The document summarizes the history and activities of JUCC (Joint Universities Computer Centre) and HARNET (Hong Kong Academic and Research NETwork). It discusses how JUCC founded in 1970 leads IT excellence among Hong Kong universities through HARNET. It outlines HARNET's growth from 1985 connections to recent 155 Mbps internet links and 400 Mbps connections to HKIX. It also discusses JUCC's organization, services, funding, and vision to become a research internet hub for the Asia Pacific region.

1. JUCC & HARNET July 2004 Cairns, Australia

2. JUCC Offsite Workshop at Tsinghua University – Nov 2003

3. The Value of JUCC Joint Universities Computer Centre (JUCC) Founded in 1970 Consortium of all University IT/Computer Centres in Hong Kong JUCC leads in IT excellence for the universities Good cooperation among IT/Computer Centre colleagues Strong computer and network expertise

4. HARNET Hong Kong Academic and Research NETwork (HARNET) Managed by the Joint Universities Computer Centre (JUCC) Supports the eight Universities funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC) Also supports some non-profit organizations in Hong Kong

5. JUCC members The University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong The Hong Kong Polytechnic University City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Baptist University The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Lingnan University The Hong Kong Institute of Education

6. Other JUCC members Affiliate Members Open University of Hong Kong Vocational Training Council (Institute of Vocational Education) Network Members Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks

7. History of HARNET 1985 - Set up with UUCP connections 1989 - Connected to BITNET with dedicated link 1991 - Connected to Internet at 64 Kbps to USA 1992 - JUCC takes over management of HARNET funded by University Grants Committee 1993 - 128 Kbps Internet link 1995 - 1.544 (T1) Mbps Internet link with local T1 star network 1996 - 64 Kbps connection to CERNET (via CityU of HK to Tsinghua University)

8. . T1 T1 T1 T1 T1 T1 T1 T1 T1 T1 T1 (will be E1 to Exodus) 64K 64K 64K 512K NAS Ames (Internet) HKU CUHK LNC PolyU CityU HKUST HKIEd HKBU ISP ISP HKIX VTC TC’s OLI U of Macau UNU U.C. Lib. T1 = 1.544 Mbps E1 = 2.048 Mbps Cisco 4500 Cisco 4500 Ethernet =>256K =>128K HARNET Connectivity (1996) HK HK . . CERNET Tsinghua U. 64K

9. History (cont’d) 1997 - 2 (E1) Mbps IPLC link 1998 - 6 Mbps IPLC link, plus 4 Mbps ISP 1999 - 12 Mbps IPLC link plus 12 Mbps ISP 512 Kbps link to TANET (via HKU to Academic Sinica of Taiwan) 2000 - 48 Mbps for ISP Internet 2001 - 72 Mbps - 2 Mbps to CERNET (via HARNET hub to Tsinghua University)

10. History (cont’d) 2002 - 96 Mbps - 10 Mbps to TANET (via HARNET hub to Academia Sinica’s co-location site in HK) - 45 Mbps IPLC to Internet2 at Chicago STARTAP 2003 - 155 Mbps ISP Internet - 300 Mbps HKIX - 155 Mbps to CERNET (via HARNET hub to CERNET co-location site in HK , Feb 2004 ) - 45 Mbps to TANET (via HARNET hub to Academia Sinica’s co-location site in HK)

12. Upgrade Plan for 3 rd Quarter 2004 Dual ISP links - 155 Mbps plus 155 Mbps 400 Mbps HKIX scalable to 1 Gbps 90 Mbps IPLC to Internet2

13. HARNET Usage Commodity Internet traffic, electronic mail, file transfer, library catalogues, supercomputers, bulletin board services, video-conferencing, etc TCP/IP network Very Congested (>90% for 20 hours per week) Over 10,000 staff and 50,000 students

14. Management of HARNET Managed by JUCC Financial approval by JUCC Board of Management Network Task Force for operational and technical issues Video Task Force for video applications Security Working Group

15. Funding Management Substantial investment in Internet links Mainly supported by special UGC funding and donations Request for funding reviewed each year Use of HARNET is free (up till now) Charging model established since July 1996 Only usage exceeding allocation is charged

16. Network Management Never saturating demand for bandwidth QoS program to regulate usage according to member institution’s bandwidth allocation Charging is imposed on bandwidth usage above the allocation Charge only imposed if usage is over 9 5 % Not possible to allocate bandwidth for urgent needs Priority setting by individual institutions

17. Development Plan Upgrade Connection to Internet2 Promote application of Next Generation Internet (NGI) technologies Video Conferencing in all institutions IPv6 and Multicast Support Electronic Service Delivery Certificate Authentication

18. Future Information Network Greater use of e-Cert and digital signatures Video conferencing and video-on-demand Integrating data, voice, video and web Optical wavelength networks E lectronic signatures and forms with workflow High performance computers Grid Computing Wireless LANs & wireless access to the Internet

19. The Value of JUCC Joint tendering exercises have yielded many benefits to member institutions and vendors Premier in Internet development and the administration of the .hk domain name registration… Transferred and re-delegated to a new membership-based Corporation set up by the Hong Kong SAR Government in March 2002 Contribution recognised by the Hong Kong SAR Government

20. The Value of JUCC (cont’d) Cooperative model well recognized by UGC, with success attracting funding f or HARNET upgrades Attract donations from industry for pilot projects Gathering momentum for more participation from other organizations JUCC member is Director of Board of Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation HKCERT Steering Committee

21. JUCC Organization Lean Organization - Director (free service) - Office (supported by HKU) - Staffing (2.5 admin staff & 1 tech staff equiv.) Well-controlled Finance - Income: - Contribution from members - Service fee (software, network) - Expenses: - Administration (staff costs, general expenses) - Software and Training - Accounting service by PolyU of HK

22. Current Services Network Services Software Licensing Tenders Training Workshops and conferences Joint off-site workshops with leading higher education institutions in Mainland China

23. Visiting Beijing University – Nov 2003

24. Future Directions (1) JUCC has laid a good foundation for inter-institution cooperation The network task force is concentrating on Next-Generation Internet technologies The video task force is working on joint video conferencing among the eight universities Seed money for future network development HKSAR Government puts emphasis on IT development

25. Future Directions (2) E xplore opportunities for joint software development I mprove negotiation with vendors, regarding software and hardware pricing D evelop more inter-institutional cooperation on new technologies, training, network security, administrative applications and support P romote exchange with sister institutions in Greater China and Asia Pacific regions

26. Vision : HK a leader in the use of IT Support high-bandwidth applications Facilitate research into new Internet technologies Develop into Research Internet hub for Asia Pacific Expand to be a Hong Kong wide Education Network for all the school sectors

27. Thank you