Network merger to benefit UVa

The University of Virginia is among several colleges that will benefit from an agreement to combine two specialized high-speed networks focused on academic research and higher education.

The agreement combines the two regional networks — the Mid-Atlantic Terascale Partnership (MATP) and the Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX) — expanding access to network infrastructures for members of each, according to Mike McPherson, UVa associate vice president and deputy chief information officer.

“It is a collaborative agreement to provide more and better services to our members,” McPherson said.

Universities in Virginia, Maryland and Washington use the two regional networks.

Virginia Tech operates MATP programs, of which UVa was a co-founder with several other universities.

MATP provides access to research and education networks for more than 1 million scientists, educators and students in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The University of Maryland operates MAX, which focuses on providing high-performance networking for advanced research.

To avoid interruptions in service, the networks exist outside the Internet used by the general public and operate at much higher speeds, McPherson said.

MAPT and MAX link into a pair of larger networks — LambdaRail and Internet2 respectively — used by research universities, corporate research partners, government agencies and federal labs around the world.