Read the full Annual Report in PDF format - CSIR

ict
allow engineers to make adjustments to the
satellite.
Universities and research institutions stand
to benefi t greatly from SANReN. It brings
opportunities for and access to quality
teaching and learning, while lowering costs
for universities. Its connectivity for campuses
of universities, which straddle the urban
and rural divide, wil create equal digital
connectivity opportunities for all researchers
in South Africa. It provides researchers
with remote access to instruments such as
the High-Resolution Transmission Electron
Microscope at the Nelson Mandela
Metropolitan University.
Highlights in 2010/11 include completion
of the Ethekwini metropolitan network
and of the dense wavelength division
multiplexing and north rings as part of the
Tshwane metropolitan network. Additional
funding was received for SKA and SALT
connectivity (R64 million) and backbone
extensions (R55 million), and the eduroam
service has been piloted and enabled on
the network.
society of networks. Broadband connectivity
is one of the most reliable facilitators of
these networks. For this reason, CUT and
the higher education sector are excited
that the SANReN has already borne fruit
through the main points-of-presence it has
created in the cities. Universities are now
reaping the benefi ts of easy, cheaper, faster
and effi cient broadband connectivity. With
undersea cables being developed, we will
soon be a few seconds from any piece of
research information available anywhere in
the world.”
This view is shared by Professor Mvuyo
Tom, Vice Chancellor: University of Fort
Hare: “Alice has the highest need for
access to the Centre for High Performance
Computing. Connecting the Alice campus to
SANReN will make many things possible.
The implementation of the e-campus strategy
will allow for video content and large data
communication between the Alice and East
London campuses and other universities,
allowing the university to improve research
productivity and the delivery of quality
education to students.”
Getting to grips
NREN: A National Research and Education Network (NREN) is a specialised Internet
service provider dedicated to supporting the needs of the research and education
communities within a country.
Optic fi bre/fi bre optics: An optical fi bre is a fl exible, transparent fi bre made of very
pure glass (silica) (not much thicker than a human hair) that acts as a waveguide, or ‘light
pipe’, to transmit light between the two ends of the fi bre. The fi eld of applied science
and engineering concerned with the design and application of optical fi bre is known
as fi bre optics. Optical fi bre is the fastest transmission medium for telecommunications
circuits. Most of the SANReN network is built using optical fi bre technology.
Gigabits-per-second: A gigabit-per-second (or Gbps) is a unit of data transfer rate
equal to 1 000 000 kilobits per second.
Funding and collaborators
The DST has funded the rollout of SANReN
as part of its national cyberinfrastructure
initiative. Initial funding of R365 million over
three years was received in 2006; further
funding of R303 million (over the course
of three years) was received in 2010. In
2010 the DST made an additional R55
million available to accelerate the rollout of
SANReN connectivity to rural and remotely
located sites. The DST also provided a
further R64 million for the connection to the
SKA core site and the SALT telescope in
Sutherland. TENET operates the SANReN
network.
Professor Thandwa Mthembu, Vice-
Chancellor and Principal, Central University
of Technology, Free State (CUT), states: “The
knowledge and information society is a
A map showing the SANReN national backbone in blue. Yellow lines indicate
extensions under completion. The orange lines indicate future backbone extensions.
67 PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS