Advancing South-East Europe into the eInfrastructure era The proven power of many Dr.-Ing., PMP, Jorge-A. Sanchez-P. GRNET also on behalf of SEEREN, SEE-GRID, SEEFIRE, SEELight and 6DISS initiatives

GÉANT2 Global Connectivity

Conceptualization: working on areas of common interest A couple of beers in Ochrid… Followed by a memoranda of understanding INIMA (Albania) RoEduNet/RNC (Rumania) UNICOM-B (Bulgaria) MARNET (FYROM) GRNET (Greece) AMREJ (FRY) ULAKBIM (Turkey) …and first interconnections… Athens-Belgrade [2Mbps PCM] daily graph (5 Minute Average) Athens-Sofia [5.2Mbps ATM] daily graph (5 Minute Average)

Vision The vision… ‘ease the digital divide in SE Europe’. Help promote scientific and educational cooperation between EU MS and SEE Act as an enabler for dissemination and development of the next generation of Internet technologies in SEE states that are on course to joining the EU. Contribute to the reconstruction and stabilisation of the region.

SEEREN: A “small” step for the SEE NRENs, a big leap for the region… South-Eastern European Research and Education Network Interconnects the Research and Education Networks of AL, BA, BG, MK, CS, HU, RO and GR among them and to GEANT. Launched and entered its stable operation on Jan in 2005 connectivity is co-funded by GEANT2. SEEREN2 to start at the end of Constitutes today the South Eastern European segment of the multi-gigabit pan-European Research and Education network GÉANT Distributes the Network Management & Operations to competent Academic Groups in the Region (the Virtual Network Operations Center – VNOC concept developed by GRNET). SEEREN capitalized on the growing aspiration of the SEE countries to integrate to the rest of Europe and eventually be equal peers with advanced European nations. Still a major driving force. SEEREN enacted a communication channel between the SEE scientific community. Refocused the R&E community in their common endeavors and wealthy cultural heritage that dates from several hundred years ago. more at

Help in establishing the NRENs EU-Balkan countries Action Plan in Science and Technology A Greek Presidency Initiative with Solid Roots Ministerial Conference (26-27/6/2003) adopted the documents (Shared vision, Action Plan) Shared Vision document, sets the Political context – Zagreb process and Thessaloniki Summit and defines four Main Goals: Improvement of Infrastructures, Improvement of Human Potential, Institution Building, Joint RTD activities. The Action Plan: Specifies the objectives and thematic priorities, proposes for the implementation: instruments ( Multilateral, Regional, Bilateral ), implementing modalities, (Workprogramme, ad-hoc group).

(Re)integrate the SEER&E community Turkey, Croatia, Albania, FYR of Macedonia already members Bulgaria and Serbia-Montenegro joined in October Bosnia-Herzegovina? Turkey, Croatia, FYR of Macedonia already members Serbia-Montenegro joined in October Bulgaria?, Bosnia-Herzegovina?, Albania?

Networking Infrastructure Grant (NIG) with Bulgaria finished (200k €) Networking Infrastructure Grant (NIG) with FYR of Macedonia (200κ €). Metropolitan Network in Skopje inaugurated in September 2004 Advanced Networking Workshop (ANW) “Policy Issues for NRENs in South East Europe” (25κ €) in Varna, Bulgaria anw2003 Upgrade of infrastructure

Access to Advanced Services Deployment of IPv6 Formalize the continuation of the dissemination and promotion of the best practices from the 6NET project to the SEEREN network of countries and partners, that was started in March 2004, Help the main SEEREN beneficiary countries to study potential deployment scenarios/solutions over the SEEREN infrastructure, experiment and get familiar with IPv6, Support (technically) the continued connectivity of SEEREN countries via IPv6, that was started in March 2004, Support the transfer of 6NET’s IPv6 application demonstrations to SEEREN. Provide information about experiences of IPv6 deployment in less developed network user communities. Organise a joint technical workshop based on the 6NET Cookbooks and the programme of workshops in SE Europe, held within the scope of the SEEREN project. Produce joint reports on the results of the 6NET-SEEREN cooperation. Material preparation DisseminationLonger-term assistance Personal expertise & Cookbooks Expertise & material from 6NET, Euro6IX, GEANT, NRENs, … IPv6 modules tuned for each Workshop Workshop organisation & technical support Support for IPv6 deployment & future IST participation

SEEREN SEEGRID: the “eInfrastructure inclusion” into SEE South-Eastern European Grid-enabled eInftastructure Established at least one fully operational and certified grid site in all participating SEE countries each contractor setup at least one site third parties setup additional sites 5-50 nodes targeted in each site EGEE SEE ROC caters for the operations HEP and Biomed applications, developed by EGEE, deployed in the regional infrastructure. Two additional Grid applications developed by SEE-GRID partners deployed in the regional infrastructure: Volumetric Image Visualization Environment (VIVE) for medical images and other static or time-dependent scalar and vector 3D fields Search Engine for South-East Europe (SE4SEE) for Grid- aided web-crawling & data indexing To achieve sustainability of the grid infrastructure assists in establishing a National Grid Initiative in each SEE country more at

National Certification Authorities Need of trust and security -> National Certification Authority At European Level need to cooperate -> EUGridPMA The SEE-GRID project will be a relying party in the EUGridPMA (along with EGEE, DEISA, and other major grid projects) GRNET will establish a regional SEE-GRID “Catch-all” CA for the partners who do not yet have a PMA-accredited Grid CA Project partners are assisted to develop their own Grid CA and apply for membership in PMA

SEEFIRE: looking for a sustainable eInfrastructure South-Eastern European Fibre Infrastructure Studies is producing studies on the options available for acquiring an optical fibre network infrastructure and strategies for the development of R&E networking in SEE. is raising awareness among stakeholders of NRENs, governments, users and telecommunication operators, about providing interconnection facilities in SEE to reduce the digital divide. Will provide: a benchmark of existing and potentially available optical fibre for NRENs in the region; an analysis of the technical options available for the deployment of dark fibre and the management of optical transmission by NRENs in the region; reports on economic aspects and regulations; dissemination of information and increased awareness about dark-fibre deployment both at technical and policy- making levels more at

Answers to an RFI

SEELight: the lambda facility for SEE R&E South-East European Lambda Network Facility for R&E Proposal for the deployment of an advanced regional network infrastructure (lambda network facility) for R&E, under the Hellenic Plan for the Economic Reconstruction of the Balkans (HiPERB). SEELight is the response to the need of SEE for high-quality research and education. The project will help create a viable economy-of-scale model for the region to reduce networking costs per country, support the evolving needs of SEE R&E communities in the fields of domestic and international data communications, provide the foundation for network-based information exchange and co-operation towards a SEE Regional Information Society serve as a testbed for development of new services, and allow the SEE R&E community to participate in international networking activities assist the SEE countries to achieve their development goals, support the growth of their National Research & Education Networks (NRENs), accelerate research, fuel national and regional economic growth, and aid their integration with the rest of Europe.

Strategic priority SEE eInfrastucture initiatives are pieces of the larger puzzle of RTD efforts that address the future of the SEE region Increasing the retention of talented scientists in the SEE Pursuing joint R&D efforts among SEE countries Making available the benefits of the Information Society for all SEEtizens Easing the digital divide between the region and the rest of the continent Improvement of regional competitiveness in all market sectors Regional political stability and cohesiveness Pave the way for future enlargement steps of the European Union …

How to go forward in Africa? Immense momentum currently in the World for eInfrastructures. Key Lessons African efforts can benefit by studying “best-practices” as well as “bad-practices” followed in more advanced, eInfrastructure-established regions and countries. There is no unique “success reference model”: alternative technical roadmaps must be made available to fit to the needs and available infrastructures of each region. There is also no “silver bullet” to guarantee long-term growth of the deployed eInfrastructures; sustainability can only be achieved by persistently undertaking several complementary and well-coordinated actions. Establishing a “web of trust” that brings human capital together must be a key priority since the sociological element in the deployment of eInfrastructures is as challenging –if not more so- as the technological one. Planning Define your continental, regional and national VISION. A LOCAL champion is needed to drive things per region/country. Execute your plan with a PROFESSIONAL PROJECT MANAGER. Have a success story and become a CREDIBLE national & international partner. Reassess your priorities and take special actions to keep EVERYONE at the same speed. Acquire DARK FIBRE for the NREN and for the international connectivity Homogenize your network ( END-TO-END ) Connect the sensors and databases ( GRIDS ) Build applications on top of your eInfrastructure ( OPEN TO ALL SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITIES ) ACT PROACTIVELY, inspiring, designing and deploying (develop competition in the market) Connect the YOUNGSTERS that will bring the change

Thank you