AARNet
Encyclopedia
AARNet or Australian Academic and Research Network offers Internet
services to the Australia
n education
and research
communities and their research partners.
AARNet is a not-for-profit company limited by shares. The shareholders are 37 Australian universities and the CSIRO Australia.
AARNet's services other than basic Internet connectivity include the mirror
service at http://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/, and an IPv6 tunnel broker
.
in Canberra
and the University of Melbourne
in Melbourne
. AARNet was formed in 1989 by the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee
(AVCC).
Until this time, researchers within Australia had limited access to the ARPAnet
, due to the high expense of providing communications between Australia and the United States. The national network infrastructure generally consisted of groups of hosts connected throughout the country exchanging mail and files on a periodic schedule using the SUN3
software and protocols, with several international dial-up links around the country exchanging this information where required.
AARNet was engineered to use only the Internet Protocol
(IP) for communications. In 1988, there were a number of popular network protocols, such as IBM SNA and X.25
, and the ARPANet's IP protocol was only beginning to become favoured. An Australian National University faculty member, Geoff Huston, was seconded by the AVCC in 1989 and tasked with technical management of the new network.
AARNet introduced its value added reseller program to allow Internet service provider
s (ISPs) to use its network, the first being Connect.com.au
in May, 1994. AARNet gradually became a wholesale backbone
ISP, serving over 300 smaller ISPs by June 1995. At that point, ~20% of total AARNet traffic was from these other users, and AVCC decided to sell the AARNet commercial assets to Telstra
, who currently operates it under the name Telstra Internet.
In early 1997, the AVCC developed AARNet2, a network that used ATM
links and Internet services under a contract with Cable & Wireless
Optus (CWO), now Optus
. AARNet became a separate company from AVCC in 1999.
In 2001 AARNet deployed its first international capacity by acquiring 310 Mbit/s of capacity from Sydney
via Hawaii
to Seattle. As of 2011, the current network is known as AARNet3, and the backbone uses dark fiber provided by NextGen Networks
.
AARNet recently launched a book to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Internet in Australia, this book is available online as a PDF document at http://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/pub/aarnet/AARNet_20YearBook_Full.pdf
For more about AARNet, visit the AARNet website at http://www.aarnet.edu.au
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
services to the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
communities and their research partners.
AARNet is a not-for-profit company limited by shares. The shareholders are 37 Australian universities and the CSIRO Australia.
AARNet's services other than basic Internet connectivity include the mirror
Mirror (computing)
In computing, a mirror is an exact copy of a data set. On the Internet, a mirror site is an exact copy of another Internet site.Mirror sites are most commonly used to provide multiple sources of the same information, and are of particular value as a way of providing reliable access to large downloads...
service at http://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/, and an IPv6 tunnel broker
Tunnel broker
In the context of computer networking, a tunnel broker is a service which provides a network tunnel. These tunnels can provide encapsulated connectivity over existing infrastructure to a new infrastructure....
.
History
AARNet was initially created between educational facilities such as the Australian National UniversityAustralian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
and the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. AARNet was formed in 1989 by the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee
Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee
Universities Australia is an organisation founded in Sydney in May 1920, which attempts to advance higher education through voluntary, cooperative and coordinated action. After being based for a time in both Sydney and Melbourne, its offices relocated to Canberra in 1966...
(AVCC).
Until this time, researchers within Australia had limited access to the ARPAnet
ARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network , was the world's first operational packet switching network and the core network of a set that came to compose the global Internet...
, due to the high expense of providing communications between Australia and the United States. The national network infrastructure generally consisted of groups of hosts connected throughout the country exchanging mail and files on a periodic schedule using the SUN3
MHSnet
MHSnet is a store-and-forward messaging system for wide area networks. MHSnet and its precursor, SUN3, were used to implement the Australian Computer Science network ....
software and protocols, with several international dial-up links around the country exchanging this information where required.
AARNet was engineered to use only the Internet Protocol
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
(IP) for communications. In 1988, there were a number of popular network protocols, such as IBM SNA and X.25
X.25
X.25 is an ITU-T standard protocol suite for packet switched wide area network communication. An X.25 WAN consists of packet-switching exchange nodes as the networking hardware, and leased lines, Plain old telephone service connections or ISDN connections as physical links...
, and the ARPANet's IP protocol was only beginning to become favoured. An Australian National University faculty member, Geoff Huston, was seconded by the AVCC in 1989 and tasked with technical management of the new network.
AARNet introduced its value added reseller program to allow Internet service provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
s (ISPs) to use its network, the first being Connect.com.au
Connect.com.au
Connect.com.au was one of the first commercial Internet service providers to operate in Australia. The company was founded in 1991 by Hugh Irvine, Benjamin Golding and Joanne Davis, in conjunction with a small group of highly technical staff including Chris Chaundy.From the outset Connect aimed...
in May, 1994. AARNet gradually became a wholesale backbone
Backbone network
A backbone network or network backbone is a part of computer network infrastructure that interconnects various pieces of network, providing a path for the exchange of information between different LANs or subnetworks. A backbone can tie together diverse networks in the same building, in different...
ISP, serving over 300 smaller ISPs by June 1995. At that point, ~20% of total AARNet traffic was from these other users, and AVCC decided to sell the AARNet commercial assets to Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
, who currently operates it under the name Telstra Internet.
In early 1997, the AVCC developed AARNet2, a network that used ATM
Asynchronous Transfer Mode
Asynchronous Transfer Mode is a standard switching technique designed to unify telecommunication and computer networks. It uses asynchronous time-division multiplexing, and it encodes data into small, fixed-sized cells. This differs from approaches such as the Internet Protocol or Ethernet that...
links and Internet services under a contract with Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. Cable & Wireless specialises in providing communication networks and services to large corporates, governments, carrier customers and resellers...
Optus (CWO), now Optus
Optus
SingTel Optus Pty Limited is the second largest telecommunications company in Australia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications...
. AARNet became a separate company from AVCC in 1999.
In 2001 AARNet deployed its first international capacity by acquiring 310 Mbit/s of capacity from Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
via Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
to Seattle. As of 2011, the current network is known as AARNet3, and the backbone uses dark fiber provided by NextGen Networks
Nextgen Networks
Nextgen Networks is an Australian communications company which is a subsidiary of Leighton Holdings, one of Australia's major companies.Nextgens Network is based on a geographically protected national network, with the Brisbane to Melbourne link utilising self-healing SDH two-fibre ring architecture...
.
AARNet recently launched a book to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Internet in Australia, this book is available online as a PDF document at http://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/pub/aarnet/AARNet_20YearBook_Full.pdf
For more about AARNet, visit the AARNet website at http://www.aarnet.edu.au