News

Indiana University, Internet2 and Chinese Research and Education Networks Celebrate Partnership

Leaders from Indiana University, Internet2 and the China Education and Research Network (CERNET) met November 4 at Georgetown University to celebrate their cooperative partnership linking the education and research networks of the United States and China.

An ongoing partnership between Indiana University's GlobalNOC, CERNET and Internet2 made this project possible. In the last ten years, the partners have worked together on a range of efforts to support research and education networking for scientific collaboration, including solving access problems caused by China's large, growing population. Read more...

MAN LAN's New 100G Capabilities To Benefit International and U.S. Research and Education Networks

Internet2 announced at SC11 the completion of an advanced upgrade that enables 100 Gigabit per second capabilities to the Manhattan Landing (MAN LAN) international exchange point in New York City. As a result, MAN LAN, a partnership between Internet2, Indiana University and NYSERnet, will be better positioned to serve both international and U.S. research networks and allow scientists to address energy, climate and other research challenges—particularly when paired with the 100G upgrade of the Internet2 optical infrastructure.

High Performance Research Projects Advance Through New Interoperable Transatlantic Network Services

Transatlantic research projects that rely on high-performance computing will benefit from seamless, end-to-end network services. Some of these capabilities were presented and demonstrated at SC11 by research networks GÉANT, ESnet and Internet2, among others. When the services are officially launched in the coming months, users involved in data-intensive projects such as high-energy physics, radio astronomy and fusion research will be able to access interoperable, dynamically provisioned, on-demand network links and multi-domain monitoring on both sides of the Atlantic for the first time. This seamless approach makes it simpler to collaborate on large-scale projects, speeding up research and adding flexibility to high-performance computing. See the press release for more details.

Internet2 NET+ Box Service
In Demand

Internet2 NET+ is receiving inquiries daily from campuses interested in adding the new Box service to their membership agreement. The production version is planned to go live in Q1 of 2012, with details available and updated regularly at http://www.internet2.edu/netplus/docs/Internet2-Box-FAQ.pdf.

InCommon Eases Finding
Federated Services and Descriptions

InCommon has created a series of new dynamic web pages to provide more information about services available in the InCommon Federation and to increase value for sponsored partners. The new pages present descriptions of the 600-plus individual services available via federated identity management, as well as information about the identity providers deployed in the federation.

These web pages draw on information in the InCommon metadata, including service name, logo and description; plus helpful URLs, contact information, and a list of requested attributes. Providing this information in an easy-to-find manner will add value to InCommon participants by:

• Exposing information about services offered through the federation, helping to increase the number of federated partners for all participants
• Increasing the value of the Federation for sponsored partners and the services they provide
• Demonstrating the scope of services available throughout the Federation
• Supporting user consent for attribute release

K-20 Videoconferencing Librarians Interest Group
to Launch December 8, 2011

Libraries of all shapes and sizes are discovering the power of videoconferencing and video webcasting to bring a world of experiences and expertise to the communities they serve. These technologies also offer unprecedented opportunities for libraries to share knowledge, cultural activities, and other community events with the rest of the world.

As part of the "K-20 Librarian" project, the Internet2 K20 Initiative invites public, school, and academic librarians to join in the inaugural meeting of the "Videoconferencing Librarians Interest Group" on December 8, 2011. This will be an opportunity for librarians from all across the country to collaborate and help each other tap the wealth of possibilities that videoconferencing affords.

If you are interested in participating, please RSVP to James Werle no later than Monday, November 21, 2011. Be sure to indicate whether you'd like to join via h.323 video conferencing or phone bridge.

EVENTS

Internet2 Collaborates Real-Time at SC11

The Internet2 booth at SC11—this year's edition of the supercomputing (SC) Conference, premier research high-performance networking and high-performance computing conference—was designed for collaboration and real-time problem solving. A stage was created for community leaders to share ideas, and there was a space for lively discussions among community members and senior Internet2 staff. And to help bring opportunities and challenges together, Internet2 issued a Community Solutions Challenge, where SC attendees were encouraged to submit their biggest research and network challenges.

In collaboration with consortium members, Internet2 highlighted in four separate presentations the 100Gbps networking capabilities and applications such as DYNES, Layer 2 transatlantic data traffic flow in support of LHC, and NDDI/OS3E—applications already developed atop the world's fastest network to support large-scale science initiatives. These presentations showcased Internet2's newly deployed 100G network and its unparalleled capacity to support today's researchers in their work to solve some of society's greatest challenges.

Internet2 makes a significant yearly contribution to SCinet, the network created especially for SC. This year, Internet2 staffed the leadership of SCinet, including the SCinet Chair, a Vice Chair, and the Measurement Chair. Internet2 and ESnet provided new 100 Gigabit national infrastructure connections to the conference, which were time-shared to support eight demonstrations. The Internet2 Network provided four additional 10G circuits, ESnet provided three 10G circuits, and TR-CPS also provided some commodity connectivity.

There were over 50 Internet2 member organizations exhibiting at this year's conference, too. We are excited to collaborate with our members and help share their latest innovations!

NDDI/OS3E Service Launch Overview Webinar, December 8, 2011, 2:00p (ET)

Software defined networking (SDN) has the potential to provide the same level of customization for networks that apps have brought to cell phones. Attend this webinar to learn about exciting new SDN solutions for astronomers, climatologists, physicists, medical researchers—anyone whose work depends on the exacting exchange of massive data files.

Internet2, Indiana University, and the Clean Slate Program at Stanford University are rapidly building new capabilities that will allow SDN innovation to flourish in the Internet2 community through a collaboration known as the Network Development and Deployment Initiative (NDDI). During the webinar, Internet2 will showcase a new suite of services from its own SDN application development, the Open Science, Scholarship and Services Exchange (OS3E). OS3E is being launched to support global research and create new opportunities for Internet2 members to innovate. Also included:

• An overview of the underlying technology
• A demonstration of the OS3E service and its interoperability with networks around the globe
• The service delivery model for NDDI and OS3E
• Connecting to OS3E
• How OS3E connects with other existing network infrastructures

Register now to learn about these groundbreaking services! Registration will close at 10:00a (ET), December 8, 2011.

Governance Updates

AMSAC

The Applications, Middleware and Services Advisory Council (AMSAC) met in November, received an update on the Internet2 NET+ service offerings, and was pleased to learn that feedback from the community has been very positive. Topics discussed included questions and feedback received by universities and regionals, ways to streamline campus adoption of InCommon, developing shared security assessments, and efforts to engage additional NET+ vendors to offer services to the Internet2 community.

AOAC

The Architecture and Operations Advisory Council (AOAC) met on November 9. Internet2 staff reported that additional segments have been added to the Internet2 100G backbone as part of the network build project as well as in support of SC11. In addition, five NDDI nodes have been built as part of the Open Science, Scholarship and Services Exchange to be showcased at SC11. After excellent discussions held during the Internet2 Fall Member Meeting, the AOAC will be constituting two subcommittees to continue the discussions regarding use of the network. The first subcommittee is charged with determining what the Internet2 community needs to do to take advantage of the 100G capabilities of the network and what to do to substantiate the innovation platform that is being created with the network. The other subcommittee is charged with reviewing the principles and goals of use of the network leading to an overall, fresh, clean slate perspective on fees.

ERAC

The External Relations Advisory Council (ERAC) held an executive session on October 10 to discuss future directions in governance, continuing the discussion that began at the Fall Member Meeting. In addition, other areas under ERAC's portfolio of responsibilities were discussed, including enterprise operations, U.S. UCAN, corporate outreach and policy.

At the November 7 meeting, ERAC members received an update given by Ana Hunsinger regarding open positions, staffing and hiring priorities. Under the guidance of Bob Brammer, work continues to reposition and restructure industry relations and engagement. ERAC chair Tim Lance provided an update from the recent meeting of the Standing Committee on International Strategy (SCIS, sub-committee of ERAC). The topic of overall enterprise risk management was introduced, discussion ensued and will be continued. The next scheduled ERAC call is November 21.

RAC

The Research Advisory Council (RAC) met in November and reviewed the status of Internet2's Research Wave Program, RAC's support for this, and its recommendations to Internet2 about how best to proceed with the rollout. It also discussed Internet2's support and resources for researchers through the CTO office, along with potential ways to make these efforts more effective.