Editing GÉANT (section)

==Technology==
As well as providing the high-bandwidth links across Europe, the GÉANT network also acts as a [[testbed]] for new technology.

It was the first "hybrid" network deployed on an international scale, combining routed [[Internet Protocol|IP]] and switched infrastructure.{{citation needed|date=August 2014}} This enables the network to offer general traffic alongside virtual "private" network paths for projects, such as the [[Large Hadron Collider]], which have particular requirements involving dedicated bandwidth, security and flexibility.

GÉANT supported native [[IPv6]] since 2002 and [[multicast]] IPv6 since 2004. It is involved in network research, in areas such as carrier class network technologies, photonic switching, federated network architectures and virtualisation.

In 2013 a substantial network migration program was completed, meaning users could be offered multiple 100&nbsp;Gbit/s links, with the core network supporting 500&nbsp;Gbit/s and a [[network planning and design|network design]] that will support up to 8&nbsp;Tbit/s.

Already, over 1 [[Petabyte]] of data are transferred every day via the GÉANT [[backbone network]].