Summary of Topics

1. National Networking UpdateBasil IrwinSenior Network EngineerNational Center for Atmospheric ResearchSCD Network Engineering and Technology Section (NETS) January 27, 1999

2. Summary of Topics • Review status of Next Generation Internet (NGI) Initiative • Review status of NSF’s vBNS Network • Review status of UCAID’s Abilene Network (Internet2) • Review the Gigapop concept • Review Front Range GigaPop (FRGP) status

3. NGI Initiative Review

4. What Is the NGI Initiative? • The NGI Initiative is a plan to implement the President's Oct 10, 1996 statement in Knoxville, TN of his "commitment to a new $100 million initiative, for the first year, to improve and expand the Internet . . .” • The Next Generation Internet (NGI) IS NOT a network • It’s a Presidential funding initiative • The next step in Federal funding for seeding the evolving US networking infrastructure • Goal was to provide $100 million annual initiative of money for 3 years • Plan is at: www.ccic.gov/ngi/concept-Jul97

6. How Will The NGI Initiative Work • Federal research agencies with existing mission-oriented networks to take the lead • Built on Federal/private partnerships: • Between advanced technology researchers and advanced application researchers • Between federally-funded network testbeds and commercial network service and equipment providers • Requires substantial private-sector matching funds. • Two to one ratio of private to Federal funds

8. FY1998 Funding • $85 million: • $42 DARPA • $23 NSF • $10 NASA • $5 NIST • $5 National Library of Medicine/National Institute of Health • DOE to be added in FY1999 • $109 million proposed for FY1999

9. Three NGI Initiative Goals • Main NGI goal is to advance three networking areas: • Goal 1: Advanced network technologies (e.g., protocols to transfer data that is being browsed) • Goal 2: Advanced network infrastructure (e.g., wires and boxes that transmit the browsed data) • Goal 3: Revolutionary applications (e.g., Web browsers)

10. Goal 1: Advanced Network Technologies • Advanced technologies: • Quality of service (QOS) • Security and robustness • Net management, including bandwidth allocation and sharing • System engineering tools, metrics, statistics, and analysis • New or modified protocols: routing, switching, multicast, security, etc. • Collaborative and distributed application environment support • Operating system improvements to support advanced services • Achieved by funding university, Federal, and industry R&D to develop and deploy advanced services • Done in open environment, utilizing IETF, ATM Forum, etc.

11. Goal 2: Network Infrastructure • Subgoal 1: Develop demo net fabric that delivers 100 Mbps end-to-end to 100+ interconnected sites • Accomplished by collaboration of Federal research institutions, telecommunications providers, and Internet providers • Interconnect and expand vBNS (NFS), ESnet (DOE), NREN (NASA), DREN (DOD), and others (such as the Internet2/Abiliene) • Funds universities, industry R&D, and Federal research institutions • Subgoal 1 fabric generally expected to be highly reliable

12. Goal 2: Network Infrastructure • Subgoal 2: Develop demo net fabric that delivers 1000 Mbps end-to-end to about 10 interconnected sites • May be separate fabric with links to the Subgoal 1 fabric, and/or may include upgraded parts of the Subgoal 1 fabric • Would involve very early technology implementations and wouldn't likely be as reliable as Subgoal 1 fabric • Federal agencies would take the lead • Commercialize advances ASAP • Utilize IETF, ATM Forum et. al. to foster freely available commercial standards

13. Goal 3: Revolutionary Applications • (Note: Real revolutionary applications are never found in a government-generated list) • Some possible "revolutionary" applications: • Health care: telemedicine • Education: distance ed; digital libraries • Scientific research: energy, earth systems, climate, biomed research • National Security: high-performance global data comm • Environment: monitoring, prediction, warning, response • Government: better delivery of services • Emergencies: disaster response, crisis management • Design and Manufacture: manufacturing engineering • "NGI will not provide funding support for applications per se"; will fund addition of networking to existing apps.

14. NGI Initiative Expectations • Fund 100+ high-performance connections to research universities and Federal research institutions • 100+ science applications will use the new connections • 10+ improved Federal information services • 30+ government-industry-academia R&D partnerships • NGI program funding leveraged by two-to-one by these partnerships

15. NGI Initiative Proposed Mangement • NGI Implementation Team • Under LSN Working Group • One member from each directly funded agency • (Not clear to me what say-so this Team has over expenditures)

16. JET: Joint Engineering Team

17. JET • Affinity group of: • NSF (vBNS) • NASA (NREN/NISN) • DARPA (DREN) • DOE (ESnet) • UCAID/Internet2 (Abilene) • Group that is engineering the NGIXes

18. NGIXes: Next Generation Internet Exchanges

19. NGIXes • NAPs for Federal lab neworks to interconnect • Layer 2 • ATM-based • Minimum connection-speed is OC-3 • Replace FIXes (really FIX-W, FIX-E already gone) • Three of ‘em • West coast: NASA-Ames • East coast: NASA-Goddard • Mid contintent: Chicago (at MREN/STARTAP)

21. Final Thoughts • The NGI isn't a network: it's the improved network infrastructure that presumably results from the NGI Initiative • The NSF’s vBNS does benefit from NGI funding. • The Internet2/Abilene is an activity independent from the NGI Initiative, and does not really benefit from NGI funding

22. vBNS Review

23. vBNS: History • vBNS goals • jumpstart use of high-performance networking for advanced research while advancing research itself with high-performance networking • supplement Commodity Internet which has been inadequate for universities since NSFnet was decommissioned • vBNS started about 3 years ago with the NSF supercomputing centers • vBNS started adding universities about 2 years ago • Currently 77 institutions connected to vBNS • 21 more in progress • 131 institutions approved for connection to vBNS • NSF funding for vBNS ends March 2000

24. vBNS: The Network • Operated by MCI • ATM based network using mainly IP • OC-12 (622-Mbps) backbone • OC-3 (155-Mbps) & DS-3 (45-Mbps) to institutions • 77 institutions currently connected • 21 more in progress

30. STAR TAP

31. STAR TAP • Science, Technology And Research Transit Access Point • NSF-designated NAP for attachment of international networks to the vBNS • Colocated with MREN, NSF/Ameritech NAP, and mid continent NGIX • Is really just a single large ATM switch

33. vBNS and NCAR • NCAR was an original vBNS node • 40 of 63 UCAR member-universities are approved for vBNS (at last check on 8/1998) • Major benefit for UCAR and its members • greatly superior to the Commodity Internet • example: more UNIDATA data possible • example: terabyte data transfers possible

34. Abilene Review

35. Abilene: History • First called the Internet2 Project • Then non-profit UCAID (University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development) was founded • UCAID is patterned after the UCAR model • UCAID currently has 130 members (mostly universities) • Abilene is the name of UCAID’s first network • Note: Internet2 used to refer to: • the Internet organization, which is now called UCAID • the actual network, which is now named Abilene • the concept for a future network, soon to be reality in the form of Abilene

36. Abilene: Goals • Goals: jumpstart use of high-performance networking for advanced research while advancing research itself with high-performance networking (same as vBNS) • But to be operated and managed by the members themselves, like the UCAR model • Provide an alternative when NSF support of the vBNS terminates on March 2000

37. Abilene: The Basic Network • Uses Qwest OC48 (2.4Gbps) fiber optic backbone • grow to OC192 (9.6Gbps) fiber optic backbone • Qwest to donate .5 billion worth of fiber leases over 5 years • Hardware provided by Cisco Systems and Nortel (Northern Telecom) • Internet Protocol (IP) over SONET • no ATM layer • Uses 10 core router nodes at Qwest POPs • Denver is one of these

41. Abilene: Status • Abilene soon to be designated by NSF as an NSF-approved High-Performance Network (HPN) • puts Abilene on an equal basis with vBNS • Abilene reached peering agreement with vBNS so NSF HPC (High Performance Connection) schools have equal access to each other regardless of vBNS or Abilene connection • UCAID expects Abilene to come online 2/1999 • UCAID expects 50 universities online on 2/1999 • UCAID expects 13 gigapops online on 2/1999 • Abilene beta network now includes a half-dozen universities • plus exchanging routes with vBNS

44. Abilene and NCAR • 48 of 63 UCAR member-universities are UCAID members (at last check on 8/1998) • NSF funding of vBNS terminates March 2000 • Same benefit for UCAR and its members as vBNS • greatly superior to the Commodity Internet • example: more UNIDATA data possible • example: terabyte data transfers possible

45. The GigaPop Concept

47. GigaPops: What Good Are They? • Share costs through sharing infrastructure • Aggregate to a central location and share high-speed access from there • Share Commodity Internet expenses • Essentially statistical multiplexing of expensive high-speed resources • at any given time much more bandwidth is available to each institution than each could afford without sharing • Share engineering and management expertise • More clout with vendors

48. Front Range GigaPop (FRGP)

49. FRGP: Current NCAR GigaPop Services • vBNS access • Shared Commodity Internet access • Intra-Gigapop access • Web cache hosting • 24 x 365 NOC (Network Operation Center) • Engineering and management