Building Research and Education Networks Through Collaboration

Rick Summerhill

Chief Technology Consultant, Internet2

ICTRF 2010

Khalifa University9 May, 2010

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Overview• Why Research and Education

Networks?

• Collaboration From the Beginning

• Technology and the Network

• More than Just the Network

• Conclusions and the Importance of Collaboration

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Why R&E Networks?• Large data flows and other special

requirements on such flows• The ability to examine and develop new

network capabilities• Providing platforms to support network

research• Provide a vehicle for collaborative

development of network applications

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Why R&E Networks? Large Flows• Historically, research traffic has challenged

the capabilities of commodity networks– Flows can be very large– They can also require significant traffic shaping

• Flows in the commercial internet tend to be fairly small – they typically lag behind the research community

• Research Projects like the LHC, LIGO, and DUSEL require significant data transfers across multiple R&E networks

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LHC• The Large Hadron Collider• Huge data flows processed and sent to Tier 1 sites around the

world, and then on to Universities (Tier 2 and 3 sites) and and other Labs, typically connected through R&E networks.

• A participating university might require data flows of 10 Gbps for hours on end.

The collider and CMS

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eVLBI• Very Large

Baseline Interferometry– Combine radio

telescope images over wide baselines.

– Perfect example of a project that can utilize dedicated network capabilities

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DUSEL• Deep Underground

Science and Engineering Laboratory– Supports the

underground needs of major scientific fields.

– Getting the data to researchers all over the world depends on interconnecting R&E networks

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Large Data Projects• Just three of many such projects currently underway• Note that the success of all of these projects,

depends strongly on collaboration• And all depend on interconnected networks that

depend on collaboration between networks and within R&E network communities

• For Further Information– http://lhc.web.cern.ch/lhc/ and http://www.uslhc.us/– http://www.ligo.caltech.edu/– http://www.dusel.org/

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Why R&E Networks? New Ideas!• Development of new network protocols and

properties– Hybrid networks – integrating circuit and

packet switched technologies– Performance and monitoring systems such

as perfSONAR – a world-wide development project

– Providing data network performance for the network research community

– Middleware

Example: Hybrid (Virtualized) Networks using OpenFlow

•Research Projects Coexisting with Production Services•Collaboration between Stanford Research group and Internet2

Middleware - National Identity Management Federations

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BrazilChinaMalaysiaPortugalTaiwan

Germany (DFN-AAI)Greece (HEAL-Link)Hungary (NIIF)Italy (IDEM)Japan ( 学認 / Gakunin)New Zealand (AAF)Norway (FEIDE)

Oman (Oman-KID)Spain (CBIC, SAUWoK, SIR)Sweden (Federation SwamID)Switzerland (SWITCHaai)The Netherlands (SURFnet)United Kingdom (UK Access Fed.)United States (InCommon)

Australia (AAF)Canada (CAF)Croatia (AAI@EduHr)Czech Republic (eduID.cz)Denmark (WAYF)Finland (HAKA)France (CRU)

Example: Federated Identity and Authorization for perfSONAR

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Why R&E Networks?• Providing platforms for research on

networking and collaborating with network researchers on protocols new developments– Providing infrastructure for projects like the GENI

(Global Environment for Network Innovations)

• Perhaps most importantly knowledge transfer between participants and keeping abreast of the changing requirements of the research and education community

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Collaboration From The Beginning• Before the Internet became an essential resource in our

lives, networking was primarily dependent on proprietary protocols– BITNET was an example

• From the early days of the Internet, however, open protocols became the norm, and building such networks depended on collaboration within the R&E community– In the US, the IP network was dependent on research groups

and universities (and later corporations) forming regional networks and connecting those networks to a backbone, which was then interconnected to other networks

• Indeed, the “Internet” means the interconnection of networks!

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Collaboration From The Beginning• The NSF in the US was essential in this development• The same basic hierarchies continue today, although

in a much more complicated network universe• Moreover, the fact that there is no central authority

over the Internet means that networks must work together to provide services – that is especially true in the R&E world.

• This begs the need for even greater collaboration between researchers, educators, and networks at all levels – campus, state, regional, national, and international

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Technology and Building Networks• In the early days of networking, R&E networks typically leased

circuits from telcos and controlled just the routers at the IP layer• This was true, for example, for Internet2 and its first network,

called “Abilene”– The Partners in that project were the universities, regional networks

then called gigapops, and the formation of Internet2 as an organization

– It also included three very important commercial partners: Cisco, Nortel, and Qwest! It became clear that collaborations between the R&E network community had to extend to the commercial sector.

• In today’s world, however, it is typical for R&E networks to control all layers in the protocol stack– That means from the fiber up to higher level protocols!

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Building Networks

• Major Questions:– Who are the participants in the network?– Where are the connectors to the network?– What physical medium is available to connect those sites?– Who will manage the network?

• Layer 0– What fiber is available, and how is it available – long term

IRUs, for example?– Do you have to build your own fiber, and what partners

might you do that with?– What are the properties of the fiber – types, hut spacing, etc.

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Building Networks, continued• Layer 1

– Is support for multiple waves needed on the network?

– What is the availability of wave equipment for the fiber footprint? Hut spacing, for example

– What are the regeneration requirements? How often does drop add have to be done, for example? What about OEO versus long optical paths?

– Do your connectors need dedicated circuits for special requirements?

– What are the bandwidth requirements? 100Gbps?

– Do sub-wave circuits need to be supported?

• Layer 2– Is a separate layer 2 switching component needed or can it be

incorporated at layer 3?

– Do connectors expect dedicated vLANs, for example?

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Building Networks, continued• Layer 3

– Are there special routing requirements?

– Do lower layers need to be supported at the IP layer? For example, MPLS?

• Management and Operations– Who will manage the network?

– How will connectors interface with management operations?

• The KISS principle is important to remember in all these considerations!

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Building Networks, continued• Interestingly enough, the R&E community in the

United States went through this process within the last two months as part of a proposal for an expanded network.

• The process involved a collaboration between many different entities and partners– Universities

– Regional Networks

– Other Collaborations formed from Regional Networks

– Internet2 and NLR

– Commercial providers like Cisco, Ciena/Nortel, Juniper, Infinera, Level3, etc.

• The process was a huge effort that could not have been done without collaboration!

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Much More than Just a Network!• It’s what users, and in particular, researchers can do

on the network!• The organization provides the vehicle, and indeed the

encouragement, to develop new applications and uses of the network.

• Consider the recent IDEA awards at the Internet2 Spring Member Meeting.– Echo Damp - a software multi-channel audio mixer and echo

controller designed primarily for a high performance network– REDDnet – a large distributed storage facility for data-

intensive collaboration among the researchers– Worldview – a hands-on network visualization system– Shibboleth – federated single sign-on software

Initiatives and special communities

• Bring together thought leaders from member organizations and broader research and education community

• Work together to advance frontiers of network-enabled applications in various communities of interest

• Arts and Humanities, Health Sciences, Health Network, Science and Engineering, K20, Network Research

Enabling Tomorrows DiscoveriesEnabling Tomorrows Discoveries

Network technology advancement is the means, not the end

• R&E thought leaders hail from a wide range of disciplines

• Next-generation cyberinfrastructure impacts the lives of people today—wherever they are, whatever their interests

• We focused earlier on science, but …

EducationEducationApplicationsApplicationsEconomyEconomyQuality of LifeQuality of LifePossibilitiesPossibilitiesAchievementsAchievementsProgressProgressKnowledgeKnowledge

Health Sciences, Health Network Initiatives• Facilitates creation and

enhancement of advanced health applications, identifies guidelines and solutions

• Extends connectivity to new and underserved areas

• Extends education and training: live surgery events

• Extends research: provides access to large datasets

Arts & Humanities Initiative• Opens a new, global stage

to a worldwide audience via high-definition broadcasts

• Opens master classes and auditions to remote musicians

• Enables live multi-site performances

• Unlocks important content collections to worldwide audiences

• Holds performance production workshops

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K20 Initiative• Connects over 65,000

community anchor institutions

• CAHSEE: Stepping Into Your Future

• Riverbluff: Broadcasts from an Ice Age cave

• NASA scientists take educators on “earth missions”

• Muse site connects K20 members and enthusiasts

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Conclusions• Research and education networks provide a vehicle

to support essential collaborations:– For the research community– To develop new networking concepts and ideas– For the development of new applications– For education on a world-wide basis– To encourage collaborations in many different disciplines

• Research and education networks require collaboration on many different levels – between educational institutions; other regional, national, and international networks; and with both corporate and governmental entities to provide advanced services to the R&E community!

Thank You!