Abilene: An Internet2 Backbone Network Greg Wood Director of Communications Internet2 ORAP Workshop 26 October 1999 Paris, France.

Abilene: An Internet2 Backbone Network

Greg Wood

Director of CommunicationsInternet2

ORAP Workshop

26 October 1999

Paris, France

Research andDevelopment

Commercialization

Partnerships

Privatization

Internet Development Spiral

Today’s Internet

Internet2

Source: Ivan Moura Campos

Internet2 Goals

Enable new generation of applications

Re-create leading edge R&E network capability

Transfer technology and experience to the global production Internet

Internet2 Universities163 Members as of September 1999

Internet2 Corporate Partners

ITC^Deltacom Lucent Technologies MCI Worldcom Microsoft Newbridge Networks Nortel Networks Qwest

Communications StarBurst WCI Cable

3Com Advanced Network &

Services Alcatel Ameritech AT&T Cabletron Systems Cisco Systems FORE Systems IBM

Enabling advanced applications...

Advanced Applications

Distributed computingCollaborationVirtual laboratoriesDigital librariesVisualization and virtual realityAll of the above in combination

Many Disciplines and Contexts

Sciences Arts Humanities Health care Business/Law Administration …

Instruction Collaboration Streaming video Distributed

computation Data mining Virtual reality Digital libraries …

Re-creating leading edge networking capabilities...

Applications

Engineering

Motivate Enables

Applications and Engineering

Deploy a production network to support applications R&D

Establish quality of service (QBone) Support native multicastEstablish gigaPoPs as effective

service points

Internet2 Engineering Objectives

Internet2 InterconnectCloud

GigaPoPOne

“Gigabit capacity Point of Presence” anaggregation point for regional connectivity

Network Architecture

GigaPoPTwo

GigaPoPFour

GigaPoPThree

Internet2 InterconnectCloud

Network Architecture

University A

CommercialInternetConnections

GigaPoPOne

Regional Network

University B University C

GigaPoPs

Variety of services and styles• Technical and organizational

differences• Mixture of technologies

Common approaches to:• IP as common bearer service• Inter-gigaPoP routing policy and design• Measurement• Trouble tickets among network

operations centers

Internet2 GigaPoPs

The Abilene Network

Abilene Timeline

Announced: April 1998First demonstration: September 1998Operations officially begin: February

199950+ connected institutions:

September 1999

Abilene Goals

Support Internet2 applications development

Demonstrate next generation networking capabilities

Create facilities for network research

Abilene Goals, continued

Support Internet2 multicastSupport Internet2 QoS

architecture as it evolvesSupport other advanced

functionality as it evolvesMaximize robustnessMinimize latency

Abilene Project Partners

UCAIDQwest Communications Cisco SystemsNortel NetworksIndiana University

Key Attributes

Benefit from Qwest OC-48 Sonet capacity and collocation sites

Benefit from Nortel OC-192 Sonet kit and Lucent fiber

Benefit from Cisco GSR 12000 series routers in support of QoS and native multicast

NOC Provided by Indiana University

Architecture

10 core nodes• Each located at a Qwest PoP• Each with a Cisco 12008 router• Rack also contains measurements/ management

computers Interior lines connect core nodes

• OC-48 Sonet• IP-over-Sonet interfaces

Access lines connect from core node to gigaPoP• IP-over-Sonet or IP-over-ATM possible• OC-3 and OC-12 typical

Abilene Characteristics

2.4 Gbps (OC48) among gigaPoPs, increasing to 9.6 Gbps (OC192)

Connections at 622 Mbps (OC12) or 155 Mbps (OC3)

IP over Sonet technologyAccess PoPs very close to university

gigaPoPs

Abilene Network

Cleve

land

New York

Atlanta

Indianapolis

Kansas City

Houston

Denver

Los Angeles

Sacramento

Seattle

Abilene Router Node

Abilene Access Node

Operational January 1999

Planned 1999

Abilene Participants

Abilene Weather Maphttp://www.abilene.iu.edu/

Abilene Peer Networks

APAN/Transpac CA*net-2 DANTE DREN ESnet Israel Inter-University NORDUnet NISN NREN 

RENATER SingAREN SURFnet vBNS

Soon to peer JANET/UKERNA CUDI DFN INFN

Internet2 International Activities

Ensure global interoperability of advanced networking technologies and applications

Enable collaboration between US researchers at Internet2 institutions and their non-US counterparts

Internet2 International Activities

Building peer to peer relationships Looking for similar goals/objectives and

similar constituencies Mechanism: Memoranda of Understanding Implementation: Peering and Connection

Agreements Collaboration: Projects and Applications

Internet2 International Partners

CANARIE (Canada) Stichting SURF (Netherlands) NORDUnet (Nordic countries) TERENA (pan-European

association) UKERNA (UK) INFN-GARR (Italy) DFN-Verein (Germany) GIP RENATER (France) JAIRC (Japan)

CANARIE (Canada) Stichting SURF (Netherlands) NORDUnet (Nordic countries) TERENA (pan-European

association) UKERNA (UK) INFN-GARR (Italy) DFN-Verein (Germany) GIP RENATER (France) JAIRC (Japan)

SingAREN (Singapore) CUDI (Mexico) APAN (Asia-Pacific region) Israel-IUCC (Israel) DANTE (European network) AAIREP (Australia) HEAnet (Ireland) CESnet (Czech Republic) SWITCH (Switzerland)

SingAREN (Singapore) CUDI (Mexico) APAN (Asia-Pacific region) Israel-IUCC (Israel) DANTE (European network) AAIREP (Australia) HEAnet (Ireland) CESnet (Czech Republic) SWITCH (Switzerland)

Advanced Research and Education Network Atlas (ARENA)

An on-line atlas containing descriptions and maps of research and education networks

Content will be provided by participating networks

Provides a well known URL for sometimes hard to find information

Users: Research and education network engineers and application users

http://www.internet2.edu/arena/

For More Information

On the Web• www.internet2.edu/abilene/• www.abilene.iu.edu• www.internet2.edu

Email• [email protected]• [email protected]

www.internet2.edu

TM