Background

The development of advanced networks around the world has seen the emergence of a growing set of common principles. The networks:

• are 'dumb', putting the intelligence at the edge of the network, not in the network itself;
  
• are very fast;
  
• have low average utilisation;
  
• allow the end users to control how they use the network.

NGI-NZ will be embodying these principles in the NGI-NZ network for New Zealand. We also accept and will follow a high level design principle of keeping the network simple and open to changing circumstances, so as to allow NGI-NZ to take advantage of emerging new technologies, or changes in the pricing of existing technologies. We foresee a continually evolving network with the emphasis on providing members with the opportunity to shape networking to best suit their particular needs.

The section on network architecture gives some detail of the initial implementation of the network.