A high-speed fiber optic network was launched on Thursday (29/09) that will allow universities in São Paulo to connect with each other and with institutions abroad to share scientific data, teaching materials and high-performance computational processing. Furthermore, this network could serve as a multi-user environment for research in the area of engineering and computing.
Named Backbone SP, the network will interconnect the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), the University of São Paulo (USP), the São Paulo State University (Unesp), the Mackenzie Presbyterian University, in addition to the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp), the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), the Federal University of ABC (UFABC) and the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA).
Developed over the last two years, Backbone SP will be operated by the Research and Education Network at São Paulo (Rednesp), the former ANSP Network, supported by the São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Fapesp).
“The ANSP Network, created in 1988 by Fapesp to serve the three state universities in São Paulo [USP, Unesp and Unicamp], quickly paved the way for the internet in Brazil. By 2020, US$125 million had been contributed to its management”, said Marco Antonio Zago, president of the Foundation, at the opening of the event.
Backbone SP will interconnect the eight universities in São Paulo at a speed of 100 Gigabits per second (Gbps), which is more than enough to meet the current demand of these research institutions, but is scalable and can be increased according to need.
“The use of data is increasingly critical. This infrastructure is fundamental for all the science that is carried out in the State of São Paulo and it is important that it is used in the best way possible”, said Luiz Eugênio Mello, scientific director of Fapesp.
According to João Eduardo Ferreira, coordinator of Rednesp, Backbone SP will also be the backbone for connecting São Paulo universities to international academic networks, made through submarine cables located in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In addition to these two cables, a third one was hired to ensure the connection in case of any problems on the two international links.
Through these links, Redenesp is linked to international academic networks, such as Americas Africa Lightpaths (AmLight) and RedCLARA, from Latin America.
“We are now on par, from a transmission capacity point of view, with international backbones,” said Ferreira.
Infovia for 5G private networks
Backbone SP is also prepared to enable connections for initiatives at universities in São Paulo that require greater bandwidth, such as private 5G networks.
Based on data traffic, the fifth generation technology standard for mobile and broadband networks is enabling the emergence of private networks to interconnect various devices based on the Internet of Things (IoT).
“What we are proposing as the next step is that Backbone SP serves as an infoway to exchange data from private 5G networks, which, despite being closed to each other, need to communicate and interconnect all these university connectivity devices as an alternative to the infrastructure of long-distance communication provided by operators”, says Ferreira.
In order to demonstrate the viability of the idea, Rednesp researchers, in partnership with Nokia, put into operation a private 5G network.
“In addition to increasing efficiency in the exchange of scientific data, teaching materials and high-performance processing, Backbone SP will also be a connectivity ecosystem,” said Ferreira.
Largest traffic point in the world
São Paulo is already the largest internet traffic point in the world. The milestone was reached in March 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic, highlighted Demi Getschko, CEO of the Ponto BR Information and Coordination Center (NIC.br).
“We passed Frankfurt [Germany], which was the biggest in the world. This happened because there are people here who cooperate to make this work in the best possible way. We are proud that this worked and that the internet continues to be developed in a scheme of voluntary and adequate cooperation”, evaluated Getschko.
The specialist was responsible for implementing Fapesp's Data Processing Center (CPD) in 1991, when the first steps towards making the internet viable in Brazil began to materialize.
“The first internet traffic exchange point in Brazil was installed in the Fapesp building between 1996 and 1997”, he recalled.
