Research & Education (R&E) Networking

Warren Matthews (Georgia Tech).

What is R&E Networking?

• Internet for the Research and Education Community.– Research Universities– Colleges and Teaching Universities– Schools– Some commercial research labs (e.g. Microsoft

Research).

• Often referred to as Internet2.

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What is Internet2?

• National Backbone Network– also National Lambda Rail (NLR)

• Advanced Networking in General– Peachnet (Georgia State-wide R&E network)– Southern Crossroads (SOX) Gigapop and Regional

Optical Network.• Umbrella organization for applications

communities– e.g. Philadelphia Orchestra

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What R&E Networking isn’t.

• Not commercial, unless it is.– e.g. ticket sales.

• Not myspace/facebook, but sometimes.– SOX Peers with Google.

• Not to be confused with Web 2.0

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National Lambda Rail (NLR)Internet2 Footprint is similar.Internet2 Footprint is similar.

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Peachnet

• Peachnet passes within 5 miles of 35 school district offices.

• SOX connects most of the R&E institutes in the South East to National and International destinations.

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SEGP

• Sponsored Education Group Participant.• SOX sponsors Peachnet.• Any K-12 District connecting to Peachnet will

get connectivity to Internet2/NLR via SOX.• Improve performance, enabling access to rich

content.

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Why not Internet1 (1/2)?

• EdTechNext mentions slow and unreliable connections, pop-up adds etc.

• 10 years ago, R&E community faced similar challenges.– lack of capacity, routing, etc led to formation of

Internet2 organization, Abilene and regional gigapops.

• R&E Networking launched research into new era.

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Why not Internet1 (2/2)?

• R&E is not competing with ISPs.– K-12 doesn’t “compete” with Universities– Large corporations build their own networks.

• We need AT&T, Level3, Qwest, AGL etc– Fiber providers

• But we want– Separate Layer 3 service with high capacity

connections and direct routing between sites.

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Capacity.

• Congestion causes packet loss and delay.• Interactive applications are harder to use.• Even non-interactive applications are slow.• Bandwidth is required but not sufficient– Also latency, jitter, routing.

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A Typical K-12 System in Georgia.Severely congested pipes mean long queues in routers.

Severely congested pipes mean long queues in routers.

This graph show the delay (in milliseconds) between the clean room at Georgia Tech and a district central office .This graph show the delay (in milliseconds) between the clean room at Georgia Tech and a district central office .

In the evenings and weekends, delay is 5 milliseconds.In the evenings and weekends, delay is 5 milliseconds.

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A K-12 System Connected to Peachnet.

2.2 milliseconds2.2 milliseconds

2.4 milliseconds2.4 milliseconds

001e.4fbf.e53d001e.4fbf.e53d001e.4fbf.e53d

This graph show the delay (in milliseconds) between the clean room at Georgia Tech and a district central office .This graph show the delay (in milliseconds) between the clean room at Georgia Tech and a district central office .

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Utilization

More capacity means less congestionMore capacity means less congestion

Immediately see usage 2-3x previous capacity. Immediately see usage 2-3x previous capacity.

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District upgraded from 20 Mbps to 155 Mbps (Peachnet). District upgraded from 20 Mbps to 155 Mbps (Peachnet).

What is it Used For?

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What Else Is It Good For?

• The applications mentioned on the MUSE site (http://k20.internet2.edu):– videoconferencing (D2D)– teleimmersion/telepresence (Gray’s Reef)– remote control of scientific instrumentation (ORNL)– Sensors, simulations, haptics

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Beyond the Bandwidth Barrier

• Additional capacity is just the first step.• What becomes possible if there was almost

unlimited bandwidth?• R&E networking enables advanced

applications for new learning experiences.• Also see http://ceap.wcu.edu/houghton/i2

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Next Steps

• Equipment and Professional Development– To make optimal use of R&E networking, you

need to have the classroom-side equipment and professional development for teachers who need to know how to use it to further learning.

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Summary - What is R&E Networking?

• A network, advanced networking, and the applications it enables.

• Fourth Leg (for added stability)– Enthusiastic participants

• Key component of 21st Century learning.• Potential.

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Links.• http://www.internet2.edu• http://www.nlr.net• http://www.usg.edu/peachnet• http://www.sox.net• http://ceap.wcu.edu/houghton/i2

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Any Questions?

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