In January 2024, five of the world’s leading research and education (R&E) networking organizations joined forces to form MetrANOVA, a neutral, trusted, and open consortium designed to advance network observation, visualization, and analysis. Together, founding members Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), GÉANT, GlobalNOC at Indiana University, Internet2, and Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) operate and connect a dizzying number of national, regional, and local R&E networks — yet represent only a portion of the decentralized fabric linkingscientific researchers in hundreds of countries worldwide.

The R&E networking community can thus be considered a network of networks, the design and operation of which have historically been loosely coupled yet coordinated and present some challenges to overcome. MetrANOVA has focused on three types of deliverables:

  • Developing and sharing open architectures, technical components, design patterns, best practices, and policy recommendations to create effective network measurement systems.
  • Educating the R&E community to enable effective use of network measurements for operations, engineering, planning, and outreach.
  • Providing growth opportunities for students and staff.

The consortium consists of both Member Organizations and Affiliates (individuals or organizations) that are actively participating in the project. The set of individual participants who are contributing to the project are considered Contributors.