CARNET Infrastructure

The CARNET network is a private network for the Croatian academic and scientific-research community, as well as institutions within the primary and secondary education system. A portion of the network infrastructure is owned by the CARNET institution, while the cable infrastructure is largely leased from numerous telecommunications service providers. The CARNET network serves as an example of a Wide Area Network (WAN) that connects CARNET members across Croatia to a unified information and communication hub.

The CARNET network is a data network intended for data transfer using the Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Currently supported versions of the TCP/IP protocol in the CARNET network as an integral part are versions 4 and 6 (IPv4 and IPv6). CARNET enables its members virtual private network services.

The defining characteristic of each private network is its connection to the global network, the Internet. The CARNET network achieves this connection through the pan-European research network GÉANT, with a current connection speed of 100 Gb/s. The GÉANT network is the outcome of an initiative by the European Community and the association of European academic networks to establish the most technologically advanced computer network, linking all European academic and research national networks and connecting them to the so-called commercial Internet. The link to other Internet service providers in Croatia is facilitated through the Croatian Internet exchange, CIX.

Within Croatia, the CARNET network connects larger and smaller Croatian cities on the mainland, as well as a number of locations on the islands. Major university centers (Dubrovnik, Osijek, Pula, Rijeka, Slavonski Brod, Split, Varaždin, Zadar, Zagreb) are connected with high-speed connections ranging from 2 Gb/s to 100 Gb/s, while smaller centers are provided with speeds of 1 Gb/s to 10 Gb/s. There is especially advanced infrastructure in Zagreb and Split, where faculties and scientific institutions are connected at speeds up to 10 Gb/s. The CARNET network also connects institutions from the primary and secondary education system at access speeds of 4 Mb/s to 10 Gb/s. In Rijeka, Zagreb, Split, and Pula, CARNET connects the locations of institutions to the CARNET network using its own built infrastructure.

Based on the agreement with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labor and Pension System, Family and Social Policy, and the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, CARNET connects their locations to the CARNET network. However, users do not have access to all the services that are available to users from the Ministry of Science and Education.