Introduction

The Kansas Research and Education Network (KanREN) has provided high-quality, advanced network services and support to its member institutions since 1993. KanREN is a comprehensive service provider, and unless specifically noted, all of the services described below are provided as part of the KanREN membership fee.

KanREN is a Consortium

The services we offer to KanREN members are the services those members have asked for. Our rate structure, service levels, and service offerings are based on specific needs of the membership. Our board of directors is composed of representatives from member sites, and as a not-for-profit charitable organization, it is always our mission to serve our membership as best we can. In addition, the KanREN membership is a close-knit community of information technology professionals who have, in the KanREN organization, a natural and valuable venue for interaction and sharing of ideas, resources and expertise.

Technology Leadership

The KanREN consortium has been instrumental in providing technology leadership in research and education networking in Kansas for more than a decade. With our close ties to the research community in the state, KanREN has always been ahead of the commercial world with respect to technology implementation.

Backbone Network

KanREN provides a high performance backbone network to which nearly all KanREN member institutions are connected, including all Kansas Board of Regents universities, a variety of community colleges, private colleges and universities, K-12 school districts, public libraries, and other non-profit organizations. Backbone connection bandwidth is maintained at an oversubscription rate of less than 1:1 to ensure the highest level of service. Current backbone technology is gigabit Ethernet.

Network Security

Basic firewall capability can be incorporated into the KanREN site router. We work with members to provide as much (or as little) access control to and from the campus network as is required.

Comprehensive QoS

With multiple traffic classes, QoS (quality of service) can be arranged and managed in almost any configuration, whether the need is to ensure the availability of low-latency bandwidth for interactive distance learning via video, clear outbound bandwidth to the Internet for streaming from the campus, or virtually any other application. Our QoS measures work in real time to adjust instantaneously to the parameters configured (for example, if we prioritize up to 3 Mbps for video traffic, any time the full 3 Mbps is not in use, that extra bandwidth is available for commodity Internet traffic. (Most video protocols are variable and don't use the full bandwidth allotted all of the time.)

Multicast

IPv4 multicast connectivity is implemented on request. IPv4 multicast is the next-generation IDL/ITV/videoconferencing protocol. It is in heavy use on Internet2, and KanRENÕs multicast service connects our members to one another and to the global Internet2 community.

IPv6

IPv6, the next generation of the Internet Protocols, is implemented on request. The KanREN backbone network is fully IPv6 enabled, and connected to Internet2 via IPv6. This allows world-wide next-generation connectivity.

Unlimited IP addresses

KanREN provides member institutions with as many IP addresses as they need (up to the point where the member should consider becoming an Autonomous System, and we help with that as well). It is not uncommon for our member institutions to have and use several thousand IP addresses. With this availability, NAT (network address translation) is not a necessity.

Management of Site Router and Circuit

KanREN retains ownership of the site router and handles all configuration, troubleshooting, and maintenance of the router, circuit(s) and services.

Commodity Internet Service

KanREN maintains two commodity Internet service connections from disparate providers with geographically disparate backbone networks. Most of our members choose to purchase Internet service from KanREN, as well as basic connectivity to the KanREN backbone. Often, new members are stunned at how well our Internet service performs, when compared with similar connections from other providers.

Internet2

KanREN is the exclusive connector for Internet2 service in the state of Kanasas. Our connector, the Great Plains Network (similar to KanREN, but operating on a regional basis) will only connect to a member state via one state network, and because of KanREN's long-term commitment to research (and our not-for-profit status), KanREN has been selected by GPN as the exclusive Internet2 connector for Kansas. Any other provider in the state that offers Internet2 access must come to KanREN to obtain it.

Redundancy, Redundancy

As network services become increasingly mission-critical, we have responded by adding redundant Internet connections to different providers in different geographical areas of the state. Geographically disparate and redundant backbone connections at the link layer means efficient redundancy.

Kan-ed Connectivity

KanREN spent years working to make Kan-ed a reality. We were the first peering provider to connect to the Kan-ed backbone network, and currently we are the only Kan-ed peering partner that offers all Kan-ed network services to KanREN members who are also members of Kan-ed.

Monitoring and Measurement

KanREN proactively monitors connectivity 24x7. Often problems are already being addressed before the member site notices that there is a problem. Not only do we maintain utilization graphs of all network connections (member site and backbone), but we openly share them with the membership so that members can monitor their usage and performance as well as the staff at the NOC.

Network Operations Center

KanREN operates the KanREN/Kan-ed Network Operations Center (NOC) in Lawrence. The NOC provides expert technical support for both KanREN and Kan-ed member institutions, and is staffed with skilled, dedicated, and experienced technical staff persons with a broad range of experience in serving higher education, K-12, libraries and others in the education and research community. Every network problem is tracked from the first call to resolution by staff persons with a "whatever it takes" attitude.

Access to KanREN technical staff

We are proud of the expertise and experience of our technical staff, and we go to great lengths to ensure their availability to our member institutions. Our senior engineering staff (not just junior administrators) are available for consultation for any need they can help with, and are available 24x7 for emergency help.

Education and Training

KanREN offers conferences, symposia, hands-on training sessions, and on-site training and consultation for our member institutions. These events are designed around the needs of our members and cover real topics that the membership wishes to know more about.

Web Services

KanREN membership includes web hosting service for sites who do not have the staff, equipment, or expertise to manage their own Web presence. Some members choose to use the KanREN server for reliability. The KanREN Web server is located on the backbone network, so it does not use any of he member site's connection bandwidth, nor is it affected by outages that might affect an individual site.

Members who choose to use the KanREN server for their Web site may also use the KanREN SSL server for secure Web services, or the KanREN database server for the data application needs.

In addition to providing members the ability to develop their own Web services, KanREN provides an online system called My.KanREN to which members may have access. Users of the My.KanREN system may request service or upgrades, report outages, monitor network equipment, perform diagnostics, and schedule use of KanREN video resources.

Video Services

KanREN provides essential video services to members at no cost. These video services include streaming video broadcast, H.323 conference services, and desktop collaboration. Quality of Service (QoS) policies can be applied to guarantee that communication between the site and the source or destination video service is not interrupted.

Since all video services reside on the backbone portion of the KanREN network, member site bandwidth is only allocated for communication between the video server and the member site. No additional member site bandwidth is consumed when off-network or non-member sites connect to the video service.

Streaming video can be broadcast using the three most popular formats for online video: QuickTime, RealNetworks, and Windows Media are all supported by the streaming server. This allows the member to broadcast video to the rest of the world using their choice of video format.

The H.323 conference server allows members to connect using H.323 compliant hardware or software (Polycom equipment is common).

The desktop collaboration server allows users at member sites to connect using a Web browser plug-in and very simple hardware. Successful desktop collaboration can occur with as little as a Webcam and a desktop microphone. The desktop collaboration software allows users not only to share video, but documents, presentations, and whiteboards for a truly interactive experience.

The H.323 conference server and the desktop video collaboration services are bridged so that users of H.323 equipment and users of the desktop collaboration tools can share video across technologies. This permits users at member sites to collaborate using the technology of their choice.

E-mail and Related Services

KanREN members may choose to have KanREN host e-mail services for them if they do not have enough resources to handle e-mail on their own. These services may include spam filtering, virus filtering, online user management, secure e-mail relay, secure IMAP, secure POP, reporting and statistics. There is an additional cost for this service ($25/mo for hosting and $45/mo for spam/AV).

Depending on the needs of the site, some costs may be incurred by the site when implementing e-mail services.

KanREN also offers a Mailing List Manager (MLM) for members who require list server services. Lists are offered for free on a first come, first served basis. If a member has specialized needs, they may incur additional costs when using the KanREN MLM.

DNS and Related Services

KanREN offers members free DNS registrations in zones for which KanREN is authoritative (.cc.ks.us, .k12.ks.us, .lib.ks.us, .tec.ks.us). KanREN will also handle DNS domain hosting for members who do not wish to incur the overhead of managing their own server. The KanREN DNS servers host many zones for our members and are among the most reliable systems on the Internet.

Network Tools and Services

Network Time Protocol (NTP) services are available on the backbone at no cost for members who choose to use them. This allows member sites to keep their time in sync with the rest of the KanREN network, which is synchronized with several international atomic clocks.

DNS resolution services are available on the backbone at no cost for members who wish to use them. There are currently four DNS resolvers on the backbone, so member sites can choose one that is geographically near and decrease resolution times, or use all of them to ensure maximum availability.

Shell account access is granted to technical staff at member sites, so that they may perform diagnostics from a location outside the network. This shell account server is loaded with all of the management/monitoring tools that the KanREN technical staff commonly use.