Network Services

ORION provides a broad range of services, including network redundancy, reliability and expert, in-house technical consultation. We can also support special connectivity services for collaborative research or education and support experimental initiatives.

Research and Education High Speed Connection
ORION's standard, default service consists of a point-to-multipoint data packet IP routing connection from any one of our PoPs in Ontario. The demarcation point is the PoP where the user's circuit is terminated. The service can deliver ORION and CANARIE routing tables via BGP to the user network edge router.

VLAN Service
The ORION VLAN (virtual LAN Ethernet data transport) Service provides point-to-point connectivity or access to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) of the user's choice, through a point-to-point virtual circuit through the Layer-3 data devices that bypass the routing layer. The service is available between any two ORION PoPs throughout the network. The service uses Ethernet transport at speeds of 10 or 100 Mps (megabits per second) full duplex, as required. Download our VLAN Service Information Sheet.

Layer 2 Transport for Special Projects
ORION can also provide specialized point-to-point high bandwidth connectivity for advanced research or special projects through Gigabit Ethernet circuits of up to 10 Gbps, deploying a private high-capacity network between users, such as distributed and grid computing. ORION offers point-to-point Gigabit Ethernet circuits directly through the optical channel and bypassing Layer 3 data devices.

Multicast and Supplemental Services
Multicast is enabled throughout the ORION network. Multicast allows the broadcast of data from one location to multiple sites, while conserving bandwidth. This enables ORION-connected institutions to use multicast for video conferencing and distance learning.

IPv6
IPv6 is available as a separate service to all connected institutions. The service allows users to be part of the growing global IPv6 network and perform research in new IPv6 technologies and run IPv6 capable applications and services. The service is provisioned as a dedicated VLAN between the institution and the nearest ORION native IPV6 distribution router.

Download the ORION Network Services information sheet.

Download the ORION Acceptable Use Policy.