The morning plenary...

...by Kenji Takeda from Microsoft, who ...

...tells us all that HPC can do a difference for science. We sort of knew that.

The audience have their screens lit.

The video operator has her screens.

The only guy without a screen is the sound engineer.

Christiph Graf from SWITCH announces the next speaker

Robin Wilton, who is the privacy and security guy from Internet Society

After the break, I am in the session where Erik-Jan Bos from NORDUnet talks

about the link(s) to China

In China, they have two NRENs. CERNET for the universities

and CSTNET for the other science and technology institutions.

During this conference, Jiri Navratil from CESNET is on stage in quite many sessions as the chairman.

Fabio Farina from GARR...

...talks about FEDERICA and NOVI and more stuff

Last but not least in this session, we have Michael Enrico from DANTE, with a talk called GÉANT Reloaded!

Here we have my colleague Thorkild. Still busy.

Lunch for some SURFnet people and one of the usual hangarounds: Klaas Wierenga from Cisco.

The 100G demo which is a joint effort. Rounour has it that this is the first ever 100G transatlantic connection realized not with SDH, but with ethernet.

On the network test equipment, you can re-assure yourself that the bandwidth is really 100G.

Lunchbreak in the sun

A short stroll in the lunchbreak: Here is the place where the EU treaty of Maastricht was signed...

...in this building

The river is populated by swans...

...and freight boats.

This building looks as a mixture between a Jules Verne rocket and a windmill without the hat and wings. I learned, however, that it is a part of the Bonnefanten Museum which is designed by an architect named Aldo Rossi.

Conference participants in sunny Maastricht

Back in the air-conditioned rooms again, we have Roberto Sabatino from DANTE hosting the session on network access innovation

...starring a well-known figure in the NREN world: Diego Lopes from Telefonica.

Lukasz Podleski from PSNC talking about the ADDONAS test bed project

Last, in this session, we had Dave Wilson with a splendid and well-rehearsed presentation about virtualization of network components and the Mantychore project.

Among other things, he reminded us that routers is not used for connection, but rather for interconnection of networks.

People at the conference: Valerie Focke from box.com and Shelton Waggener from Internet2

Debate over coffee: Michael Enrico from DANTE and Kurt Baumann from SWITCH.

NREN managers: Baiba Kaskina from SigmaNet in Latvia and Jon Ingo Einarsson from RHnet in Iceland.

Jerry Sobieski, the US Guy in NORDUnet who hates being compared to Chuck Norris, meets with Niels Herzog and Dorte Olesen from DANTE.

The evening galla takes place in a castle and to put us all in the mood for this, people in rococo clothes show up.

Bert van Pinxteren from TERENA. When we try to ask him with whom he has meetings about the venue for the 2015 TNC, he is always very discreet. Try it yourself!

In the next talk, which is about the human-robot demo...

...Migiel de Vos from SURFnet uses online input from the audience. A very good concept.

Piotr Ostapowicz from PSNC and his team has created their own low-cost HD video camera from scratch. Awesome!

Domenico Vicinanza from DANTE presents how data can be visualized, not as graphs...

...but visualized as sounds.

This seems quite controversial for the audience, who do not all seem to be convinced that this is worthwhile pursuing. We could have used a few more examples to be convinced.

The short video film appearing on the conference website is made by these guys...

..who have an impressive studio in the van.

The gala evening takes place at a castle.

No expense is spared in order to entertain the guests.

The person in TERENA responsible for the conference organization: Gyöngyi Horváth. Here, seen together with Nanda Bazuin from SURFnet.

As noone could miss by now, SURFnet has its 25 years anniversary.

The Norwegian corner: Ingrid Melve, Olav Isak Sjøflot, Petter Kongshaug, Kurosh Bozorgebramimi and Vidar Faltinsen. All from UNINETT.

People at the conference: Me, Anders Mundt Due from DeiC and Walter van Dijk, SURFnet.

And on the other side of me, we find my colleague Thorkild Jensen. Here, hs is in an intermission between two video conferences.

Gitte Kudsk and Thorkild Jensen from DeiC

More rococo people

Bo Sixten Ståhla and Henriette Monrad, DeiC.

Some of the technical guys from NORDUnet: Michael Breitenstein and Erik Kikkenborg

One of the few persons to whom we owe so much: Lonneke Walk from SURFnet. We thank you all for organizing this fabulous TNC for us.

Swedes at the conference: Leif Johansson and Valter Nordh from SUNet

Mary Fleming from AARnet and Melanie Pankhurst from DANTE.

I had an urge to release the balloons. But obviously, I resisted.

Wa all get on the bus back to Maastricht.

Where some get a goodnight beer in the hotel.

Once again: Congratulations to SURFnet.

Martin Bech, DeIC, martin.bech@deic.dk