StarLight℠; the optical STAR TAP™, is an advanced optical infrastructure and proving ground for network services optimized for high-performance applications.

Operational since summer 2001, StarLight℠ is a 1GigE and 10GigE switch / router facility for high-performance access to participating networks and will ultimately become a true optical switching facility for wavelengths.

StarLight℠ is being developed by EVL / UIC, the International Center for Advanced Internet Research (iCAIR) at Northwestern University, and the Mathematics and Computer Science Division (MCS) at Argonne National Laboratory, in partnership with Canada’s CANARIE and the Netherlands’ SURFnet.