SURF is an organization that develops, implements and maintains the

national research and education network A national research and education network (NREN) is a specialised internet service provider dedicated to supporting the needs of the research and education communities within a country. It is usually distinguished by support for a high-speed backb ...

(NREN) of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, It operates the national research network formally called SURFnet. SURF as a network is a backbone computer network reserved for

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after compl ...

and research in the Netherlands. SURF is a cooperative association of Dutch educational and research institutions in which the members combine their strengths. They work together to acquire or develop digital services and to encourage knowledge sharing through continuous innovation. The members are the owners of SURF.

History

The organization was established in 1986, it started supplying IP connectivity services in 1989, deploying the TCP/IP suite. SURFnet has deployed a series of network generations in an overbuilt manner. The initial SURFnet network was based on 9.6 kbit/s and 64 kbit/s X.25 connections, providing DECNET protocol. SURFnet2 was established in 1989 and delivered TCP/IP over an X.25 network. The SURFnet3 network delivered native TCP/IP via

leased line A leased line is a private telecommunications circuit between two or more locations provided according to a commercial contract. It is sometimes also known as a private circuit, and as a data line in the UK. Typically, leased lines are used by ...

s and became operational in 1991, mainly consisting of 64 kbit/s and 2 Mbit/s lines. In 1994 SURFnet4 was developed based on ATM and, later on SDH, links. SURFnet5 was developed from 1999 onward on a 10 Gbit/s DWDM infrastructure, with access links of 100 Mbit/s and 1 Gbit/s. SURFnet6, the sixth generation of the SURFnet network, was taken into operation at the beginning of 2006. This network provides the 750,000 users in higher education and research with Internet facilities, and also provides them with "lightpaths", which are direct connections between two network nodes without the need for routers. Lightpaths have a capacity of 1 to 10 Gbit/s. The company SURFnet used to be a subsidiary of the

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

foundation, SURF (Samenwerkende Universitaire Reken Faciliteiten; English: Co-operative University Computing Facilities). The operating companies SURFnet, SURFmarket, and SURFsara were merged in 2020 into a single organization: SURF - a single operating company as part of the SURF Cooperative in which the members are represented.

Services

Currently SURF is operating SURFnet8. SURFnet presently provides services on all

network layer In the seven-layer OSI model of computer networking, the network layer is layer 3. The network layer is responsible for packet forwarding including routing through intermediate routers. Functions The network layer provides the means of trans ...

s, including

authentication Authentication (from ''authentikos'', "real, genuine", from αὐθέντης ''authentes'', "author") is the act of proving an assertion, such as the identity of a computer system user. In contrast with identification, the act of indicat ...

services, such as

eduroam eduroam (''edu''cation ''roam''ing) is an international Wi-Fi internet access roaming service for users in research, higher education and further education. It provides researchers, teachers, and students network access when visiting an insti ...

and A-Select, and services for security, online collaboration and

streaming media Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...

. The company collaborates with a number of organization, both nationally and internationally, including the pan-European research network GÉANT (formerly

DANTE Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...

and TERENA), Kennisnet and GLORIAD.

Influence

SURF's executives have been founders of or occupied board positions in organisations including Ebone,

CENTR The Council of European National Top-Level Domain Registries (CENTR) is an organization established to act as a peak body of top-level domain name registries. The organisation was formed in 1998, created as a project of the RIPE Top-level ...

, SIDN, AMS-IX, TERENA,

RIPE NCC RIPE NCC (''Réseaux IP Européens'' Network Coordination Centre) is the regional Internet registry (RIR) for Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia. Its headquarters are in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with a branch office in Dubai, UAE. ...

, ISOC,

IETF The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a standards organization for the Internet and is responsible for the technical standards that make up the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP). It has no formal membership roster or requirements and ...

, IESG and IAB. Surfnet became a driving force behind ICT-based innovation in higher education a research in the Netherlands.

References

External links

SURF websiteArticle in Light Reading, Nov. 09 2004 "SURFnet, Internet2 deploy Nortel"netherlight.netGrid computing via SURFnet
{{Authority control Internet in the Netherlands National research and education networks 1986 establishments in the Netherlands

History

Services

Influence

See also

References

External links