the National Network of Texas

1. Lone Star Light the National Network of Texas Moderator: Willis Marti Texas A&M University

2. Panelists • Jim Williams Executive Director, LEARN • CR Chevli University of North Texas • Charles Chambers University of Houston • Ashley Caron GAATN

3. Agenda • Connecting Texas • Creating the Core Network • Metro Access Issues • Combined Q&A

4. Connecting Texas Texas higher education has made several starts at organizing a state-wide network since the late ’80s. Distances, funding and technologies have stopped those efforts. Until now…

5. On the convergence of great ideas, enormous blunders and able people. In that order. Jim Williams LEARN: Lonestar Education and Research Network jwilliams@tx-learn.net

6. The Beginning

7. This is a big place

8. “The plains of West Texas are littered with bones of those who tried to network it.”

9. We already have lots of networks

10. Recent Texas Network History • 1998 Texas GigaPOP established in Houston • 2000 N. Texas GigaPOP est in Dallas • Successor to Alliance for Higher Education Abilene connection • 2001 Texas universities invited to join SURA • Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) • 2002 • Texas Tech & UT join Board of Texas GigaPop • Talking Grid to the Governor’s office • Texas universities invited to join National Lambda Rail (NLR) • 20 university CIOs hear Tom West in Austin describe NLR and CENIC • 2003 TIF scoping study: need backbone

11. Recent Texas Network History (continued) • Jan 2003 - Gov Perry freezes TIF funds • July 2003 - Lege approves $7.5M for backbone • Sep 2003 • Texas GigaPOP opens board • UT Austin is awarded NSF ETF grant • Oct 2003 - Universities agree to commit $20K/yr for Exec. Director and HQ ops • Dec 2003 • UT Austin ‘guarantees’ NLR $5M • SURA/AT&T fiber donation

12. A brief history of LEARN • 2003 • December, Texas Gigapop expanded into LEARN • 2004 • Jan-May Bid requests for fiber and optronics • July I couldn’t stand it anymore • Sept 28th We got $7.5M

13. Why LEARN? • Next generation network for Texas R&E • Access to NLR • Internet2 aggregation • Commodity Internet aggregation • An unprecedented collaborative effort

14. The organization • A 501(c)(3) non-profit university membership association, established via bylaws changes from the Texas GigaPOP • Currently 31 members contribute $20,000/yr to support the organization • LEARN is a member of NLR with financial commitment from 23 of the members • And …

15. $7,500,000 HB 1, Article I, Rider 11 78th Leg. SessionTexas Optical Fiber Network and Grid Computing … A total of $7.5 million for the Optical Fiber Network may be transferred to a consortium of three or more institutions of higher education, located not less than 50 miles apart, operating under an interagency agreement for the exclusive purpose of operating a fiber optic network for research and education for use by and for the benefit of higher education and affiliated entities in the State of Texas. The fiber optic network shall not be used, directly or indirectly, with or without charge, to provide telecommunications or information services to the public in competition with the private sector. …

16. LEARN Members

17. LEARN Phase 1a

18. The parts • IRUs • WilTel(?), AT&T (thanks SURA!) • Leased lambdas • NLR, Wiltel(?) • Optronics • Nortel

19. The End

20. Creating the Core Network • Identifying Paths and Media • Selecting the Optronics • Funding Ongoing Operations • Build & Implement Plan

21. Identifying Paths • Selection of Endpoints • Population centers? • Major Universities • Where the fiber is? • Impact of TACC ETF award • Getting to Chicago • Impact of NLR • Initial focus on Dallas • Focus on Houston (currently) • Connecting El Paso • SURA – AT&T fiber deal

22. Texas Backbone Status • Dec 2003 • Bids received for dark fiber • Subcommittee of the LEARN Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) began review of bids • Jan 2004 • LEARN Board received and adopted recommendation from TAC • Initially, dark fiber triangle (Hou-CS-Dallas-Austin-SA-Hou) + lambda to Lubbock. • Expand dark fiber network to South, West, and East Texas • LEARN Board authorized UT and A&M to proceed with IRU as necessary

24. Name the Sites

25. Identifying Media • Dark Fiber or Leased Lambdas permitted • Geography JUST TOO Large • Time to implement Service • Allowed shared infrastructure • Carrier Operated Service • Guaranteed lambda quantity • Not restricted to a single vendor fiber topology

26. What we GOT • Traditional Dark Fiber • Vendor Topology Restrictions • Shared Service (they build/own it; we pay for it) • Two Vendors offered 8 or 16 guaranteed 10Gigabit lambdas to Education • Leased Lambdas (20 year)

27. Fiber offerings to Texas

28. Selected Fiber Path • Two vendors minimizes costs, maximizes coverage • Dallas-Austin-San Antonio-Houston • Dallas-College Station-Houston • Requires metro interconnects in Dallas, Houston

29. Architecture

30. Optronics Capabilities Metro Regional Long Haul 0 km 100 km 300 km 600 km 2000 km OM5K - OMX OM5K / OME - CPL LH DT - CPL (Future) Enterprise < 32 lambda Carrier < 600km reachor shared & upgradeable 2.5 Gb/s & 10 Gb/s Line Rate Carrier > 600km 10.7 Gb/s Line Rate

31. Selecting the Optronics • There are fundamentally different kinds of optronics, distinguished by the distance between required signal regeneration. • Texas’ core needed ~1,300km • SONET protection was desired as an option, but not mandatory for every service.

32. Selecting the Optronics (cont) • Variety of available interfaces generally greater in metro versus long haul. • Created evaluation for “best value” considering initial implementation AND later growth. • Who wants “serial number 1” for support of production services?

33. Funding Ongoing Operations • Initial (current) decision that O&M must be pay-as-you-go. • Service-for-fee separate from membership dues. • Leased lambdas treated as capital cost (try not to penalize geography). • A&M and UT Systems can purchase enough services for their WANs to ‘cover’ cost of core triangle.

34. Build & Implement Plan Coalition warfare! • Engineering by committee can work. • Select one school to do the procurement paperwork. • Pick a Project Manager for vendor coordination and status tracking. • Weekly phone/videoconference/face-to-face meetings.

35. Build & Implement Plan (cont) • Activities run in parallel, not one after another: • Long haul fiber and Lambda services • Metro fiber • Optronics selection • Services Definition • Texas’ target: Spring 2005 for first light. • Planning started for next phase.

36. Lessons • Open bidding is almost the only way to determine availability. • Really hard to design optical transport when you don’t know which vendor, or what you want to do, “Indecision is the key to flexibility” • Plan for expansion.

37. Metro Access Issues • Current Efforts • Houston • Dallas • Success Story – Austin • GAATN

38. Why Metro? • Driving need is to interconnect the two long haul fiber providers (Dallas, Houston). • Desire to consider local needs in forming solution. • ‘Last mile’ may not be part of the backbone, but needs should affect backbone choices.

39. Houston • Interconnect effort in Houston benefits from local upgrade effort. • Area schools have some existing interconnectivity. • NLR has same (similar) problem.

40. Current Metro Upgrade Needs • Improved capacity between TMC-Rice-UH for research projects that can attract federal funding in CS and the Sciences • Improved capacity to Internet2 to participate in national projects developing national and global information infrastructures or tools for the construction thereof • Connectivity to the National Lambda Rail and LEARN.

41. Dark fiber proposal • Two rings of 12 strands each offered by Abovenet (formerly Metromedia Fiber Networks (MFN)) address the needs for improved capacity between TMC-Rice-UH and between these institutions and the NLR PoPs in Houston • Improved capacity to Internet2 still to be resolved

42. Ring-1: TMC-Rice-UH

43. Ring-2: TMC-Rice-UH-AT&T-WilTel

44. Dark Fiber Status • TMC access points to be added in the short term currently under review by the South East Texas GigaPoP technical reps from TMC institutions • Build-out at UH under review • Contract issuing initiated by TLC2 for both rings • Resolution on Internet2 capacity upgrade to follow asap

45. 1993 to Present

46. GAATN IS… • 350 + miles of 100% singlemode fiber • Seven individual MAN’s with over 400 connections to the fiber optic network • F/O cable that carries voice, data, video and radio circuits • Managed by a Board of Directors • Common sheath fiber optic cable containing between 72-112 strands • 2 Super Rings and 9 Sub Rings

47. GAATN MAP • Travis County – 989 Square Miles • Austin – 265 Square Miles • GAATN Coverage of Austin – 85%

48. GAATN AGENCY HISTORY • 70’s & 80’s - AISD’s rising telecom costs • ‘84 - iNET • ’88 - Beginning of GAATN • ’90 - Cooperation with COA, Travis County and ACC

49. BASIC DESIGN CRITERIA • Total redundant ring architecture • 40 year expected life • Varying number of strands depending on # of entities participating • Expandability built into the design • Protected building entrances into Super Nodes • Entities own the fiber from the splice point into their buildings.

50. INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT • Texas Interlocal Cooperation Act • Establishes Board of Directors • Establishes Policies & Procedures • Establishes means of determining Network Rights