International Uplinks
ACOnet's backbone spans all of Austria and offers excellent uplinks to international scientific networks as well as to the global Internet. Data exchange among ACOnet participants as well as with other scientific networks and even all upload traffic to the commercial networks are free of charge for all ACOnet participants and limited only by the physical constraints of the participant's local loop (see Participant Connection).
The diagram shows ACOnet's core routers' international uplinks. These core routers are interconnected by two redundant glass fibers and located at two ACOnet PoPs (Points of Presence) in Vienna: at the University of Vienna ("Vienna 1") and at Digital Realty's Data Center ("Vienna 21").
Scientific Networks
- GÉANT:
This pan-European internetwork for education and research interconnects Europes national science networks and similar networks the world over. ACOnet has taken part in GÉANT from it's inception and is connected via a 100 Gbps primary and an additional 100 Gbps backup link.
If need be, ACOnet participants may request the implementation of LightPaths via the GÉANT backbone infrastructure. Such "LightPaths", aka "Bandwidth on Demand", are temporary virtual lines for international projects that require permanent network connections with steady characteristics. If you are interested, please talk to noc(at)aco.net.
- Bilateral Fiber Connections:
ACOnet maintains direct connections to its neighboring scientific networksThe connection to SANET has been implemented as a 100 Gbps tunnel via ACOnet's GÉANT link. CESNET and PIONIER are connected to ACOnet via a physical 100 Gbps fiber optic link.
Internet Connection
- Vienna Internet eXchange (VIX):
Just like ACOnet, the VIX is operated by the University of Vienna's IT department. It is a neutral, highly available and redundant Internet Exchange Point (IXP). IXPs provide an infrastructure to Internet Service Providers, Content Providers and any other participants to peer with each other locally, thus making internet data exchange more efficient and avoiding unnecessarily long routes. The aim of VIX is to efficiently route regional, national and international traffic in Central and Eastern Europe.
ACOnet is hooked up to two of the three VIX PoPs with 100 Gbps each. Furthermore, ACOnet has established peerings with nearly all VIX participants.
- Upstream Providers:
In addition to the above, ACOnet has established upstream connections to the commercial Internet via Hurricane Electric (100 Gbps) and next layer (100 Gbps) at the core routers in Vienna. These capacities are subject to permanent scrutiny and are being adjusted regularly, according to actual needs and with consideration for appropriate reserves.
Furthermore, there is also an upstream in Salzburg via next layer (100 Gbps), but this is used exclusively as a backup. Data traffic will only be routed via this line if the international uplinks in Vienna should fail.