PHILADELPHIA -- The MAGPI advanced networking hub at the University of Pennsylvania has connected to the new Internet2 Network, providing the research and education community in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware with more than 10 times the capacity of its current network and with new on-demand bandwidth capabilities. MAGPI is the acronym for Mid-Atlantic Gigapop in Philadelphia for Internet2.

Internet2 is the foremost U.S. advanced networking consortium, led by the research and education community since 1996.  MAGPI has provided regional and Internet2 connectivity to its member institutions in the tri-state area since 1997 and promotes advanced applications, collaborations and services for the K-20 research and education community through high performance networking technology.

The new network node located on Penn's campus extends the reach of Internet2's 100 Gigabit per second (Gbps) nationwide network to its members.  

Penn, one of 11 Internet2 university members in the MAGPI region and a founding member of the Internet2 consortium, has been an active collaborator in the Internet2 community.

In addition to serving as the regional network aggregation point for the tri-state area, Penn has leveraged Internet2 network connectivity in several research and education applications across the University's 12 schools and many centers.

Penn's use of the Internet2 network has included research in tele-immersion, which involves connecting users in geographically distributed locations as if they were in the same physical environment, and distributed telepathology consults within the School of Medicine that enables live analysis of complex medical images by experts around the world.  

Numerous international education and outreach projects have involved the Wharton School's French Project and the Graduate School of Education's Penn Literacy Network Dublin project, which each used real time communications technologies.  Penn also uses the Internet2 network for connecting its Wharton West campus in San Francisco with the main campus in Philadelphia for live distributed lectures and class interaction.

"We are delighted to support the extension of our Internet2 hub," Penn Provost Ron Daniels said.  "Connectivity has empowered teaching and research on this campus in countless ways.  The transformational potential of such technology demands that we share its fruits with the educational community at large."

"We believe the new network will provide this region with an even greater platform for experimentation that will help to inspire the next generation of researchers, students and entrepreneurs," Steve Cotter, Internet2 director of network services, said.

Additional information is available at www.magpi.net and www.internet2.edu