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Basic Contextual Information

Introduction to NETS Marla Meehl NETS Manager SCD Network Engineering and Technology Section (NETS) December 8, 1998. Basic Contextual Information. Role of NETS in UCAR. NETS is responsible for almost all of UCAR networking Historical evolution for SCD to manage all UCAR networking

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Basic Contextual Information

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  1. Introduction to NETSMarla MeehlNETS ManagerSCD Network Engineering and Technology Section (NETS) December 8, 1998

  2. Basic Contextual Information

  3. Role of NETS in UCAR • NETS is responsible for almost all of UCAR networking • Historical evolution for SCD to manage all UCAR networking • Important for NETS to remain in SCD (periodic discussion of moving NETS to UCAR administrative domain) • http://www.scd.ucar.edu/nets/Introducing/organizationlocation.html) • NETS has additional SCD networking responsibilities • Discussed later • NETS advised by NCAB • NCAB: Network Coordination and Advisory Board • Reports to SCD Director • Technical representatives from all parts of UCAR • Successful paradigm proposed by ITC to be replicated for other UCAR-wide functions to be managed in an NCAR Division

  4. NETS Responsibilities • Types of networking supported for UCAR & SCD • All LANs • All MANs • All WANs • Levels of networking supported for UCAR & SCD • Layer1: All physical cabling plant for UCAR/SCD • Layer2: All logical networking - VLANs/ELANs, etc. for UCAR/SCD • Layer3: All routing (99.9% IP) for UCAR/SCD • Layer4 & above support: a little for UCAR; a lot for SCD • More details later

  5. What NETS Doesn’t Do • “NETS responsibility ends at the wallplate” • “wallplate” means “telecommunications outlet” and is the point at which building infrastructure network leaf-node cabling terminates • Other Divisions are responsible “past the wallplate” • This mainly means they do the host-networking part • NETS does consult on configuration, performance, etc. • “Private” networking beyond the wall plates isn’t forbidden • For SCD, NETS is involved with all aspects of networking: • Supercomputer networking • Host-based networking: routing, configuration, etc. • Special networking research projects • National Laboratory for Advanced Network Research (NLANR) Engineering • Hosting NLANR/CAIDA Web Cache Research Project

  6. What NETS Doesn’t Do (cont.) • NETS doesn’t do DNS, email, security policy, etc. • NETS does implement security perimeters based on CSAC recommendations • NETS doesn’t do MSS networking: HiPPI, FC, etc. • These use non-IP channel-extension protocols • NETS doesn’t do telephones and PBXs • NETS does install the telephone cabling • And we do inter-site tie-lines • NETS doesn’t do first-level NOC/operations • Handled by Computer Room Operators • They determine which Network Engineer to call • We will visit network monitor station later

  7. How Networking is Paid For • UCAR networking funding mechanisms • Space tax: all UCAR programs (including SCD) pay for networking via an annual “tax” based upon square footage occupied by the program • Space tax pays for “standard service” as defined by NCAB • Includes all LAN, MAN, and WAN networking necessary for, and benefiting, UCAR as a whole • Includes all UCAR cabling and core networking to the “wallplate” • Includes 10-Mbps service to the office • Includes telephone wiring and inter-site telephone tie-lines • NETS charges back for anything beyond standard service • Host-connects greater than 10-Mbps • “Rush” jobs (less than 1-week advance notice) • “Special” networking (e.g., satellite hookups) • SCD networking funding mechanism • Line item in SCD budget

  8. Magnitude of NETS Work • NETS supports ~1,136 UCAR employees • Located in 9 buildings at 4 different sites • NETS supports ~3,000 network-attached devices • NETS supports ~114 IP subnetworks • 46 dialup lines (via 2 all-digital PRI T1 links) • ~100 pieces of network-equipment • routers, switches, monitorable repeaters, etc. • Building cabling • 920 Standard “wallplates” installed • 1,360 “wallplates” to install by end of FY2000 • NETS consults with 63 UCAR member universities • Involves 700 users of just SCD facilities, with 345 projects involving 90 university facilities

  9. Networking “Fun”Facts • Total number of Ethernet switch ports available: 1950 • Total number of Ethernet switch ports used: 1750 • Total number of feet of backbone cable: 27,000 feet • Total number of feet of wallplate cable: • Fiber: 17,000 feet • CAT5: 240,000 feet • 10BaseT: 230,000 feet • Telephone: 300,000 feet • Total: 787,000 feet

  10. Resources Available to NETS • NETS budget (FY1999) • $2,341,100 UCAR funding to NETS • $261,769 SCD funding to NETS • Total NETS staff: 15 people • Type of Staff • 8 Network Engineers • Perform design, operation, tuning, trouble-shooting, etc. • 4 Network Technicians • Mainly Layer1 (cabling) construction • 3 Administrative/Support Staff • Source of staff funding • 12 UCAR-funded staff • 2 SCD-funded staff • 1 staff funded by outside funding (NSF NLANR Program)

  11. Overview of UCARLANs, MANs, and WANs

  12. LANs

  13. LAN Cabling • Standard “wallplate” to each workspace • Connects nearest telecommunications closet to: • 4 Cat5 cables • 2 Fiber cable pairs (62.5 micron Multimode) • 2 Cat3 cables (mainly for telephone) • Only 40% of space meets this standard (920 wallplates) • 1,360 new wallplates must to be installed by end of FY2000 • Required to support Fast Ethernet (100BaseX) • $2,000,000 project (approved by UCAR management) • Closets connect to root closet with fiber bundles • ML root closet is in SCD machine room (ML 29) • FL root closet is in SCD machine room (FL2 3095) • Network equipment goes in closets (~35 closets)

  14. LAN Design & Equipment • Backbone UCAR LAN network is largely ATM • OC-3 (155-Mbps) so far; some OC-12 testing • Use ATM ELANs in the core: one per VLAN • 3 Cisco ATM switches (model 1010) • Rest of network is mainly switched Ethernet • VLAN-based (one VLAN per IP-subnet) • 10BaseX and 100BaseX technology • 23 Cisco 5500 Ethernet packet switches • Routing • 4 Cisco 7507 routers • 1 Cisco 4700 router • 1 Cisco 2500 router • UCAR is essentially an all-Cisco shop

  15. Important LAN Projects • FY1999 • FUN Recabling Project (FL4 Uniform Network) • ATD, MIS, COMET Computer Room Recabling • FL1 South Atrium Recabling • Y2K engineering • FY2000 • Year 2000 Recabling Project • 100BaseX standard service implementation/expansion • Y2K troubleshooting

  16. MANs

  17. Basic MAN Networking • Inter-site connectivity • ML-FL OC-3 (155-Mbps) ATM link • Also carries two virtual T1 voice tie-lines • 10 Mbps link to Jeffco site • T1 (1.5 Mbps) link to Marshall site • UCAR-owned fiber between all FL campus buildings • Home dial-up to NCAR • 2 PRI T1 lines (46 56Kbps/ISDN lines) • Cisco 5300 Remote Access Server • OC3 ATM atmospheric laser link to NOAA, Boulder (owned and operated by NOAA)

  18. The BRAN MAN

  19. BRAN • Boulder Research and Administration Network • “Fiber for a healthy community” • Consortium to build private fiber loop in Boulder • City of Boulder • University of Colorado-Boulder • National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - Boulder • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - Boulder • NCAR/UCAR • Connects partners’ facilities + US West & ICG POPs • Includes ML-FL link of ~20 fiber pairs • Construction estimated at $350,000/partner • Essentially provides unlimited free bandwidth • Bypasses US West • Provides competition between US West & ICG

  20. WANs

  21. UCAR WAN Connections • Commodity Internet Connection • DS-3 (45-Mbps) Cable and Wireless service • Cost-shared with local gigapop partners (more later) • Steady 50% utilization; 85% peaks (5 min averages) • OC-3 (155-Mbps) connection to NSF’s vBNS • Planned OC-3 connection to UCAID’s Abilene Internet2 network • All UCAR WAN connections part of the Front Range GigaPop (FRGP) operated by NETS (details later)

  22. NSF’s vBNS:very-high-speed Backbone Network Service

  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 5 NSF supercomputing centers • vBNS started adding universities about 2 years ago • NSF funding for vBNS ends March 2000

  24. vBNS: The Network • Operated by MCI/Worldcom • ATM based network using mainly IP • OC-12 (622-Mbps) backbone • OC-12 (622-Mbps), OC-3 (155-Mbps) & DS-3 (45-Mbps) to institutions • 73 institutions currently connected • 131 institutions approved for connection to vBNS

  25. vBNS and NCAR • NCAR was an original vBNS node • 43 of 63 UCAR member-universities are approved for vBNS (at last check on 8/1998) • 28 UCAR members currently connected • Major benefit for UCAR and its members • greatly superior to the Commodity Internet • example: more UNIDATA data possible • example: terabyte data transfers possible

  26. UCAID’s Abilene Internet2 Network

  27. 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

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

  29. 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

  30. 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 1/1999 • UCAID expects 50 universities online on 1/1999 • UCAID expects 13 gigapops online on 1/1999 • Abilene beta network now includes a half-dozen universities • plus exchanging routes with vBNS

  31. 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

  32. The GigaPop Concept

  33. What Is A GigaPop? • Multiple sites agree to aggregate to a central location and share high-speed access from there, instead of each maintaining direct links to multiple networks • Share costs through sharing infrastructure • 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

  34. Front Range GigaPop (FRGP)

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

  36. FRGP+Abilene: What Should NCAR Do? • Why should NCAR connect to Abilene? • fate of vBNS is unknown after March 2000 • 48 of 63 UCAR members are also Internet2 members • Why should NCAR join a joint FRGP/Abilene effort? • combined FRGP/Abilene effort saves NCAR money • provides excellent intra-gigapop connectivity • provides greater depth and redundancy of commodity internet access

  37. FRGP: Why NCAR as GP Operator? • NCAR already has considerable gigapop operational experience • NCAR is already serving the FRGP members • Abilene connection is an incremental addition to existing gigapop • doesn’t require a completely new effort from scratch • NCAR already has a 24 x 365 NOC • NCAR has an existing networking staff to team with the new FRGP engineer • NCAR is university-neutral

  38. FRGP: Membership Types • “Full” members • both Commodity Internet + Abilene and/or vBNS access • Commodity-only members • just Commodity Internet access

  39. FRGP: Full Members • University of Colorado - Boulder • Colorado State University • University of Colorado - Denver • NCAR/UCAR • University of Wyoming

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