National LambdaRail, Higher Education and the

Future of Regional Optical Networks

Dr. Robert Zimmerman, DirectorComputing Services

University of ArkansasFayetteville, AR

The evolution of research and education networks in Arkansas.

ARKnet

Internet2

AREON

(Arkansas Research and Education Optical Network)

National LambdaRail

“Putting the Promise of Experimental Network Infrastructure into the Hands of Our Nation's Scientists and Researchers”

What is National LambdaRail?

A major initiative of U.S. research universities and private sector technology companies to provide a national scale infrastructure for research and experimentation in networking technologies and applications.

National LambdaRail represents the common interests of the nation’s higher education academic and research communities in achieving high capacity, experimental communication services.

Organization of National LambdaRail

The defining characteristic of the NLR infrastructure is its ability to support many distinct networks for the U.S. research community using the same core infrastructure.

National LambdaRail’s ownership of the underlying optical infrastructure ensures the research community :

• unprecedented control • flexibility in meeting the requirements of the most advance network applications

• the resources demanded by cutting-edge network research

Source: http://www.nlr.net/

Goals of National LambdaRail• Support experimental and production networks

• Foster networking research

• Promote next-generation applications

• Facilitate interconnectivity among high-performance research and education networks

Source: http://www.nlr.net/

WHY Create Regional Optical Networks?

• The limitation of all purchased services is the lack of control• Underlying assumption that big science needs big performance• Ever-increasing importance of collaboration, particularly international• Scaling

(Source: MCNC Grid Computing & Networking Services)

Examples of Regional Optical Networks

Abilene

MAN LAN

Buffalo

RochesterAlbany

32 AofA

CA*net

Syracuse

OC-12GigE

legend

NYSERNet PoP

10 GigE

R&E Network

DWDM

NLR

Virginia Tech

University of Virginia

George Mason University

Virginia CommonwealthUniversity

College of Williamand Mary

Old Dominion University

NWV gigaPOPInternet2Mid Atlantic Crossroads

National LambdaRail

Virginia Optical Research Technology EXchangeVORTEX

AREON conceptual map

LOTA Ring and National LambdaRail

Memphis

Jonesboro

Fayetteville

Activities in Arkansas to Promote NLR Services

Memberships and active participation including:

• Internet2• Great Plains Network, Inc.• MIDnet, Inc. (RFP for fiber on the street)• Southeastern Universities Research Association• Interacted with numerous states relative to Regional Optical Networks (RONs) - to include Quilt, Southern LambdaRail, Southern Regional Optical Network, Louisiana Optical Network Infrastructure and OneNet (Oklahoma Research Network Corridor)

Assisted Governor Mike Huckabee with a proposal to the 2005 legislature:

• Authored AREON White Paper• Met with legislators• Met with representative of State of Arkansas, DIS, ECIO, and ASTA• Discussion among representatives from ASU, UALR, UAMS, and UAF

Creating Regional Optical Networks

Creating a RON is a challenging project, which requires:

1. Creating an organization to support the promotion and funding of a RON2. Planning and designing a network infrastructure that is compatible with National

LambdaRail3. Securing fiber services as dark fiber or IRU leases (RFP, contracts, etc.)4. Acquiring electronic equipment, management systems, maintenance services, etc.5. Implementing network services6. Supporting and maintaining hardware, software, and personnel to meet SLA for

clients7. Maintaining funding sources8. Developing client applications of the RON

The Future of Internet2

Internet2 is a consortium being led by 207 universities working in partnership with industry and government to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies. The primary goals of Internet2 are to:

• Create a leading-edge network capability for the national research community

• Enable revolutionary Internet applications

• Ensure the rapid transfer of new network services and applications to the broader Internet community.

INTERNET2 AND THE NATIONAL LAMBDARAIL

ARE PLANNING TO MERGE.

This will enable the huge amount of work accomplished by Internet2 during the past seven years to combine that body of work and a production network with the NLR fiber optic network resources.

Internet2 PartnershipsPartnerships

• World-wide international partnerships for network and application development

• Partnerships with domestic corporations and organizations

• Partnerships with university organizations and researchers

• Federal Government partnerships

• The Federal Government initiated the Next Generation Internet Project (NGI) a week after Internet2 was formed

• NSF has made over 70 High Performance Connections (HPC) awards to Internet2 universities

• NGI funded wide-ranging applications that require HPC. Many NGI applications were funded by DoD, DoE, NASA, NIH, NIST, DARPA, etc.

Sponsored Education Group Participants, as of August 2005

Internet2 Initiatives

Middleware Initiative

Middleware, or “glue,” is a layer of software between the network and the applications

End-to-End Performance Initiative (E2Epi)

To create a predictable, and well-supported environment in which Internet2 campus network users have routinely successful connections

K20 Initiative

The Internet2 K20 Initiative brings together Internet2 member institutions, primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, libraries and museums

Arts & Humanities Initiative

The Arts and Humanities Initiative assists Internet2 members in enabling and advancing collaborations between high performance networking technologies and applications in the arts and humanities

Digital Video Initiative (DVI)

Digital Video is a distributed organization which seeks to build upon the efforts of other digital video groups and individuals

Distributed Storage Initiative (DSI)

The Internet2 Distributed Storage Initiative project is a replicated hosting platform for Internet content and services

FiberCo (National Research and Education Fiber Company)

Internet2 has established the National Research and Education Fiber Company (FiberCo) to support regional fiber optical networking initiatives dedicated to research and higher education

Health Sciences Initiative

The Internet2 Health Sciences Initiative increases awareness of, and engagement in, the uses of high-performance networking throughout the medical research community