The MIT Regional Optical Network

1. The MIT Regional Optical Network Mark Silis Senior Manager Network & Infrastructure Services

2. Agenda • Background • Fiber Acquisition • Optical Vendor Selection • Network Design and Build Out • Ongoing Optical Network Operations and Management • Questions

3. Global High Speed Research Networks (2005)

4. US R&E Fiber Networks

5. Background • Boston/New England is not a key Internet exchange point. High speed research networks primarily focused in New York City (MANLan) for the east coast. • MIT Boston Metro Fiber Network • Bandwidth and connectivity becoming critical components of research and collaborations • LHCnet/CMS Tier 2 • Darwin/NLR • ESnet • Internet2 and NLR ongoing soap opera • High speed connectivity for MIT’s disaster recovery location • Depressed dark fiber market after surplus of early 2000

6. MIT’s Boston Metro Fiber Network

7. Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Output: 16 Petabyte per year (4Gb/s 24 x 7)

8. FiberCo and Vermont Telephone • FiberCo - An organization within Internet2 focused at offering dark fiber and services from Level3 Communications at aggregated competitive rates to the Internet2 community. • Vermont Telephone - A telecommunications company providing voice and data services to the state of Vermont. Owned and operated by a generous MIT alumnus who wanted to assist MIT.

9. Level3 US Intercity & Regional Fiber

10. Dark Fiber Acquisition • MIT completed the acquisition of a 20 year dark fiber IRU connecting Boston, New York City and Baltimore from Level3 through FiberCo. • MIT had a limited time opportunity and was able to obtain the dark fiber from Level3 at 2003 prices in 2006. Needed to complete negotiations over an approximately one month period. • MIT also completed the acquisition of a 20 year IRU for a diverse fiber pathway from Boston to New York City through Vermont Telephone. • Level3 dark fiber is corning LEAF fiber and Vermont Telephone dark fiber is SMF-28 • MIT also acquired colocation services along the route to provide amplification and add/drop capability along the route.

11. MIT Optical Network Physical Map

12. MIT Optical Network Road Map

13. Optical Vendor Selection • Once MIT completed the acquisition of the dark fiber from Level3 and Vermont Telephone it began the process of selecting an optical vendor to “light” the dark fiber. • MIT elected to light the dark fiber using DWDM technology in order to provide maximum utilization of the dark fiber. • MIT evaluated several vendors including: Cisco, Nortel, MRV, and Ciena. • MIT selected Nortel to provide the DWDM equipment and professional services to light the network.

14. Nortel Optical Network Technology • MIT Optical Network built using Nortel’s Common Photon Layer (CPL) and Optical Multi-service Edge (OME) 6500. • Technology provides for 72 wavelengths of 10Gb/s and 40Gb/s utilizing the MIT’s dark fiber. • OME 6500s allow MIT to build light paths spanning greater distances without regeneration and dispersion compensation thanks to Nortel’s NGM technology using tunable lasers and electronic dynamically compensating optics (eDCO). • Nortel’s enhanced reconfigurable add/drop multiplexer (eROADM) allows for the flexible routing of any wavelength on light paths throughout the network. • Optical Service Channel (OSC) simplifies remote network management.

15. Nortel’s eDCO technology - How it works

16. Network Design and Build Out • Nortel professional services were engaged and acquired as part of our optical vendor selection to help design and build the network for MIT. • Network installation and configuration as you know it today, is significantly different and more challenging when the sites are separated by great distances and in difficult locations. • Precision in planning and implementation is critical as you may not be able to simply go to the site and clarify or explain what you are requesting. • Managing the relationship with the carrier and interacting with their field services requires significant time and focus, this cannot be stressed enough. • Network construction began in January of 2007 and took a year to complete. Significant time was spent addressing inter-carrier fiber issues between Level3 and Vermont Telephone.

17. MIT Optical Network Logical Map

18. Fiber Amplifier Sites

19. Nortel fiber path diagram for 111 8th Ave Site

20. Nortel Rack Diagram for Boston Site

21. 32 Avenue of the Americas (6th Ave)

22. Manhattan Landing (MANLan)

23. Manhattan Landing (MANLan)

24. Ongoing Optical Network Operations and Management • Optical network technology utilizes several different types of management interfaces such as TL1, which if you have not managed optical networks before, your staff may not have experience using. • Documentation, documentation, documentation is extremely critical when you are managing a network that you cannot simply walk to the computer room to answer your question. • Support contracts and services that provide for on-site technicians to perform the repairs or maintenance work are critical. • Network monitoring and management of SNMP traps and alarms is a critical requirement for optical networks. ICMP monitoring is simply not sufficient. • Ensure you have sufficient out-of-band (OOB) network access to your remote locations. • Ensure you have a good GPS and a map if you need to visit some of your remote amplifier locations.

25. Questions