The Front Range GigaPoP Western Slope
Project Summary
High-speed, reliable, networking infrastructure is vital to an organization's ability to thrive and flourish in today's rapidly evolving scientific and technical environments. Such network connectivity is essential for success in business, scientific investigation, communication, global collaboration, education, and outreach. Western Colorado is "geographically challenged" for network connectivity, with expansive rural areas, low population density, and natural impediments of mountains and rocky terrain. The Interstate 25 corridor, Colorado's "Front Range", benefits from larger, denser populations where high-speed network connectivity is prevalent and relatively affordable. A "continental" digital divide separates the level of Research and Education (RR&E)) network access available to the Front Range compared to the communities west of the Continental Divide, the "Western Slope."
This project is a direct result of an NSF CC* Planning Grant (#1925752), which developed trust relationships and knowledge of existing and planned Cyberinfrastructure. This project will provide R&E organizations on the Western Slope the infrastructure to aggregate their network traffic and fully participate in the Front Range GigaPoP (FRGP), the Research and Education Network (REN) serving Colorado and Wyoming. We propose to build a unique virtual network access system that leverages existing network infrastructure owned and operated by Region 10, a non-profit Council of Governments, to connect R&E organizations to the FRGP. The FRGP-Western Slope network will connect communities that include Colorado Mesa University, Western Colorado University, and the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, enabling new R&E initiatives. This virtual network and aggregation model can be extended to additional communities and Community Anchor Institutions (CAIs), optimizing the value of partnerships and existing shared network infrastructure while increasing the value of investments across multiple sectors. This proposal will extend the value of REN access to geographically challenged and underserved communities. The FRGP is an established REN serving Colorado and Wyoming and is eminently well-qualified to undertake this project. FRGP engineering staff will partner with Region 10 to develop, manage and monitor virtual-routing to route R&E traffic to the FRGP and to connect with small local community Internet Service Providers.
The initial direct connectors on this project have strong academic, research, and educational drivers and applications that will benefit immediately from access to high-performance network connectivity. Through this project connectors will gain access to regional, national, and global networks including Internet2, ESnet, and the Western Regional Network, allowing these organizations to fully participate in the broader R&E community. It will also facilitate new and more advanced research projects, new collaborations, and expand regional and national educational opportunities to accelerate scientific discovery. Broader Impacts.
This proposal will work directly with underserved populations and geographic regions to realize new areas of research and discovery. Bringing together the best and brightest individuals and organizations from remote and rural areas of Colorado will ensure that a diverse, well-educated workforce is assembled and that students are offered the highest caliber educational opportunities and resources to compete in an ever more technically demanding workforce and society. Enhanced network access encourages both students and the workforce to stay in their respective communities, fostering economic development, growth, greater diversity, and the creation of future employment opportunities. This benefits not only underserved regions but also contributes positively to society at large. Virtual routing technology will be used to optimize traffic delivery, to better connect CAIs to the R&E fabric, and serve as a model for other RENs to enhance their impact on local communities.