NORDUnet introduces a direct submarine fiber connection from Sweden to Berlin via Bornholm.
For the first time, NORDUnet has opened a route from Sweden via the island of Bornholm directly to the German capital Berlin. This supplies much needed additional resilience to the Northern European research and education network system.
“Historically, new connections involving Denmark have either been westwards via Esbjerg, southwards via Hamburg, or northwards via Stockholm. So, from a geographical viewpoint, this route is a true novelty,” says Rasmus Lund, optical network architect at NORDUnet.
The connection has been validated up to 600 Gbps (Gigabit per second). The first link to Rønne (Bornholm) is tested with 400 Gbps, and eventually 400 Gbps will be implemented to Berlin as well.
Supports NORDUnet’s strategy
The interview takes place shortly after media reports of two submarine cable breakdowns in the Baltic Sea. While the circumstances have not been clarified at the time of writing, these events underline the importance of building a resilient system.
“For some years now, our strategy has been to operate a minimum of three independent connections out of all main nodes in the NORDUnet network. The route via Bornholm contributes to this end. The more independent routes we operate, the better chances of coping with unforeseen events,” explains Rasmus Lund, continuing: “When we introduced the strategy of three routes minimum, we mainly had accidental breakdowns in mind. For instance, caused by a contractor or similar digging into fiber traces. The recent suggestions of possible intentional harm to cables have only accentuated the necessity of building resilience into one’s systems.”
The new route offers a direct connection from Sweden to the European continent, not passing through mainland Denmark, offering an alternative route from the Stockholm and Copenhagen areas and southern Sweden.
An alternative route southward
When looking at a map of Northern Europe, the value of the new Baltic Sea connection in terms of added resilience soon becomes obvious.
Firstly, the new Baltic Sea route offers users in the Nordic countries a more direct route southward to Central and Eastern Europe. Secondly, the route does not cross the Great Belt between Funen and Zealand, which is a potential bottleneck. Likewise it offers an alternative to dependance on the Hamburg and Amsterdam areas, which similarly have been potential bottlenecks in the NORDUnet network
As an added benefit, connecting through Bornholm allows NORDUnet to provide optical network capacity for DeiC, the national research and education network (NREN) of Denmark, enabling significantly improved network services to its clients at Bornholm.
