About Internet2 ION Internet2 ION (Interoperable On-demand Network) is a network service that provides researchers and network engineers the ability to automatically provision dedicated circuits across network domains to support large data transfers and other bandwidth-intense applications that are today critical to global scientific collaboration. Using a simple and secure web interface, users can reserve in advance, or provision in real-time a point-to-point circuit with customized capacity to meet researchers’ application requirements. Users can also easily modify or cancel their circuit requests as needed. Built on widely deployed protocols, ION can instantly create circuits across the Internet2 Network and into partner regional, national and international networks to connect researchers with their colleagues worldwide.

Internet2 ION brings to fruition the vision of dynamic circuit networking that has been developed through a community-wide network research initiative led by ESnet, Internet2 and GEANT. ION leverages ESnet’s OSCARS technology developed through funding by the DOE Office of Science and DRAGON technology developed through NSF funding by MAX, USC ISI East, and George Mason University. Together, OSCARS and DRAGON enable ION to signal the underlying Internet2 Network infrastructure.