking initiatives in the 1970s and 1980s involving organizations such as Joint Academic Network, JISC predecessors, Science and Engineering Research Council, and a consortium of universities including University of Manchester and University of Edinburgh. Early packet-switched technologies from vendors like Cisco Systems and standards bodies such as IETF influenced JANET’s topology, which later migrated through phases involving X.25, ATM, and native Internet Protocol backbones. Major upgrades tied JANET to projects and facilities such as Large Hadron Collider, European Bioinformatics Institute, Diamond Light Source, and the Science and Technology Facilities Council. Funding cycles and policy shifts involving Department for Education, Higher Education Funding Council for England, and research councils affected network expansion, peaking with fibre rollouts connected to consortia including BT Group and Virgin Media O2.

Governance and Ownership

Operational and strategic oversight rested with agencies originally linked to Joint Academic Network governance structures and oversight from bodies such as Jisc, HEFCE, and panels including representatives from institutions like University of Glasgow and University of Birmingham. Procurement and vendor management have involved organisations such as BT Group, Ericsson, Huawei Technologies (historically debated), Alcatel-Lucent, and Nokia. Contractual relationships with public funders such as Research Councils UK and regulatory interfaces with Ofcom and policy forums including Department for Business, Innovation and Skills shaped governance. JANET’s governance framework used stakeholder boards composed of vice-chancellors, chief information officers from King's College London, University of Leeds, University of Southampton, and legal frameworks referencing entities like Companies House and charity oversight where applicable.

Network Infrastructure and Services

The JANET backbone comprised multi-terabit links built on dense wavelength division multiplexing fibre supplied by carriers including BT Group, Zayo Group, and equipment from Ciena and Huawei (company), delivering services such as point-to-point circuits, virtual private networks, multicast, and IPv6 transit. JANET provided middleware and identity services through federations interoperable with Shibboleth, eduGAIN, and collaboration platforms like Microsoft Azure institutional agreements and Google Workspace for Education. Network services included eduroam roaming managed with policies aligned to TERENA and authentication integrations with institutions such as University of Warwick and University of Nottingham. JANET supported research data management with connections to repositories such as UK Data Service, European Grid Infrastructure, and computation resources including PRACE and national supercomputing centres like ARCHER (supercomputer). Peering arrangements at internet exchanges such as LINX and international connections to GEANT and NORDUnet facilitated global research traffic alongside managed transit through providers like Level 3 Communications.

Research and Education Collaboration

JANET enabled cross-institution collaborations involving consortia such as the Russell Group, Universities UK, and subject-specific networks for fields represented at centres like Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Crick Institute, and Francis Crick Institute. It supported virtual learning environments used by institutions like Open University and collaborative platforms for projects funded by UK Research and Innovation and the European Research Council. JANET’s services were integral to international collaborations on experiments at CERN, climate modelling with Met Office Hadley Centre, genomics at European Molecular Biology Laboratory, and astronomy with facilities such as Jodrell Bank Observatory and Square Kilometre Array partnerships. Training, standards, and community events were coordinated with organisations including UCISA, RUGIT, JISC Commons, and conferences like SuperComputing and TNC (TERENA).

Security and Resilience

Security operations interfaced with national bodies such as National Cyber Security Centre, CERT-UK, and incident response teams at institutions including University of Bristol and University of Exeter. JANET implemented measures aligning with standards from ISO/IEC 27001, network monitoring using tools and vendors like Cisco Systems products and distributed defensive architectures analogous to those used by NHS Digital and Financial Conduct Authority IT teams. Resilience strategies included diverse fibre routing, disaster recovery coordination with Met Office for environmental risk, and emergency communication links to research infrastructure such as Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and Daresbury Laboratory. Cooperation on security exercises and threat intelligence sharing involved stakeholders like Cybersecurity Information Sharing Partnership and law enforcement partners including National Crime Agency.

Category:Internet in the United Kingdom Category:Research networks