Technical Reference Group for Network Infrastructure

Technical Reference Group for the Research Network, called Net TekRef, is a group where you share experiences with other network people from the institutions, and where you can make suggestions and debate initiatives regarding the Research Network.

DeiC has the role of operating the backbone of the Research Network, under the leadership of Network Operations Manager Jan Ferré. The head of the Research Network, Martin Bech, is responsible for the development and services.

Dialogue is important

Net TekRef is a very democratic group consisting of representatives of institutions connected to the research network. There are no formal requirements for the participants (other than that they are connected to the network).

It will be good to have a broader participation from the institutions, as the recent meetings have been characterized by the fact that only a few universities have found time to exchange experiences.

The group meets about three times a year around the country. Typically, the chairman announces that a meeting will be held soon and at the same time requests topics. All participants are free to suggest topics to be addressed. The chairman then sets the agenda for the next meeting and issues an actual invitation.

Topics in recent years include covering the university with WiFi, replacing switches with newer models, building server rooms, redundancy, eduroam in the local environment and much more.

There are a simple mailing list for announcing Net TekRef meetings. If you would like to join the list, simply fill out this form. 

Knowledge sharing and development

In practice, Net TekRef functions in this way as an ERFA group, where the participants can bring up topics that they work with locally and thereby get input from the other participants. Or simply to advise that now this university has been working with some technology and had some experience with it. Net TekRef is a good inspiration and opportunity to meet colleagues across the country.

DeiC will typically report on developments in the network area - seen from a central level. And the participants in the meeting can give their input on what DeiC should work with in the coming period.

In addition, the group also acts as a 'Change Advisory Board' - a CAB. Net TekRef has the opportunity to instruct DeiC to work in one direction or another, to investigate specific technologies or in some other way to support the needs of the institutions. The group has e.g. debated the acquisition of the new DWDM system in 2016 and the development of the new DDoS Protection System.

The chairman of the Technical Reference Group is Lasse Birnbaum Jensen from SDU (email: lasse@sdu.dk).