Janet Network


Serving over 18 million users, the Janet Network provides UK research and education with a highly reliable and secure world-class network, enabling national and international communication and collaboration.
For enquiries contact:
- 0300 300 2212
- help@jisc.ac.uk
- Hours: 07:00 to 00:00 Monday to Friday
About the Janet Network
Janet is a high-speed network for the UK research and education community.
A Janet Network connection gives you an extremely reliable and high bandwidth network that will support innovation, research and learning at your organisation and may also provide you with access to other Jisc services at no additional charge.
Did you know?
- Our network covers the UK from Cornwall to the Shetlands and Belfast to East Anglia
- It’s the busiest National Research and Education Network (NREN) in Europe, carrying over 1.5 PBytes of information annually
- At its heart lies over 8,500 km of optical fibre carrying multiple 400 Gbit/s backbone circuits
- Over 700 Jisc members are connected via more than 30,000 km of access circuits
- We have a total of over 1.5 Tbit/s of connectivity to hundreds of global networks, cloud services, content providers and more
It’s easy to see why the Janet Network is regarded as mission-critical to the UK knowledge economy.
See case study videos of the Janet Network in action.
DDoS mitigation service
The DDoS mitigation service is automatically provided to all Janet-connected institutions.
Our security analysts carefully monitor the patterns of traffic across the Janet Network. If a Janet-connected institution experiences a DDoS attack, traffic patterns trigger alerts and an active response from security analysts.
Eligibility
Research and education organisations in the UK can connect their network to the Janet Network if they are:
- Government funded further and higher education organisations
- Research Council led organisations
- An organisation whose main activity is in higher or further education or who is involved in collaboration with the research or education community (in the UK or elsewhere).
Organisations that wish to connect to the Janet Network are bound by our policies.
If you are interested in connecting to the Janet Network, please email the connections management group or call 01235 822308.
Connection types
Primary connection
The majority of organisations that connect to the Janet Network have a primary connection. A primary connection provides access to the Janet Network, the internet and a range of services, all underpinned by the Janet Network SLA.
Additional connections
If you want to connect another campus to the Janet Network or improve resilience by installing a second connection at a separate location, we can provide you with details of the options available and a quote for the charges that apply. These additional connections provide you with the same benefits as a primary connection to Janet.
Backup connections
We can also offer backup connection arrangements, depending on whether the service needs to always carry traffic or not. The level of costs charged and the technical implications will vary according to your requirements.
You can find more information on different types of connections and other related information on our community site.
For more information about any of these connections and charges that may apply, email the connections management group or call 01235 822308.
T&Cs
The terms for the provision of the Janet Network service apply to the provision of a connection to the Janet Network. They define the services provided by us, the responsibilities placed upon an organisation receiving these services, and any charges that may be made for these services.
The terms refer to the following documents:
Peering policy
We operate an open peering policy and all ISPs are invited to peer. We are present at the LINX, IXLeeds and IXManchester.
If and to the extent JSL agrees to permit the exchange of data traffic between our respective networks (“Peering”), and on the basis that this Peering is provided without charge, this Peering is made available without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied.
The Peering is provided “as is” and “as available” and is used by you at your own risk. JSL will not be liable for damages of any kind in respect of your use of our network, including, but not limited to, direct, indirect, special or consequential damages, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law
In addition, if there is significant benefit through the provision of services or through the level of traffic, we can set up private peerings at suitable external peering points.
You can also join in the discussions with the Janet Network peering policy group on our community site.
Further info
Service components
Regional networks (MANs)
See a list of the regional networks through which the Janet Network is delivered.
Supporting business and community engagement (BCE)
Read more about how your Janet Network connection can support BCE on the community pages.
- Read our factsheet on using your Janet Network connection for BCE (pdf)
- Read more about how members of the community used their Janet Network connection to support BCE activities during the 2012 Games (pdf)
- Read our case study on how IT services at Loughborough University have adapted to meet BCE activities (pdf)
Fault reporting
Read more about the process for logging issues on our fault reporting page.
Case studies
Read how Barking and Dagenham College uses the Janet Network to help inspire their students (pdf)
Read how Diamond Light Source used the Janet Network to transfer data quickly and reliably (pdf)
Service level description
Service description
Network connectivity from an organisation to the Janet Network and thus to the Jisc community and to the rest of the world.
Service description (administration)
A service to administer the procedures for approval and commissioning of connection services, allowing new organisations to join the Janet Network; and to upgrade, shift, merge and cancel connections to existing organisations.
Hours of service
The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year.
The associated administration service is available during the business day, as defined in SLD definitions.
Target availability
The target availability of the network is 99.7% measured monthly over a 12 month period, excluding service-affecting maintenance.
Service-affecting maintenance is capped at 0.5% and is normally carried out with at least two weeks' notice.
The target time to restore service due to a fault is less than 10 hours for each fault.
Fault management
Faults with the service may be reported via the service desk on tel: 0300 300 2212 or via email: help@jisc.ac.uk.
Resilience
The core of the network
- Has multiple paths built in
- Uses equipment with multiple power supplies
- Is in locations with power back-up systems
The external network connections to the global internet use multiple locations and multiple suppliers for resilience.
The organisation's connection to the Janet Network will only be resilient if the organisation has purchased a second connection from Jisc or, in some circumstances, from a commercial ISP.
Premium services
Additional connections to the Janet Network, either for resilience purposes, or for multi-site organisations, may be purchased.
Security
Organisations must ensure they understand and adhere to the security policy.
Your responsibilities
You are responsible prior to being connected, or when requesting a change to your connection, for:
- Providing all relevant site information as requested
You are responsible on an ongoing basis for the following:
- The provision and maintenance of its own internal network and facilities in order to utilise the Janet Network
- Ensuring the Janet Network is used according to the acceptable use policy
- Providing suitable contact details of a representative from within your organisation
Charges
The administration service is centrally funded.
The network service is centrally funded for higher education organisations, further education organisations and the Research Councils.
In addition:
- Higher education organisations pay an annual network charge
- Further education organisations pay for additional bandwidth above that already paid for by the relevant further education funding body
- Organisations not funded through the central charge may purchase a Janet Network connection (provided the organisation meets the eligibility policy).
Request for service
Request a new connection or a change to an existing connection via the connections management group on 01235 822 308 or via connections@ja.net.
Service delivery time (administration)
New connections will be installed within 90 business days of receipt of all necessary information, unless delivery of service is prevented by reasons beyond our control.
Upgrades or shifts of existing organisations; connections will be within 80 business days of receipt of all necessary information, (in the case of pre-approved upgrades, within 80 business days of authorisation) unless delivery of service is prevented by reasons beyond our control.
Cancellation of connections will be implemented within 20 business days of approval by us, unless the cancellation is prevented by reasons beyond our control.
Terms and conditions
Organisations must ensure they understand and adhere to our terms and conditions.
Escalation
If you are experiencing an issue with the service, and wish to escalate the issue please contact us via the service desk on tel: 0300 300 2212 or via email: help@jisc.ac.uk.
Janet IP connections
The IP service comprises a connection from the organisation's premises to a regional distribution mechanism and then on to a high capacity, highly reliable backbone with connections to the global internet.
The IP service supports IPv4, IPv6, unicast IP and multicast IP.
Connectivity to the global internet includes global and domestic network peering and connectivity to the European and American research networks.
An overview of the network status can be found using Netsight.
This service is included within the scope of our ISO9001 certificate.