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The past, the present and the future
The Science, Technology, and Society Network (RCTS) is one of the oldest national education and research networks in Europe. Portugal was part of the pioneering efforts to develop these networks on the continent, notably through the Bitnet, EARN, and RARE initiatives. The former eventually evolved into the latter, and the latter two later merged. During this process, the technical operation of connecting the various European countries was ensured by different operational entities.
It was these efforts to found a European teaching and research network – which involved the creation of an operational entity called DANTE – that gave rise to the current GÉANT association. The then Foundation for National Scientific Computing (FCCN), currently the FCCN Unit, ensured national participation in this process, often assuming a leadership role in its evolution, since the creation of the RARE association – Réseaux Associés pour la Recherche Européenne.
While the international context was marked by this continuity, the domestic reality was quite different. The country's geographic location and the late liberalization of communications created significant difficulties in developing a national network. The process of adapting the transmission resources available to national entities and users was slow, and specific difficulties were still encountered in connections to the autonomous island regions, which were not fully resolved.
The arrival of fiber
The major change came with the commitment to directly manage the physical transmission media (fiber optics). This step, taken in 2004, allowed unlimited speeds to be provided in the locations served. Thanks to this possibility, RCTS now serves the vast majority of the academic and research community located along the central and northern coasts.
Unfortunately, this option was not available in all regions of the country, leaving the northern and southern interior with less advanced solutions for several years. It will now be available in 2021 through the project RCTS100, which will finally conclude the process of resolving this “Digital Divide” that exists in mainland Portugal.
The commitment to direct fiber optic use also extended to international connections, with the implementation of two connections to the Spanish counterpart network (RedIRIS) in Badajoz and Valença do Minho. These connections have not only ensured excellent connections with Spain but have also served to improve connections to the European GÉANT network and north-south redundancy in Portugal. Therefore, these communication methods will continue to be leveraged in the future GÉANT network, with redundant connections in the north and south and with a connection to the new cable. ELLA.LINK, between Sines and Fortaleza.
More than a network
Throughout these network developments, both nationally and internationally, services targeting various user communities have been developed. In this sense, the network services created fall within the areas of collaboration, security, knowledge, and, more recently, computing and research data.
Detailing all the services of the teaching and research network, as well as their evolution, requires more space than is available in this text. Currently, there are approximately 38 projects and services provided by the FCCN Unit through the RCTS, and in-depth information on each of them can be found here. on the new FCCN Unit website.
However, it's also important to emphasize that, based on this network's fundamental foundation, it was possible to develop a rich portfolio of services, which today enjoy high usage and quality. These services have a direct impact on teaching and research communities, facilitating their work processes and streamlining access to advanced digital resources.
And the future?
While 2021 represents a milestone in the development of the RCTS, in terms of national and international capacity and topology, there are still significant challenges to overcome. In addition to resolving the aforementioned difficulties in connecting to the autonomous regions, the need to develop the capacity to data centers in other regions of the country, particularly in the north.
This step will enable greater geographic redundancy in the hosting of equipment supporting various services. At the same time, this effort must be combined with the increasing adoption of commercial solutions. cloud, whenever these prove to be advantageous.
Throughout all these changes, it has been essential to have a national education and research network in which governance remains firmly in the governance of science and higher education. This affiliation has enabled rapid responses to emerging requests through the adoption of flexible solutions and the development of advanced services with a focus on greater adaptation to the needs of the communities served.
The benefits of this evolution became evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the increased capacity and flexibility of the network and its services, it was possible to quickly adapt the work processes of teaching and research communities. This was done so that teaching and scientific activities could continue safely and accessible to all. Regardless of the challenges that may arise, this will always be RCTS's mission.
