1. Building a Competitive National
e-Infrastructure for Research
The Dutch Approach
Dr. L.A. Plugge SURF Scientific Technical Council
EuroRIs-Net Final Workshop 11 Oct. 2011, Athens

2. Our challenge in 1985
• 14 research universities
• ~8 big university IT centers for research
• To keep up with competition:
8x investment needed, for similar equipment
Government proposal:
- Collaborate in sharing facilities;
- And we will invest.
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3. 1987 SURF Foundation – innovation hotbed
1988 SURFnet BV – network services
1991 SURFdiensten BV - procurement
Collaborate on challenges that
you cannot solve by yourself
and no one else will solve for you
SURF members:
• All Universities (14+41);
• 7 other institutions.
SURFnet users:
- All (Research) Universities;
- Academic Hospitals;
- Top Clinics;
- Research Institutions;
- University and Royal Libraries;
- Other subsidized institutions.
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4. New challenges since 1990
• (e)Science is increasingly a global multidisciplinary
cooperative effort;
− Need for excellent global connectivity;
− Need to share resources;
− Need to combine generic resources;
− Exchange, combine and integrate data and information;
− Reuse of methods and techniques across disciplines.
 Create a single national ICT infrastructure for research
− Hardware (network, computers and data storage facilities);
− Software (web and grid middleware);
− Harnessing resources.
 Not in grant competition with our user community!
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SURF – ICT innovation by and for higher education and research

5. Global Lambda Integrated Facility (GLIF)
Infrastructure
NetherLight
GLIF Open Lightpath Exchange
For:
• Service providers
• Carriers
• Research
• GLIF members
• NRENs
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SURF – ICT innovation by and for higher education and research

6. National ICT infrastructure for research
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SURF – ICT innovation by and for higher education and research

7. Challenges ahead:
• SURFSARA
(the computing and data facility management organization)
• Capability computing resources
(replacing the current national supercomputer Huygens)
• Capacity computing cluster resources
(upgrading the current BiG Grid computing infrastructure)
• Data storage resources
(upgrading and extending the BiG Grid storage infrastructure)
• Structural funding for innovation
(not in competition with researchers)
• Structural ICT budget reservation in research projects
(ICT budget for use of generic services)
• Rethinking Scientific Communication
− e.g., what is the future of University Libraries?
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SURF – ICT innovation by and for higher education and research

8. Thank you
Dr. Leo Plugge
plugge@surf.nl
www.surf.nl/wtr
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SURF – ICT innovation by and for higher education and research