100 likes | 167 Views
UKLight overview. http://www.ja.net/development/UKLight/ A. Flavell, Glasgow Univ. For HEPSYSMAN meeting December 2003. Background to what I know. Open meeting held Manchester, 3rd Nov 2003. I know very little outside of that. Optical networks Starlight and Netherlight already in place
E N D
UKLight overview http://www.ja.net/development/UKLight/ A. Flavell, Glasgow Univ. For HEPSYSMAN meeting December 2003
Background to what I know.. • Open meeting held Manchester, 3rd Nov 2003. I know very little outside of that. • Optical networks Starlight and Netherlight already in place • UKERNA interest in development, as UK part of international network R&D • Current UKERNA contract provides for ample development bandwidth, but not directly accessible at optical (it's SDH) • Relatively little dark fibre at their disposal
And so... • UKERNA adopt a two-strand approach: • Network development projects, with access via a gateway to optical at ULCC, optical links to Amsterdam and Chicago • Photonics research projects on dark fibre • with a double-barrelled thrust of • procurement process for the infrastructures • call for project proposals • Whereby, the production JANET network must not be harmed
The project • SRIF funding for the infrastructure and staff (£6.5m 2004/5) • JISC steering committee at high level • Technical advisory group • NB no funding for additional circuits to connect remote projects! • Initial procurement is in progress • Further funding to be released as proposals approved
Presentations • Presentations were supposed to be on their new web site by now but...? I found: • Cees de Laat http://carol.wins.uva.nl/~delaat/ • P.Clarke -> http://www.mb-ng.net/eslea/ • And other interesting presentations
Some key points • Good for massive data between relatively few points (a la switched virtual circuits) • Not good for bulk Internet (commercial providers have this wrapped up) • Not necessarily IP-based traffic • Radio Astronomy is a big user (VLBI, eMerlin), compares to truckloads of custom tapes • Worries about potential for mischief if general Internet traffic gets routed onto such a high bandwidth structure...
Practical issues • Campus participation will need to bridge that 'final gap'; cannot use JANET/RMAN production links for such research. • Essential to engage one's campus network support in any project proposals. • A comment said not to get blown away by what others appear to be doing already - they coin lots of acronyms, but real work is still to be done!
HEP • Replication of experiment data seems a natural fit for our field • "Data logistics" approach (= trucking) • Point to point bandwidth can take 3 weeks to negotiate now; the aim is automated negotiation in little more than 3 x RTT
Immediate steps? • UKLight web site? User's group? Mailing list? WiKi? • Hunt down the web pages and presentations for an interesting read, • Project proposals. • Primary contact is Dave Salmon. • Sorry if this is all rather sketchy.