national research and education network (HPCC) (NREN)

In 1991, the North American Internet backbone was renamed the NREN backbone by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The National Research and Education Network (NREN) was expanded into an Internet Service Provider( ISP) with a modern high-speed network for research and education in the USA.

To support individual research projects, the NREN network provides dedicated channels. NREN is also where new Internet protocols are tested before they are deployed on the Internet. Examples include the IPv6 protocol and IP multicast.

Many countries around the world have their own National Research and Education Networks.