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Internet2 Background. AARnet-Internet2 Workshop :: Sydney Guy Almes <almes@internet2.edu>. 10 October 2001. Outline. Historical Context Internet2: Organization and Membership Emphases Network infrastructure Engineering Applications Middleware International Relationships.
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Internet2 Background AARnet-Internet2 Workshop :: Sydney Guy Almes <almes@internet2.edu> 10 October 2001
Outline • Historical Context • Internet2: Organization and Membership • Emphases • Network infrastructure • Engineering • Applications • Middleware • International Relationships
Internet2 Engineering Objectives • Provide our universities with superlative networking: • Performance • Functionality • Understanding • Make superlative networking strategic for university research and education
Historical Context • NSFnet Experience • 1985-1995 NSFnet program • Created pervasive Internet among universities • From 56 kb/s to 45 Mb/s performance • Intense university-government-industry cooperation • Transition to Commercial Internet • 1995 growing pains • Lack of focus on university needs
What did we miss? • Focus on needs of universities • University-government-industry partnership • Stagnation of technical advances
What did we miss? • Focus on needs of universities • Disproportionate need to support collaboration • Collaboration structures do not align with organizational structures • Remote instrument access • New resource-intensive applications needed • University-government-industry partnership • Stagnation of technical advances
What did we miss? • Focus on needs of universities • University-government-industry partnership • In late 1980s NSF could lead national Internet policy direction • By the mid-1990s, this was not practical • Key parts of industry and government continue to see value in partnering with universities • Stagnation of technical advances
What did we miss? • Focus on needs of universities • University-government-industry partnership • Stagnation of technical advances • Commercial emphases on residential Internet, on eCommerce, etc. • No specific continuing improvement in wide-area performance or on solidification of multicast, QoS, etc., as key parts of the Internet
Internet2 • Created as a project: Oct-96 • 34 members; synergy with federal NGI program • Reliance on NSF/MCI vBNS program for backbone • Incorporated Oct-97 • Staff mostly at Ann Arbor, Armonk, Washington • 187 university members, plus corporate/affiliate members • Announcement of Abilene Backbone spring 1998
Emphasis: Network Infrastructure • Existing vBNS: 620 Mb/s IP-over-ATM • Creation of gigaPoPs • MREN, MERIT, MCNC, SURA, CENIC • New others and focused local energy on all • Recent creation of The Quilt organization • 1998-2003: Abilene • 2.4 Gb/s IP-over-Sonet • Qwest, Nortel, Cisco, Indiana University
Key Attributes • 12 Router Nodes • Cisco 12008 Routers • Qwest collocation • OC48 Interior Circuits connect them • Packet over Sonet in all cases • Access: 54 total • OC3, OC12, and some OC48 • via any Qwest Sonet PoPs (Access Nodes) • ATM and POS both supported
Abilene core Seattle New York Cleveland Chicago Sunnyvale Washington Denver Indianapolis Kansas City Los Angeles Atlanta Houston
Emphasis: Engineering • Advanced Services • Multicast • Quality of Service (QoS) • IPv6 • Measurements • Advanced Performance • End-to-end Performance Initiative
Engineering: Multicast • By 1998, • Routing protocols existed • Deployment of native IP multicast quite rare • Early ‘MBone’ no longer scalable • Considered key to advanced conferencing and streaming applications • Emphases on • Deployment and support for operations • Applications • Working to make it scalable
Engineering: QoS • What if best-efforts networking will not meet the needs of advanced applications? • Stress of Interoperability • Stress of Application needs • Preserve core Internet values
Engineering: IPv6 • Clarify motivation for IPv6 • Support deployment and engineering expertise on networks, especially on campus • Anticipate need for first-class support
Engineering: Measurements • Utilization • Performance • Characterization of network usage • Think global – act local
The Current Situation • Our universities have access to an infrastructure of considerable capacity • examples of 240 Mb/s flows • End-to-end performance varies widely • but 40 Mb/s flows not always predictable • users don't know what their expectations should be • Note the mismatch
What are our Aspirations? • Candidate Answer #1:Switched 100BaseT + Well-provisioned Internet2 networking at 80 Mb/s • But user expectations and experiences vary widely
What are our Aspirations? • Candidate Answer #2:Lower user expectations and minimize complaining phone calls • There is a certain appeal I suppose...
What are our Aspirations? • Candidate Answer #3:Raise expectations, encourage aggressive use, deliver on performance/functionality to key constituencies. • Not the easy way, but necessary for success
Threats toEnd to End Performance • BW = C x packet-size / ( delay x sqrt(packet-loss ))(Mathis, Semke, Mahdavi, and Ott, CCR, July 1997) • Context: • Network capacity • Geographical distance • Aggressive application
Threats toEnd to End Performance • Fiber problems • dirty fiber • dim lighting • 'not quite right' connectors
Threats toEnd to End Performance • Fiber problems • Switches • horsepower • full vs half-duplex • head-of-line blocking
Threats toEnd to End Performance • Fiber problems • Switches • Inadvertently stingy provisioning • mostly communication • happens also in international settings
Threats toEnd to End Performance • Fiber problems • Switches • Inadvertently stingy provisioning • Wrong Routing • asymmetric • best use of Internet2 • distance
Threats toEnd to End Performance • Fiber problems • Switches • Inadvertently stingy provisioning • Wrong Routing • Host issues • NIC • OS / TCP stack • CPU
Perverse Result • 'Users' think the network is congested or that the Internet2 infrastructure cannot help them • 'Planners' think the network is underutilized, no further investment needed, or that users don't need high performance networks
Internet2 End-to-End Performance Initiative • Very recently hired / deployed staff • Cheryl Munn-Fremon, initiative director • Russ Hobby, chief technical architect • George Brett, chief information architect • $1.5M budgeted by Internet2
Internet2 End-to-End Performance Initiative • Distributed measurement infrastructure • Enable rapid effective understanding of why an instance of end-to-end performance is limited • Make the work of PERF participants rewarding • Enable initiation of tests by PERF participants • Teams of performance analysis specialists (PERF) • Dissemination of best practices
Internet2 End-to-End Performance Initiative • Distributed measurement infrastructure • Teams of performance analysis specialists (PERF) • members at campuses, gigaPoPs, backbones • socially and technically coordinated • committed to effecting radical change • Dissemination of best practices
Internet2 End-to-End Performance Initiative • Distributed measurement infrastructure • Teams of performance analysis specialists (PERF) • Dissemination of best practices • Identify key techniques, tools, and 'best practices' • Make them common • Work toward widespread / routine excellent user experiences • Improve the reputation / status of network engineers
Anticipated Partners • NLANR: DAST, MOAT, and NCNE • Web100 Project • Abilene partners • Leading campuses and gigaPoPs • Internet2 corporate members
Access to Key Resources • Optical telescopes in Hawaii • CRAFT Project • PACI Supercomputer Facilities • CERN