CESNET’s CzechLight equipment has been deployed in the Swiss research network

Prague, August 26th, 2021. The CzechLight (CL) optical devices, which are being developed as part of the research and development activities of the CESNET association, have been deployed in the SWITCH network, providing Internet infrastructure for the scientific community in Switzerland. The devices have helped to implement bidirectional transmission of ultra-stable optical frequencies over 456 kilometres of fibre routes between Bern, Basel and Zurich. Switzerland thus became the eighth country to deploy CzechLight devices.

CzechLight’s complete family of devices for illuminating various types of optical networks is developed to meet the needs of running a national research and education network associated with the application of its own research results and innovative methods. These devices are deployed in the CESNET2 network on more than 3700 km of routes. The advantage is the technological independence from the development cycles of commercial system vendors (i.e. elimination of vendor lock-in), including specific transmissions within the shared fibre spectrum without additional multi-costs for additional dedicated fibres. This also applies to transmission of precise time and ultra-stable optical frequencies, which will be increasingly used in both research and industry. They have been implemented in the CESNET2 network for more than eleven years and are currently also being implemented interstate on links to national research networks in Austria and Poland. The transmission takes place in a dedicated part of the optical spectrum of the shared fibre.

In addition to data traffic, the shared spectrum can also be used for other alternative applications, such as “early warning”, where vibrations in the vicinity of a fibre path can be accurately traced. Vibrations in the vicinity of a route can be an obvious signal of an impending disruption of the route due to, for example, construction work. The early detection of vibrations makes it possible to prevent the interruption of the route in advance. CL devices have been protected by both national and international patents. The CESNET consortium also operates with these devices another superstructure service to link quantum sources of ultra-stable optical frequency, quantum optical clocks.

These devices are also used for testing the transmission of ultra-precise quantities within the pan-European GÉANT network. The bidirectional optical transmission for which the devices are being developed is superior to current Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) methods over European distances. The future of ultra-precision transmission is likely to be in fibre optics.

Additional technical article can be found here.

CESNET was founded in 1996 by universities and the Czech Academy of Sciences. It is engaged in research and development of information and communication technologies, building and developing a national CESNET e-infrastructure for research and education. Thanks to its research activities and achievements, it represents the Czech Republic in important international projects, especially in building the pan-European network GÉANT or grid projects (EGI.eu), and participates actively in their implementation. The association is also working on the use of high-speed networks for sharing multimedia data, both synchronously in the form of video conferencing and shared applications, and asynchronously in the form of streaming. Since December 2020, CESNET represents the Czech Republic in the international association dealing with the open science paradigm – EOSC AISBL.
More at: www.cesnet.cz

Last change: 30.8.2021