Research network engineering (RNE) community group
A community for sharing best practices in building network infrastructures to support cutting edge research.
Facilitated by Jisc
Open to staff from Janet-connected sites involved in network operations or in communities conducting data-intensive science
Monthly meetings via Zoom
About the community
Researchers at Janet-connected sites often have challenging network requirements. One notable case is an ever-increasing need for them to move large volumes of data to other organisations on the Janet Network or beyond.
The systems and network engineering knowledge required to design, build and operate effective platforms for such data transfers is not insignificant.
The broad aim of the RNE community is to discuss and share best practices in research networking, bringing together those with experience in the area with those who may be new to the subject, along with engineers and performance specialists from Jisc.
Topics might include examples of Science DMZ implementations, how to gather network performance measurements, and comparisons of software transfer tools. Ultimately, we hope to enable all Jisc members to make optimal use of their Janet connection to support their research requirements.
Aims of the community
Our aims are to:
- Present and discuss examples of network engineering practices in support of research
- Discuss the tools, software and concepts behind Science DMZ principles
- Arrange and report on data transfer tests in varying scenarios
- Explore new technical solutions
- Foster collaboration between communities, within Janet and internationally
These aims will be discussed and updated at the group's first meeting. The RNE community will meet on a regular, monthly basis to allow members to share and discuss ideas, best practices and any issues they face.
Who should join
The community is open to:
- Network managers
- Campus network engineers
- Campus IT staff supporting data intensive research
- Members of research communities seeking to share large volumes of data
No prior experience in the area is assumed.
How to join
Next community call
Science DMZ Security
Date and time: Friday 23 May 2025 at 2pm BST
Our speaker: Jisc-led open discussion
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Abstract
The Science DMZ is now a well-established design model by which research and education organisations can provide optimal access to large-scale storage on their campuses by separation of the handling of day-to-day business and large-scale science traffic. In the UK, the CERN particle physics community (GridPP) have evolved similar principles over the past 20-plus years of working with large volumes of data from CERN.
In this RNE session we seek to have an open discussion about the security model for Science DMZ. The model is often referred to as a “firewall bypass”, but that’s not the case. Rather, the model seeks to ensure that the necessary level of performance can be achieved by science communities, while still implementing a security policy in an efficient manner.
The discussion will be primed by a short presentation by Jisc of the key topics at hand. We’ll quickly review the Science DMZ model, look at examples of current implementation, and then set out questions for discussion. For example, what policies are sites setting? How are controls applied efficiently? What about transfers between the DMZ and internal network? How is LHCONE beneficial for WLCG sites? How should the posture of Science DMZ sites be assessed? Are emerging zero-trust approaches applicable?
The output of the discussion will feed into a Science DMZ security best practice document that we are currently drafting, and which we aim to present at the autumn GridPP meeting in Ambleside. Its content will however be relevant to all data-intensive science and research communities.
Past event resources
For access to past slide decks and meeting recordings please join the Teams community.
By request: If you would like a copy of any materials used at any of our RNE community calls, please email Tim Chown (tim.chown@jisc.ac.uk).
Find out more
If you have any questions about the community please email the community facilitators at netperf@jisc.ac.uk.
To hear about RNE community news and events, or to discuss ideas or challenges you may have with other members of the community, sign up to the JiscMail list.