INGV and GARR, the new high-speed network for geophysical data and research

The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and the GARR Consortium have launched a plan to strengthen their technological infrastructure, connecting data centers, scientific archives, and monitoring networks across Italy into a single architecture. The initiative, defined in the institution’s 2027 Development Plan, marks the transition from a simple connectivity system between locations to an integrated national platform capable of communicating with the large supercomputing, artificial intelligence, and big data management hubs linked to the DAMA Tecnopolo in Bologna.

The strengthening leverages the evolution of the GARR-T backbone, also expanded thanks to the PNRR ICSC and TeRABIT projects, which have extended fiber optics to 100 gigabits per second in the southern regions, Abruzzo, and Sardinia. Among the major innovations is the launch of the INGV’s public Autonomous System (AS200375), which allows the institute to independently manage the routing of information flows and increase operational resilience through redundant connections at separate physical points of presence.

The first operational intervention involved upgrading the Rome headquarters’ connection to 10 gigabits per second, which will be complemented by a second fiber optic line on a differentiated path, a model that will be extended to other branches throughout the country.

“Modern research infrastructures are not just laboratories and large scientific instruments. For the INGV, the telematics network is part of the scientific instrument that connects Earth observation, databases, distributed data centers, and computing capacity. Strengthening the collaboration with GARR means making this system more resilient and more effectively transforming data into knowledge and services for the country,” stated Fabio Florindo, President of the INGV.

“The research network fully expresses its value when it connects the places where data is produced, the archives that store it, and the infrastructures that process it. With INGV, we are building a coordinated architecture with greater capacity, differentiated paths and Points of Interest, an Autonomous System, and advanced services, strengthening the connection between distributed data centers and national High Performance Computing, Big Data, and Quantum Computing infrastructures,” said Maurizio Tira, President of GARR.

The architecture also strengthens activities with the National ICSC Center and CINECA in the fields of seismic monitoring, tsunami warning systems, and urgent computing. The agreement also includes a governance update, with INGV representing the GARR Consortium members with voting rights in the GARR Consortium Members’ Assembly for the next two years.