Abilene (Internet2)

The mission of the Internet2 community, which includes over 190 universities and research institutions in the United States, is to develop advanced networking services and applications stemming from them. Internet2 is thus the American equivalent of CANARIE and of the Canadian regional ORAN networks.

The Abilene network was launched by the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID), in partnership with Qwest Communications, Nortel Networks, Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks and the University of Indiana. It consists of an OC-48 backbone, now being migrated to 10 Gbps, which uses high-performance IP routers accessible via twelve GigaPOPs. Abilene is the United States' functional equivalent of CA*net, with which it is interconnected.

Abilene's backbone offers IPv4 service to the Internet2 community, as well as IPv6, which is being used increasingly. In cooperation with Japan's Communications Research Laboratory (CRL), the Japanese WIDE consortium (which also operates a national advanced network) has built an IPv6 link to Abilene. This link is intended for interactive digital video sessions between American and Japanese universities.

In September 2002, Abilene established a 10 Gbps link with the experimental StarLight switch in Chicago, to which the Netherlands' SURFnet and Canada's CA*net are also linked.