Sector   Education     Service Provided   Dedicated Internet Access Challenge JUCC needs to address the IT concerns of all institutions and maintain an advanced, flexible, and reliable wide-area-network to cope with increasing data flow and support the development of IT in the education community Solution 2.8Gbps Dedicated Internet Access service ready for secure fast international Internet connectivity by upgrading equipment and ongoing network management

The importance of a secured and ultra-high-speed network infrastructure for Hong Kong's academic institutions is unquestionable. It is a fundamental component in the research and teaching capability that is vital to the development and health of higher education in Hong Kong. The Joint University Computer Centre (JUCC) has recently upgraded its network infrastructure to ensure the ongoing capability of supporting academic excellence in Hong Kong.

JUCC is the consortium of the eight government-funded universities in Hong Kong. It plays an active role in coordinating joint institutional collaborations and innovative projects leading to the development and advancement of IT facilities and services for the academic and research community in Hong Kong.

JUCC has been developing HARNET (Hong Kong Academic and Research Network) since 1985 in order to link up the campus networks of the eight tertiary institutions in Hong Kong, the Vocational Training Council and the Open University of Hong Kong. Since then HARNET has gone through several upgrades and enhancement. It is now time to increase JUCC's network capacity to cope with the increasing data flow and connection between the institutions so that future education and research needs can be supported.

More bandwidth for higher technologies

JUCC acts as a regional representative for the whole of Hong Kong's academic community linking with tertiary and research institutions in the PRC, Taiwan, and other parts of the world. HARNET provides indispensable Internet network services to university professors and students so that they can communicate conveniently and collaborate with academic counterparts both locally and internationally. These network services include email, access to library databases, bulletin board services, web-based courses, distance learning, tele-medicine, and multimedia application.

Keeping HARNET as advanced and up-to-date as possible allows institutions to make use of emerging technologies such as high definition video conferencing and real time broadcasting on campus, and co-operate with both local and international academic counterparts more easily. Researchers exploring high performance computing and related advanced information technologies depend on the availability of HARNET.

"HARNET is a collaborative framework supporting the universities. We have to make sure that it is modern and flexible enough to keep opportunities for the higher education sector open. JUCC is an important collaborative framework for the Hong Kong Higher Education Community. HARNET is a key service provided by JUCC and we have to make sure that the communications network is modern, flexible, and ready to meet the challenges of a fast changing information centred higher education system," said Mr. Gerrit W. Bahlman, Director of Information Technology at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

A Full Upgrade

Wharf T&T adopted a phased approach to the HARNET upgrade project, from the network re-design to the implementation of the bandwidth enhancement and equipment upgrade, the project being closely monitored at every stage to ensure all issues were properly addressed.

Project Key Points:

· Redesign of current HARNET to make it simpler and capable of the bandwidth upgrade

· 2.8Gbps DIA installed for high speed International connectivity

· 10GE network equipment upgrade

· On-going Network Management Centre operation The network infrastructure is reconfigured so that the overall interconnect bandwidth availability will be significantly increased. Advanced QoS enforcement has minimised network latency, which has consequently increased guaranteed bandwidth as well as enabled bandwidth allocation between universities.

The new design of HARNET creates greater flexibility in terms of network usage and bandwidth consumption, and it helps JUCC standardise the provision of service to different universities.

The Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) service with 2.8Gbps potential bandwidth is deployed for fast, stable, and secure international Internet access for surging information flow. Thanks to the DIA connection to both the primary and backup site at The University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong with BGP traffic engineering, full capacity redundancy and 100% network protection have been achieved.

"As HARNET is serving the whole tertiary education community in Hong Kong, a high degree of resilience is extremely important. We see that the plan put forward by Wharf T&T is well-structured, highly flexible, and cost-effective, which is ideal for managing complicated network infrastructure. We are impressed that its technical consultants know our business as well as we do." Mr. Gerrit W. Bahlman, Director of Information Technology at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Preserving Heritage Buildings

The installation of DIA and other Ethernet upgrades involved laying underground network cables in the grounds of The University of Hong Kong. As many of the buildings at the university have a very long history, conserving the historical buildings is a major concern. Wharf T&T has shown its dedication in addressing JUCC's requirements through constant co-ordination with the various parties involved such as the university's IT and Estate Office so that the impact on the historical building and campus infrastructure has largely been minimised.

Managing Complex Negotiations

The newly enhanced HARNET can support Ethernet (GE) Internet service with a bandwidth of up to 10 Gigabits per second. To help users enjoy the benefits brought by the ultra-high-speed HARNET, Wharf T&T recommended the existing routers and switches be upgraded to a higher specification than in the tender requirements.

Complex negotiations and thorough discussions then took place between the representatives of the eight universities. "When two technical people come together, three opinions are raised, and now we have so many parties with a lot of comments and concerns. We are glad that Wharf T&T has great patience and possesses sharp analytical skills and skilfully solved all problems." said Mr. Bahlman.

Network Management Always-on

Network management is crucial to the stability, performance, and security of HARNET. Wharf T&T helps JUCC operate the 24x7 Network Management Centres from an outbound network, and monitor the network performance, perform routine maintenance and problem solving to ensure that a high level of service is always maintained.

Tertiary institutions are the gateway to knowledge and discoveries. With an advanced network backed by Wharf T&T's multi-vendor capability and project management expertise, JUCC has a sophisticated network infrastructure to help students, professors, and researchers explore more possibilities and pursue excellence in education and research.

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