Network Maps & Sites

Related links: CalREN Sites by Region | CalREN Sites by Tier | All CENIC and Partner maps

CENIC's California Research and Education Network (CalREN) is a multitiered, advanced network serving the vast majority of research and education institutions in the state.

The CalREN backbone consists of roughly 8,000 miles of CENIC-owned and managed fiber plus last-mile fiber, as well as hundreds of optical components. Three independent networks operate simultaneously over CalREN:

CalREN-DC: 
CENIC's Digital California network provides high-quality network services for students/teachers/staff and for faculty, researchers, and staff at education institutions. Connectivity to the commercial Internet is provided by this tier. All CENIC Charter Associates are connected to this tier.

CalREN-HPR: 
CENIC's High-Performance Research network provides leading-edge services for large-application users at CENIC Associates sites. Connectivity to Internet2 is provided by this network tier.

CalREN-XD:
CENIC's eXperimental/Developmental network tier consists of a set of build-to-order resources to support bleeding-edge services for network researchers at sites such as the San Diego Supercomputer Center, the University of California Institutes for Science and Innovation, the Center for Advanced Computing Research at Caltech and its Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the University of Southern California and its Information Sciences Institute, Stanford University and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, national laboratories, and other major network research entities that collaborate with these researchers in California.

In addition to providing the entire California research and education community with the most cost-effective advanced services network available, the multitiered CalREN infrastructure supplies high-level network services needed to successfully conduct high-performance research activities. It also provides network researchers in California with the infrastructure needed to conduct critical investigations into optical networking technology.