The LHC tunnel at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland. Image courtesy CERN

National LambdaRail, (NLR) the cutting-edge network for advanced research and innovation owned by the U.S. research and education community, announced on 28 May that it was selected to provide ultra high- performance, fiber-optic circuits as part of the network infrastructure to support the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the U.S.

(The implementation, operation and management of this U.S./CERN network infrastructure, called USLHCNet, is jointly overseen by CERN and the California Institute of Technology, or Caltech. The contract was awarded by Caltech through major funding from the  U.S. Department of Energy.)

To contribute effectively to the LHC physics program, U.S. researchers need an extremely high-capacity network, capable of moving up to 100 Petabytes of data per year and that can operate at 99.9+% availability.

NLR will provide two 10-Gigabit per second circuits between Chicago and New York, enabling LHC data access and exchange by the U.S. “Tier 1” facilities under the U.S. leadership of Caltech in cooperation with the Fermi National Laboratory near Chicago and Brookhaven National Laboratory near New York City. In addition, numerous smaller, “Tier 2” centers, where most of the data analysis will take place, will also be connected. The US LHC program roadmap calls for introduction of 40-Gigabit and 100- Gigabit technologies when service and cost requirements are met.

“NLR’s leading-edge optical infrastructure and long experience serving the research and education community were key factors in the decision to award NLR this contract,” said Harvey Newman, Professor of Physics at Caltech and Principal Investigator of US LHCNet. “We also were pleased with NLR's flexibility and responsiveness in helping us to select the most cost-effective, diverse routes between New York and Chicago.”

Tom West, president and CEO, NLR, said that the focus at NLR is to contribute to the ongoing innovation and leadership of U.S. researchers, and thereby to enhance the competitiveness of the U.S. economy. “We’re delighted to be able to ensure full participation for the U.S. in the ground-breaking research made possible by the Large Hadron Collider.”