The Inter-University Research Institute Corporation Research Organization of Information and Systems, National Institute of Informatics (NII; Director-General: KUROHASHI Sadao; Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) expanded the bandwidth of all international communication lines connecting Japan, the US, and Europe in the Science Information NETwork SINET6, to 400 Gbps. The upgraded network started operation in April 2025.
The international communication lines of SINET6 are being used for the ATLAS Experiment (*1) and the Belle II Experiment (*2) in high-energy physics research, and also for international collaboration in research projects in medicine and genetics. To support the large volume and constant stream of research data that occurs in such international collaborative research, international communication lines for science need more and more bandwidth and improved reliability.
The upgrade has resolved the congestion of international science communication lines that had been caused by the increased traffic, and has improved the stability of ultra-high-speed connections. By developing an environment that allows researchers around the world to share large volumes of research data quickly and reliably, we will contribute to further progress in international academic research.
1. Background of the international line upgrade
2. Objectives of the international line upgrade
3. Outlook for the future
(*1) The ATLAS Experiment: One of the experiments using the LHC accelerator currently under construction at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). The International Center for Elementary Particle Physics of the University of Tokyo is participating in the project, using SINET’s international connection service for the transfer of data for analysis.
(*2) Belle II: An international joint experiment using the Belle II detector, which measures elementary particle reactions at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK). The experiment investigates the behavior of elementary particles through high-precision measurement of the large amounts of data generated when electrons and positrons accelerated by the SuperKEKB accelerator collide with each other. Since the launch of the Belle experiment (which proved the Kobayashi-Maskawa theory and won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics) using the predecessor of Belle II (the “Belle detector”), SINET has been used to transfer these large volumes of analysis data and create a secure communication environment.
(*3) News Release of 1 March 2019: NII Builds the World’s First Round-the-Globe Ultra-High-Speed 100 Gbps Academic Communications Network by upgrading direct international connections of SINET to the United States, Europe and Asia subsequently to upgrading domestic connections towards Society 5.0
https://www.nii.ac.jp/en/news/release/2019/0301.html
(*4) With support and cooperation of KDDI Corporation.
(*5) LHC: Large Hadron Collider. The world’s largest proton-proton collider/accelerator built at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). In the ATLAS experiment (2013 Nobel Prize in Physics), which, among others, aimed to discover the Higgs boson, SINET is being used to create a safe communications environment and transfer the large amounts of analysis data generated.
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About the National Institute of Informatics (NII)
NII is Japan's only academic research institute dedicated to the new discipline of informatics. Its mission is to "create future value" in informatics. NII conducts both long-term basic research and practical research aimed at solving social problems in a wide range of informatics research fields, from fundamental theories to the latest topics, such as artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of Things, and information security.
As an inter-university research institute, NII builds and operates academic information infrastructure essential for the research and educational activities of the entire academic community (including the Science Information Network) as well as developing services such as those that enable the provision of academic content and service platforms. https://www.nii.ac.jp/en/
About the Research Organization of Information and Systems (ROIS)
ROIS is a parent organization of four national institutes (National Institute of Polar Research, National Institute of Informatics, the Institute of Statistical Mathematics and National Institute of Genetics) and the Joint Support-Center for Data Science Research. It is ROIS's mission to promote integrated, cutting-edge research that goes beyond the barriers of these institutions, in addition to facilitating their research activities, as members of inter-university research institutes.