Janet is responsible for the overall management of Janet. However, there are also other organisations that are engaged in running all or part of the network, or providing support. The following paragraphs describe how these bodies are related.

Janet

The Janet Service Desk

The Janet Service Desk is the first point of contact for queries about Janet. They can be contacted by e-mail, telephone, fax or post. All enquiries are handled in accordance with Janet's SLA and will be acknowledged within two hours of receipt during working hours.

Contact details for the Janet Service Desk

Janet operates Janet CSIRT, one of the services provided for Janet customers. The team provides emergency assistance when Janet sites are involved in security incidents, and publishes advice to raise awareness and improve the security of computers and networks. Core office hours are 08:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday. A reduced service is available from 18:00 to 00:00 Monday to Friday and 09:00 to 17:00 at weekends, via a message answering service and a call-out process. There is no cover on UK-wide public holidays.

Contact details for Janet CSIRT

Further information about the services provided by Janet CSIRT can be found in Section 7 and at https://community.ja.net/library/janet-services-documentation/about-csirt

Regional Networks

The majority of sites are connected to Janet through a Regional Network. These networks are contracted by Janet to provide certain telecommunication services in their region and access to the Janet backbone.

A PDF diagram showing the Regional Networks is provided here.

The Regional Networks are run by local partnerships of educational organisations that often work with local businesses and regional development agencies. They provide a very cost-effective means of providing network connections into colleges and universities and can support connections into local businesses, learning centres, schools and other organisations within their geographical area.

Contracts have been negotiated with the Regional Networks under which they are expected to perform in accordance with a standard Service Level Definition agreed with Janet.

JISC (the Joint Information Systems Committee)

Janet is publicly funded and has a responsibility to implement the policies established by JISC. This is a strategic advisory committee working on behalf of the funding bodies for Further and Higher Education in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It also works in partnership with the Research Councils and the Learning and Skills Council. Further information about JISC may be found at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/

JISC RSCs (Regional Support Centres)

The RSCs were set up and are managed by JISC. There are 13 JISC RSCs: nine in England, one in Wales, one in Northern Ireland and two in Scotland. All are run by HE/FE partnerships or consortia. Their initial role was to assist in the connection of FE colleges to Janet and to provide ongoing technical support and training on JISC services. From August 2003 their remit has included supporting FE organisations to realise their ambitions in deployment of ICT in order to achieve their organisational mission. They:

• support FE organisations in the development of e-learning in each region
• act as a two-way, prime communication link between JISC and FE organisations
• work in partnership with regional and national agencies to gain maximum value from support activity.

Further information about the services provided by the JISC RSCs may be found at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/services/as_rsc.aspx

Details of individual RSCs are available from http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/services/as_rsc/rsc_home/rscs_contact.aspx