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CENIC is a nonprofit organization created in 1997 by California’s research and education community to provide themselves with the most advanced networking and support designed to meet their unique needs. We connect California’s research and education institutions to one another and resources and colleagues around the globe, with an estimated 20 million Californians using our services.
CENIC is governed by our Charter Associates, which include the University of California system, the California State University system, California’s Community Colleges, the California K–12 system, California Public Libraries, and four independent universities: Caltech, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, and the Naval Postgraduate School. Other members include scientific and cultural institutions, hospitals and specialized medical institutions, space and environmental research organizations, and Tribal nations.
CENIC offers its members a host of benefits, including unique services specific to each segment it serves.
Representatives from the University of California, California State University, Caltech, and the University of Southern California co-found CENIC as a nonprofit to support academic research and education needs.
A consortium of CENIC institutions submitted a proposal to the National Science Foundation titled “High-Performance Connections Program” for CalREN-2—The California Research and Education Network.
UC campuses use CalREN services to advance telemedicine, monitor atmospheric and oceanic circulation, collect data from the Keck telescope in Hawaii, and transmit brain images remotely for clinical diagnosis, research, and teaching.
CENIC extends high-performance networking to all 58 counties for K-12 public school students, faculty, and staff, starting with San Luis Obispo and Fresno counties.
Negotiating contracts with the Information Sciences Institute of the University of Southern California, the San Diego Supercomputer Center, and PAIX (via Stanford) to provide two increased peering arrangements for users of CalREN.
CSU retired the 4CNet network, which served its campuses and the California Community Colleges, in favor of using the CalREN backbone and connecting to a unified R&E network.
CENIC, Pacific Northwest Gigapop, the University of Southern California, and the University of Washington deploy and operate Pacific Wave.
All 10 UC campuses and the Office of the President (UCOP) connect with 1 Gbps circuits.
NPS connects at gigabit speeds.
Nine County Offices of Education receive gigabit service.
UC Davis and UC San Diego campuses connect to support ultra-high-performance and experimental network research.
The upgrade benefits six community college districts serving over 300,000 students, faculty, and staff. Palo Verde College received two T-1 connections (1.54 Mbps), which were replaced by a DS-3 connection (45 Mbps).
Network and internet services extended to all 58 COEs and 86% of school districts.
The universities leverage CENIC’s advanced network capabilities to unite medical professionals and their data.
Improving the availability of broadband infrastructure in the Central Valley would directly benefit three CSU sites and fourteen CCC campuses.
North Central Valley libraries extend internet access and digital literacy to low-income and immigrant populations.
$77M was approved over three years for the Broadband Infrastructure Improvement Grant (BIIG), recognizing the need for adequate infrastructure to support computer-based assessments.
The PRP facilitates the rapid transfer of large scientific datasets between all ten University of California campuses, prominent California private research universities, four supercomputer centers, and several universities outside California. All are either on or connected to CENIC's CalREN. It is supported in part by grant awards from the National Science Foundation.
Over 700 academic researchers are supported statewide via nine research and extension centers and 57 extension offices.
The connection supports six additional schools and provides connectivity for 1,000+ students on the Hoopa Reservation.
Upgraded CalREN connectivity allows for speeds 1,000 times faster than previously delivered.
Two CSU campuses now connect to CalREN at 100 Gbps. Sixteen others increase to 10 Gbps connections.
Tribal Digital Village Network (TDVNet), a tribal consortium-owned Internet service provider in San Diego County, and CENIC established the first tribal connections in southern California.
The new NRP improves end-to-end network performance across the nation. NRP includes more than 50 institutions nationwide, is led by researchers and cyberinfrastructure professionals at UC San Diego, and is supported in part by grant awards from the National Science Foundation.
The Broadband Infrastructure Grant (BIG) program was funded to provide 1 Gbps fiber broadband connectivity to California’s most poorly connected schools and promote digital learning opportunities.
More than 900 of the state’s 1,128 libraries have been connected to the same high-speed broadband network as the University of California, the state university system, community colleges, and public schools.
Tribes use Pacific Wave peering relationships, high-performance scientific networks, and ever-expanding global connectivity to engage with researchers and cultural preservation entities worldwide.
UC San Diego and Caltech High Energy Physics established 400 Gbps connectivity through CalREN.
The State of California retains CENIC California Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative, LLC (CCMMBI) as the California middle-mile broadband network third-party administrator. CCMMBI will provide affordable, open-access middle-mile broadband infrastructure, prioritizing connectivity to unserved and underserved communities, including community anchor institutions.
Fifty CCC campuses connect at increased speeds.
K12HSN contracts with CENIC to provide DDoS attack detection and mitigation services. The final county was onboarded in early August 2023.
CENIC collaborates with the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians and the Cachil DeHe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Indian Community to identify the best network solution for their needs.
CENIC AIR, connected to the NRP’s Nautilus infrastructure, is a scalable and robust ecosystem designed for, and responsive to, data science research needs as well as educational programs and positioned for much broader use by the CENIC community.
The Technology Infrastructure for Data Exploration (TIDE) Project extends the CENIC AI Resource (CENIC AIR).