Building Research and Education Networks Through Collaboration

1. Building Research and Education Networks Through Collaboration Rick Summerhill Chief Technology Consultant, Internet2 ICTRF 2010 Khalifa University9 May, 2010

2. Overview Why Research and Education Networks? Collaboration From the Beginning Technology and the Network More than Just the Network Conclusions and the Importance of Collaboration

3. Why R&E Networks? Large data flows and other special requirements on such flows The ability to examine and develop new network capabilities Providing platforms to support network research Provide a vehicle for collaborative development of network applications

4. Why R&E Networks? Large Flows Historically, research traffic has challenged the capabilities of commodity networks Flows can be very large They can also require significant traffic shaping Flows in the commercial internet tend to be fairly small – they typically lag behind the research community Research Projects like the LHC, LIGO, and DUSEL require significant data transfers across multiple R&E networks

5. LHC The Large Hadron Collider Huge data flows processed and sent to Tier 1 sites around the world, and then on to Universities (Tier 2 and 3 sites) and and other Labs, typically connected through R&E networks. A participating university might require data flows of 10 Gbps for hours on end. The collider and CMS

6. eVLBI Very Large Baseline Interferometry Combine radio telescope images over wide baselines. Perfect example of a project that can utilize dedicated network capabilities

7. DUSEL Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory Supports the underground needs of major scientific fields. Getting the data to researchers all over the world depends on interconnecting R&E networks

8. Large Data Projects Just three of many such projects currently underway Note that the success of all of these projects, depends strongly on collaboration And all depend on interconnected networks that depend on collaboration between networks and within R&E network communities For Further Information http://lhc.web.cern.ch/lhc/ and http://www.uslhc.us/ http://www.ligo.caltech.edu/ http://www.dusel.org/

9. Why R&E Networks? New Ideas! Development of new network protocols and properties Hybrid networks – integrating circuit and packet switched technologies Performance and monitoring systems such as perfSONAR – a world-wide development project Providing data network performance for the network research community Middleware

10. Example: Hybrid (Virtualized) Networks using OpenFlow • Research Projects Coexisting with Production Services • Collaboration between Stanford Research group and Internet2

11. Middleware - National Identity Management Federations Brazil China Malaysia Portugal Taiwan Australia (AAF) Canada (CAF) Croatia (AAI@EduHr) Czech Republic (eduID.cz) Denmark (WAYF) Finland (HAKA) France (CRU) Germany (DFN-AAI) Greece (HEAL-Link) Hungary (NIIF) Italy (IDEM) Japan (学認 / Gakunin) New Zealand (AAF) Norway (FEIDE) Oman (Oman-KID) Spain (CBIC, SAUWoK, SIR) Sweden (Federation SwamID) Switzerland (SWITCHaai) The Netherlands (SURFnet) United Kingdom (UK Access Fed.) United States (InCommon)

12. Example: Federated Identity and Authorization for perfSONAR

13. Why R&E Networks? Providing platforms for research on networking and collaborating with network researchers on protocols new developments Providing infrastructure for projects like the GENI (Global Environment for Network Innovations) Perhaps most importantly knowledge transfer between participants and keeping abreast of the changing requirements of the research and education community

14. Collaboration From The Beginning Before the Internet became an essential resource in our lives, networking was primarily dependent on proprietary protocols BITNET was an example From the early days of the Internet, however, open protocols became the norm, and building such networks depended on collaboration within the R&E community In the US, the IP network was dependent on research groups and universities (and later corporations) forming regional networks and connecting those networks to a backbone, which was then interconnected to other networks Indeed, the “Internet” means the interconnection of networks!

15. Collaboration From The Beginning The NSF in the US was essential in this development The same basic hierarchies continue today, although in a much more complicated network universe Moreover, the fact that there is no central authority over the Internet means that networks must work together to provide services – that is especially true in the R&E world. This begs the need for even greater collaboration between researchers, educators, and networks at all levels – campus, state, regional, national, and international

16. Technology and Building Networks In the early days of networking, R&E networks typically leased circuits from telcos and controlled just the routers at the IP layer This was true, for example, for Internet2 and its first network, called “Abilene” The Partners in that project were the universities, regional networks then called gigapops, and the formation of Internet2 as an organization It also included three very important commercial partners: Cisco, Nortel, and Qwest! It became clear that collaborations between the R&E network community had to extend to the commercial sector. In today’s world, however, it is typical for R&E networks to control all layers in the protocol stack That means from the fiber up to higher level protocols!

17. Building Networks Major Questions: Who are the participants in the network? Where are the connectors to the network? What physical medium is available to connect those sites? Who will manage the network? Layer 0 What fiber is available, and how is it available – long term IRUs, for example? Do you have to build your own fiber, and what partners might you do that with? What are the properties of the fiber – types, hut spacing, etc.

18. Building Networks, continued Layer 1 Is support for multiple waves needed on the network? What is the availability of wave equipment for the fiber footprint? Hut spacing, for example What are the regeneration requirements? How often does drop add have to be done, for example? What about OEO versus long optical paths? Do your connectors need dedicated circuits for special requirements? What are the bandwidth requirements? 100Gbps? Do sub-wave circuits need to be supported? Layer 2 Is a separate layer 2 switching component needed or can it be incorporated at layer 3? Do connectors expect dedicated vLANs, for example?

19. Building Networks, continued Layer 3 Are there special routing requirements? Do lower layers need to be supported at the IP layer? For example, MPLS? Management and Operations Who will manage the network? How will connectors interface with management operations? The KISS principle is important to remember in all these considerations!

20. Building Networks, continued Interestingly enough, the R&E community in the United States went through this process within the last two months as part of a proposal for an expanded network. The process involved a collaboration between many different entities and partners Universities Regional Networks Other Collaborations formed from Regional Networks Internet2 and NLR Commercial providers like Cisco, Ciena/Nortel, Juniper, Infinera, Level3, etc. The process was a huge effort that could not have been done without collaboration!

22. Much More than Just a Network! It’s what users, and in particular, researchers can do on the network! The organization provides the vehicle, and indeed the encouragement, to develop new applications and uses of the network. Consider the recent IDEA awards at the Internet2 Spring Member Meeting. Echo Damp - a software multi-channel audio mixer and echo controller designed primarily for a high performance network REDDnet – a large distributed storage facility for data-intensive collaboration among the researchers Worldview – a hands-on network visualization system Shibboleth – federated single sign-on software

23. Initiatives and special communities • Bring together thought leaders from member organizations and broader research and education community • Work together to advance frontiers of network-enabled applications in various communities of interest • Arts and Humanities, Health Sciences, Health Network, Science and Engineering, K20, Network Research

24. Enabling Tomorrows Discoveries Network technology advancement is the means, not the end Education Applications Economy Quality of Life Possibilities Achievements Progress Knowledge • R&E thought leaders hail from a wide range of disciplines • Next-generation cyberinfrastructure impacts the lives of people today—wherever they are, whatever their interests • We focused earlier on science, but …

25. Health Sciences, Health Network Initiatives • Facilitates creation and enhancement of advanced health applications, identifies guidelines and solutions • Extends connectivity to new and underserved areas • Extends education and training: live surgery events • Extends research: provides access to large datasets

26. Arts & Humanities Initiative • Opens a new, global stage to a worldwide audience via high-definition broadcasts • Opens master classes and auditions to remote musicians • Enables live multi-site performances • Unlocks important content collections to worldwide audiences • Holds performance production workshops

27. K20 Initiative • Connects over 65,000 community anchor institutions • CAHSEE: Stepping Into Your Future • Riverbluff: Broadcasts from an Ice Age cave • NASA scientists take educators on “earth missions” • Muse site connects K20 members and enthusiasts

28. Conclusions Research and education networks provide a vehicle to support essential collaborations: For the research community To develop new networking concepts and ideas For the development of new applications For education on a world-wide basis To encourage collaborations in many different disciplines Research and education networks require collaboration on many different levels – between educational institutions; other regional, national, and international networks; and with both corporate and governmental entities to provide advanced services to the R&E community!

29. Thank You!