History of Nordunet Research Programmes

Nordunet3 is the third in a series of joint Nordic network research programmes and as such builds on a solid tradition of co-operation among the Nordic countries in the field of research networking.

This tradition was sparked with the first joint Nordic networking conference in 1980, the first of what has since become a tradition of its own. The co-operation among nordic network researchers that sprang from these conferences led in 1985 to the creation of the Nordic University Network programme, NORDUNET

NORDUNET was initiated by Nordforsk and sponsored by the Nordic Council of Ministers, and ran from 1985 to 1991. The goal of the programme was to establish a joint research network for the Nordic countries. The program was successful, and lead to the creation NORDUnet, the worlds first large-scale multiprotocol network and the first international research network to be connected to the Internet. Today, NORDUnet continues to provide international connectivity and services to the reearch networks in the Nordic countries. A detailed history of the NORDUNET programme and the early NORDUnet years can be found in the NORDUnet 25 years anniversary book.

The second Nordic network research programme, Nordunet2, ran from 1999 to 2002, and focused on advanced applications of network technology - using the network that had been built in the first NORDUNET programme. The programme sponsored 20 projects in the areas of Distance Learning, Telemedicine, Digital Libraries, and Infrastructure Services. One result of the programme was the development of the NorduGRID middleware, which lead to th etablishment of the Nordic Data Grid Facility.

Now, Nordunet3, the third research programme in the series, build on this tradition. This time, the focus is on basic research in network technologies, protocols, security, and network services.