Network Status



FLR News Updates
A compilation of Important Information and links related to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak
As Florida's universities and colleges transitioned to on-line learning in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, we at Florida LambdaRail renewed our commitment to providing the same excellent service our members and affiliates have come to expect from us. We understand doing our job, and doing it well, is essential to ensuring college and university operations continue with no disruptions.
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding how FLR may help your institution during the on-going Covid-19 response, do not hesitate to reach out to us. As always, we make it our mission to ensure your needs are met.
The FLR team

Covid-19 Information from FLR’s Partner Institutions
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Deployed over 1,540 miles of dark fiber, the FLR network infrastructure provides for a dedicated statewide communications facility linking major nodes located in Pensacola, Crestview, Tallahassee, Tampa, Winter Haven, Miami, Orlando, Gainesville, Melbourne, Ft. Lauderdale and Jacksonville.
The foundation of the infrastructure is a dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM)-based optical footprint using Cisco Systems’ NCS 2000 optical electronic systems with a capacity of 40 wavelengths per fiber pair. Each wavelength can support transmission up to 100 billion bits per second (100 Gbps).
On top of the optical infrastructure is built an Ethernet based MPLS transport facility which provides for Internet, Internet2 and high speed IPv4 and IPv6 transit between participants. Additionally, private layer 2 or layer 3 services (VPN) may be provisioned.
Each Equity Partner is provided a primary 10 Gbps and a secondary 1 Gbps connection to the MPLS backbone. Through advanced technologies, multiple waves are available along the optical backbone in support of primary and secondary access for each partner institution, as well as dedicated waves for research activities across institutional boundaries.
The network operations center is hosted at the University of Florida. For more information, see the FLR NOC website.
Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation
Utilizing dedicated and shared 100 Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet or 1 Gigabit Ethernet high-performance data circuits, FLR participants are provided with additional capacity “on demand” to accommodate bursts in data-traffic, videoconference, or other special requirements.
ISP Connectivity
Connectivity to Commercial Internet Service Providers is available in order to provide economical and reliable Internet service to FLR participants.
National and International Research Connectivity
Connectivity to advanced production regional and national networks, such as Internet2, the GLIF, and Energy Sciences Network supports new applications and services.
High Speed IP transit
High Speed IP transit paths between participants, supporting both IPv4 and IPv6 protocols. FLR is designed to allow growth in terms of the number of hosts connected as well as the amount of data transmitted.
Peering
Arrangements with other networks and traffic exchange points allow FLR to route and exchange network traffic, resulting in fewer hops and faster access to user destinations.
Dedicated Wavelengths
For research applications needing a dedicated wavelength service, FLR offers participants point to point 1.0, 2.5, 10 or 100 gigabits per second optical lambdas as a complement to the FLR optical-based backbone services.
A research team from Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine has developed a simplified COVID-19 testing protocol that offers a distinct advantage over the standard viral or universal transport medium (VTM).
Nirmalkumar Patel, a University of North Florida physics associate lecturer, received a U.S. Patent for his sensor invention that detects toxic vapors and odors in hazardous gases, industrial toxic gases and other chemical agents.
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Dr. James Churilla, UNF professor and Exercise Science and Chronic Disease Graduate Program director, recently completed a study examining sedentary time (e.g., sitting) and heart failure.
The Gulf Coast Digital History Project was made possible through a grant from the National Parks Service. The project has digitized thousands of documents and images for students, teachers, or just plain history buffs to study and enjoy.
Florida Polytechnic University has been named one of the five best universities in the Southern states for tech students by Deep South Magazine.
Farming on Mars will be a lot harder than ‘The Martian’ made it seem. Growing plants in Red Planet soil will require adding nutrients and removing toxic chemicals.
Slated to open July 2021, construction has begun in the 54,000-sq-ft Alan B. Levan | NSU Broward Center of Innovation that will help to provide the infrastructure to accelerate job growth, particularly in high-tech industries and other careers that require high levels of training and skill.
Piyush Jain, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, has been improving existing methods for testing COVID-19 samples from nasal swab.
Throughout the State University System, teams of professors and researchers are working on COVID-19 projects underwritten by the universities and in collaboration with private partners and government.
USF researchers have been awarded a $900,000, four-year grant from the National Science Foundation to use artificial intelligence to fight mosquito-borne diseases
Collaboration with Brazilian researchers will focus on sharing datasets in real time for improved weather and climate change predictions