Internet2 NET+ Service Update – 18 Nov 2011

This update was sent to interested university representatives on 18 Nov 2011.

It is just over a month since the Internet2 Fall Member Meeting where we announced the first partners in our cloud services program. Interest has been very strong since then with campuses around the nation asking questions about how and when they can use these new services. Here is a brief update on our recent activities.

Box Update

The Box service early adopter schools are deeply enmeshed in opening up this service, with the production version still planned to go live in the first quarter of 2012. Internet2 and Box are hosting bi-weekly demonstrations every Friday at Noon (EST)/9 a.m. (PST) for any universities who what to learn more. Demo participants are then eligible for a 45-day Enterprise Trial for 25 users (for free!). During the 45-day trial, you can learn more about the Box service and the steps your university will need to take, such as becoming an InCommon member, to take advantage of the production Box offering. You can notify us of your intent to use this service when it is available and also join Internet2 to get an additional discount.

One question that we are getting is whether a department, division or school will be able to sign up for the Internet2 NET+ Box service. The current program with its highly advantageous pricing and other features is intended to be institution-wide. If only a part of your institution wants to use Box services, you can do so immediately under the terms of Box's regular public offering.

Any university staff can participate in the demo (which is required to get the 45-day trial) by emailing netplus@internet2.edu. Questions about the webcast can be directed to Kristen Koziol, kkoziol@box.net and cc: Salman Khan, salman@box.net.

HP-SHI Update

The HP-SHI offering is currently under development with four universities participating in a proof-of-concept (PoC) effort that includes use cases that encompass HPC, administrative computing, business continuity and bursting from local campus clouds to vendor provided services. We have recently completed visits to campuses involved in the Internet2 NET+ HP-SHI "Community Cloud" proof of concept. Needless to say, there was lively discussion about important functional and technical issues among campus representative and technical staff from HP/SHI and Internet2. We are moving forward with a direct connection to the Internet2 network and expect the proof of concept schools to be ready to do their testing before our next email. Business terms are also being worked on and will be announced in early 2012.

Other Activities

We continue to meet with many other vendors, both public and private, to explore additional Internet2 NET+ services. Our goal is to work with those vendors and provide those services that our member communities find most important, so please let us know your interests. We are working hard to be able to announce more services that will help your university benefit from all of our members' interests in moving "above the network."

For the most recent program updates about Box, HP and other Internet2 NET+ Services, please go to http://www.internet2.edu/netplus. We will send another email update in late December. Also, please send questions at any time to netplus@internet2.edu.

Thank you for your interest in Internet2 NET+ Services.

Jerry Grochow
Interim Vice President
Internet2 NET+ Services