NORDUnet 25 yearsNORDUnet 25 years

Hans Wallberg

SUNET

University of Umeå

Hans.Wallberg@umdac.umu.se

The Future of NORDUnetThe Future of NORDUnet

24 May 2005 - #2

Predicting the Future?Predicting the Future?

Study the history and extrapolate!Study the history and extrapolate!

24 May 2005 - #3

The Mission of The Mission of NORDUnetNORDUnet

Provide international network Provide international network connectivity to Research connectivity to Research networks and the General networks and the General InternetInternet

Network development activitiesNetwork development activities International representation of International representation of

the Nordic networksthe Nordic networks

24 May 2005 - #4

Network CapacityNetwork Capacity

56 kbit/s in 198856 kbit/s in 1988 10 Gbit/s today10 Gbit/s today 10 Tbit/s in 2015 ~10 Mbit/s per user10 Tbit/s in 2015 ~10 Mbit/s per user

0

1 000

2 000

3 000

4 000

5 000

6 000

7 000

8 000

9 000

10 000

1988 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

24 May 2005 - #5

The NORDUnet Plug of The NORDUnet Plug of 19891989

X.25

DECnet

TCP/IP

24 May 2005 - #6

The NORDUnet Plug of The NORDUnet Plug of TodayToday

IP – 10 Gbit/sIP – 10 Gbit/s NorternLightNorternLight

n x GE Provisioned as completely Provisioned as completely

separate connectionsseparate connections

24 May 2005 - #7

The NORDUnet Plug of The NORDUnet Plug of TomorrowTomorrow

IP ≥ 10 Gbit/sIP ≥ 10 Gbit/s NorthernLightNorthernLight

n x GE n x 10 GE 40 Gbit/s or 100 GE?

Distributed over one hybrid network Distributed over one hybrid network based on dark fibrebased on dark fibre

Will the national networks and Will the national networks and campus networks be prepared to campus networks be prepared to deliver lambdas to the individual deliver lambdas to the individual researcher?researcher?

24 May 2005 - #8

Technical IssuesTechnical Issues

Connection oriented or connectionlessConnection oriented or connectionless Issues the first NORDUnet conferenceIssues the first NORDUnet conference

X.25 and the Q-bit Cambridge Rings vs Ethernet

In the beginning we were connections In the beginning we were connections oriented and used X.25oriented and used X.25

From 1988 we became connectionless From 1988 we became connectionless with packet switching and IPwith packet switching and IP

ATM was an exception and a mistakeATM was an exception and a mistake

24 May 2005 - #9

Connectionless or Connection Connectionless or Connection OrientedOriented

TodayToday

Connectionless (packet switched) for general communications. Millions of flows per second.

Connection oriented (lambdas) for special needs. Point-to-point between researchers. Few flows with long duration.

24 May 2005 - #10

Connectionless or Connection Connectionless or Connection OrientedOriented

TomorrowTomorrow Still connectionless for the

general use Many more lambdas (connection

oriented) for special needs Much higher bandwidth per

lambda Will the connection oriented

paradigm scale? The number of point-to-point links increases The lifetime of the links decreases

24 May 2005 - #11

Technical DevelopmentsTechnical Developments

DWDM systemsDWDM systems Transparent Passive core

Automatic attenuation and dispersion compensation ROADMs Passive splitting instead of OADMs All active optical equipment at customer premises

Increased number of channels (lambdas)

50 GHz per channel (25 GHz per ch will come?) Both C-band and L-band in the same system

Higher bandwidth per channel Lightwave modulation: Duo Binary, ODB, DPSK, etc.

Optical Switches – Photonic SwitchingOptical Switches – Photonic Switching Bit-rate and protocol transparent

24 May 2005 - #12

The Reasons for Hybrid The Reasons for Hybrid NetworksNetworks

Routers are too expensiveRouters are too expensive Switches are cheapSwitches are cheap Optical Switches are even cheaperOptical Switches are even cheaper Eliminates the bandwidth limitations of Eliminates the bandwidth limitations of

the campus networksthe campus networks Eliminates limitations of campus Eliminates limitations of campus

firewalls firewalls The only way to achieve e2e The only way to achieve e2e

performanceperformance We shouldn’t use expensive routers for We shouldn’t use expensive routers for

bandwidth intensive long-lived flowsbandwidth intensive long-lived flows Routers cause latencyRouters cause latency

24 May 2005 - #13

Killer Applications?Killer Applications?

Unlimited bandwidth needs in 5 years:Unlimited bandwidth needs in 5 years: Astronomy - VLBI Physics Space Physics - Sensors Life Sciences - Imaging Remote Visualization Grid Computing

Will they really show up?Will they really show up? Will they be financed and able to pay their marginal Will they be financed and able to pay their marginal

part of the communication cost?part of the communication cost? When will we see Grid Clusters with 10GE When will we see Grid Clusters with 10GE

Interfaces?Interfaces? If these killer apps don’t show up the networking If these killer apps don’t show up the networking

community will loose credibilitycommunity will loose credibility

24 May 2005 - #14

ConclusionsConclusions

The future network of NORDUnet The future network of NORDUnet should:should:

Use dark fibre Use the latest generation of

DWDM equipment Future proofFuture proof Flexible and adaptable to any needsFlexible and adaptable to any needs Compatible with the national Compatible with the national

networksnetworks Router consolidation Router consolidation

24 May 2005 - #15

Network development Network development activitiesactivities

Participate in international network Participate in international network development activities (GLIF, GN2, etc.)development activities (GLIF, GN2, etc.)

Coordinate common Nordic network Coordinate common Nordic network development activities (Nordunet3, etc.)development activities (Nordunet3, etc.)

Participate in network testing and Participate in network testing and experiments for specific researchers (VLBI, experiments for specific researchers (VLBI, etc.)etc.)

Most of the network development activities Most of the network development activities will be based on a common Nordic hybrid will be based on a common Nordic hybrid networknetwork

Challenges:Challenges: Participation from the Nordic

national network Avoid interfering with the national

networks

24 May 2005 - #16

International representation International representation of the Nordic networksof the Nordic networks

One person instead of five One person instead of five attending international attending international meetingsmeetings

Saves money and resources

One Nordic voice One Nordic voice One common Nordic viewOne common Nordic view

Makes an impact

24 May 2005 - #17

Final ConclusionFinal Conclusion

In the future NORDUnet should:In the future NORDUnet should:

Provide international network connectivity for the Nordic NRENs

Perform network development activities

Represent the Nordic networks Internationally

24 May 2005 - #18

SeptemberGöteborg Sweden

NORDUnet 2006 Networking Conference

Göteborg UniversityChalmers University of Technology