“This shared ambition makes our collaboration even more valuable: together we are building the future of research and education”
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Greater independence, sustainability and cooperation
SURF moves network core from private business to member organisation
Until now, part of the core of the SURF network was located in the data centre of a private business. Nikhef, the national institute for subatomic physics, is a member of SURF. By relocating the routers to the Nikhef data centre, located at Amsterdam Science Park, SURF chose to collaborate within its own community. In this way, Nikhef contributes to the SURF mission: supporting scientific research and education with advanced technology.
Freedom of choice
The switch means less dependence on commercial players and more freedom of choice. it fits seamlessly with the pursuit of greater digital autonomy. The Dutch part of the internet originated at the Amsterdam Science Park. Nikhef is the only organisation there to continue operating a fully autonomous data centre where users can connect with the whole world.
This international connectivity is one of the reasons for moving the heart of the SURF network to Nikhef. Sustainability also plays an important role. The Nikhef data centre uses its residual heat to heat both its own building and student housing – a fine example of responsible energy management.
The same vision on research
Nikhef is not a traditional data centre company. It manages its data centre with the same dedication with which it conducts its scientific research. It has a separate department for this, which runs the data centre professionally. This department was created out of the need to optimally facilitate experiments, with the best possible technology and infrastructure.
A recent expansion of the Nikhef data centre means that space is now also available for other parties with the same vision on research.
"This strengthens our solid collaboration in the field of information technology and infrastructure, which has been bearing fruit for more than three decades."
Institutions will benefit from intelligent network
The Nikhef location is expected to be operational by the end of 2025. From then on, the heart of the SURF network will be relocated in several phases over a period of two years. After that, the current core setup of the SURF network at the commercial party will be dismantled.
The affiliated institutions and users will not notice the actual move, as it will take place behind the scenes. But over time, they will benefit from the advantages of the new SURF network setup: a high-quality, reliable, flexible and intelligent network infrastructure that is optimally connected worldwide. This is the next step in our work to create a future-proof network for research and education in the Netherlands.