The Silk Project provides connectivity to GEANT2 from the National Research
and Educations Networks (NRENs) of the 8 Newly Independent States (NISs) of
the Caucasus and Central Asia, and of Afghanistan. The Silk Project is
supported by a number of organisations, with the largest funding coming from
the NATO Security through Science Programme, with substantial contributions
from Cisco and DESY. The OCCASION Project manages the Silk Project, provides
additional features (e.g. network management, VoIP and videoconferencing
tools), and services such as information, CSIRTs and operational support.
Their deployment and maintenance help researchers in the Silk countries to
collaborate with their colleagues in the European Union. Another aspect of
the project is to identify significant User Groups, active in both the Silk
countries and the European Union, who need to use the Silk network for their
collaborations. It then fosters the requisite training and joint workshops
(co-funded with other bodies) to enable useful collaborations. Finally, it
will assist the Silk NRENs to move towards an environment in which their
networks will be self-sustainable without continued large-scale financial
contributions from the EC and NATO.
