Super-fast computer network China tests CENI, its new data highway

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China has completed a super-fast computer network connecting 13 of its provinces. "CENI" connects fiber optic cables over 13,000 kilometers (approx. 8078 miles) with a deterministic network architecture. This enables high volumes of data to be transmitted in record time.

The state news agency Xinhua likens the CENI fiber optic highway to an "express train network for computers." Currently used by research institutes in nine cities, the next phase involves connecting 100 universities and selected companies. Plans also include expanding the network with additional cables.

"The high-tech network will accelerate the development of artificial intelligence and completely change how data services work across the country," writes the specialist portal Intelligent Engineering.

CENI stands for "China Environment for Network Innovations" and was developed by a number of institutes under the direction of the Zijin Mountain Laboratory in Nanjing. There, in the capital of Jiangsu Province to the west of Shanghai, the completion of the new computer network was also announced at a scientific conference a few days ago.

Comprehensive networking

One of the Chinese government's strategic goals is to link large data centers in the west of the country—for example in Inner Mongolia and Gansu—where a lot of wind and solar energy is available, with industrial centers in the east and south of the country.

With the help of CENI, computing power, which consumes a lot of electricity, is to be brought from the desert regions of the country to where it is needed for the automation of the manufacturing industry, autonomous driving and other data-hungry applications of the AI age without major frictional losses. For example, in the Yangtze River delta near Shanghai or in the Greater Bay Area around Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

A west-east data project called "Dong Shu Xi Suan", which was launched in 2022, is thus taking shape for the first time. Beijing's aim is to provide "affordable and universally available computing power for the digital transformation", the China Daily quotes a Chinese expert on computer networks.

The very name "China Environment for Network Innovations" or CENI is strongly reminiscent of GENI or "Global Environment for Network Innovations", which was launched in the USA. Europe, Japan and South Korea are also experimenting with similar computer networks.

A nose ahead in the People's Republic

However, as is so often the case with new technologies, China is now once again leading the way in terms of implementation. At the same time, CENI is using its own newly developed technologies in China. In principle, Beijing has recognized that economically and sustainably generated computing power, which is then made available nationwide, is crucial for further economic development, but also for national defence.

After initial tests, the scientists involved were able to announce successes. "CENI works completely without packet loss, with delay fluctuations of less than 20 microseconds even under full network load, across 13 provinces and 13,000 kilometers, and can provide 10,000 deterministic services," Liu Yunjie, the chief scientist at the Zijin Mountain Laboratory, told the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

For the demonstration, commands were sent to an autonomously navigating vehicle in a factory 500 kilometers away. This resulted in delays of less than 20 microseconds with a high degree of positioning accuracy. The developers at CENI are also proud of the relatively low cost of the new technology. According to the chief scientist at the SCMP, data transmission will be up to 60 percent cheaper than with previously known solutions. The industrial internet, training of AI models and other applications will thus become affordable for many more users in China than before, according to Liu. (sb)

*Henrik Bork, General Manager AsiaWaypoint, Beijing, China