Organizing Hands-on Multicast Workshops: Guidelines for Internet2 International Partners
Introduction
Several of Internet2's international partner organizations have expressed interest in holding hands-on multicast workshops like those offered by Internet2 (see http://multicast.internet2.edu/ for slides, lab exercises, network diagrams, configurations, and reference materials from these workshops). In this document we've collected some insights gleaned from our experience holding these workshops within the United States for the Internet2 community. The document is intended to be used with the materials from the February 2003 workshop at Florida International University, available at http://multicast.internet2.edu/workshops/fiu/. These materials, as well as this document, are freely redistributable.
Materials from the May 2003 AIT/Internet2 multicast workshop in Thailand are available at http://irl.cs.ait.ac.th/multicast_workshop.html (scroll to bottom of page).
Attendees
This document describes a workshop of 20 attendees. The principal qualification for attendees is that they be in a position to push forward the deployment of multicast at their home institutions. While attendees should have some hands-on experience with router configuration in general and BGP configuration in particular, no knowledge of multicast is required.
What attendees need to bring
Students are asked to bring a laptop capable of running multicast applications. Linux or *BSD based systems will offer the most tools and applications, but Windows 2000 or XP are also suitable. If wireless is used to connect to the workshop labs (see below), attendees should bring their own wireless cards.
Finding instructors
At least two instructors are needed, and it's better to have four or five. This allows slide presenters to specialize in the material they know best, as well as making it easier for students to get help when needed during the labs. If possible, it's best to have true experts presenting.
Internet2-run workshops in the U.S. are open to international partners. Having a prospective instructor attend one of these workshops to see how they're run may be a good idea.
Internet2 may be able to help provide an initial set of instructors for workshops, but this is dependent on demand and travel budget. If you would like to talk further about how we might work together to identify and develop potential instructors for these workshops, please contact Heather Boyles (heather@internet2.edu) or Ana Preston (apreston@internet2.edu).
Gear
Internet2 uses the following gear at its workshops. We are unable to ship gear internationally, so the list below is provided for reference only. The resources you have available will determine the details of how you do your workshop; we recommend that you start by taking inventory, and work outward from there. Opportunities do exist for low-cost loans of gear for R&E purposes — see for example the Network Startup Resource Center (http://www.nsrc.org/). Unix-based routing such as Zebra (http://www.zebra.org/) is another option. Whatever equipment you decide on, we strongly recommend assembling a standard equipment kit and shipping it from workshop to workshop, rather than configuring a new set of boxes each time. This greatly reduces the amount of work and the number of unforeseen problems.
Equipment used for Internet2 multicast workshops
- 17 Cisco 2600/3600/4700 routers (four for each of the four lab pods, plus one to tie the pods together)
- 4 Juniper M-5 routers (one for each pod)
- 8 Ethernet hubs (two for each pod; switches make troubleshooting harder and are not recommended)
- 9 laptop computers (a source and receiver for each pod, plus a TFTP server for lab setup)
- 4 USB cameras (one for each pod)
- 2 LCD displays (to make it easier for more students to observe troubleshooting)
- all necessary network and power cables (important: have all network cables built and tested in advance)
- a small inkjet or laser printer
Using wireless? Some of Internet2's workshops have used 802.11b wireless and a terminal server to connect attendee laptops to the lab routers. If you choose this option, we recommend that attendees be asked to provide their own wireless cards, as supporting loaner wireless cards on a variety of hardware can be time-consuming.
Power requirements
Estimated dissipation values are based upon maximum power ratings for each device.
| Device |
Quantity |
Dissipation (watts) |
Total Dissipation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco 2600/3600/4700 router |
17 |
200 |
3,400 |
| Juniper M-5 router |
4 |
434 |
1,736 |
| laptop computer |
28 |
72 |
2,016 |
| Ethernet hub |
8 |
5 |
40 |
| projection unit |
1 |
250 |
250 |
| 18-inch LCD display |
1 |
96 |
96 |
| 20-inch LCD display |
1 |
84 |
84 |
| inkjet or laser printer |
1 |
500 |
500 |
| total room power |
8,122 |
Organizing the workshops
It is important to have clarity about the division of tasks between the sponsoring organization and the hosting institution. In particular, it is recommended that the sponsoring organization handle the technical aspects and the hosting institution handle organizational tasks such as registration.
Internet2 has the hosting institution handle registration and fee collection. Internet2 publicizes the workshop and provides instructors and gear. The hosting institutions provide Internet2 with the following information:
- Exact location of the workshop, including room number
- Recommended hotel(s)
- Directions and map, or links to them
- Transportation options for attendees, e.g. driving instructions, airport shuttle information
- Name and logo of the hosting institution, exactly as they should appear on the web site and in printed materials promoting the workshop
- Attendee contact information: name, affiliation, email address, mailing address, phone number
- Any organizations (other than the hosting institution) that should be acknowledged for their contributions to the workshop
- Address to which gear should be shipped
Attendee fee. Internet2 charges attendees a $200 fee; of this, 80% goes to Internet2 and the remaining 20% goes to the hosting institution. While the attendee fees help defray expenses for both the hosting institution and Internet2, the fees generally do not cover all costs. The appropriate fee and division of funds for your workshops will likely be different than for Internet2's.
More details on the planning process Internet2 uses for its own workshops, including a detailed timeline, are at http://multicast.internet2.edu/workshops/multicast-workshop-logistics.shtml.
What we ask the hosting institution to provide
Network bandwidth requirements. A single IPv4 address is required for setting up network address translation from the lab to the Internet. Bandwidth requirements will be light (under 10 Mbps). Generally we don't attempt multicast connectivity outside the workshop lab.
Workshop meeting room. Attendees work in groups of five. Each group is responsible for configuring and testing a pod of five routers. Tables should arranged so there are four areas which allow each group to work together. There needs to be sufficient work space for each attendee to access their own laptop computer and class notes. Additionally, there needs to be space for the source and receiver laptops in each group, and for an LCD screen for two groups.
Because of the fan noise generated by the 21 lab routers, they should be located away from the attendees and instructors, ideally in a noise-isolated area such as an adjoining room. The room layout must allow for three Cat5 cables from each router pod to the workspace for the group working on that pod.
Slide projection system. It is best if this can be set up to allow presenters to use their own laptops. If this is not possible, the presentation laptop provided should have both PowerPoint and Acrobat Reader.
Whiteboard or blackboard. Essential! The more writing space that is available, the better.
Power strips and extension cords. There never seem to be enough of these, so bring more than you think you'll need.
Videoconferencing equipment. This should not be required, but it may make it possible to bring in experts who can't attend in person.
Printing and copying. It's helpful to have hard copies available, especially for lab materials and network diagrams. As instructors usually need to make last-minute changes, it's best to plan on printing on site.
Food and drink. Having plenty of snacks, soda, water, and (especially) coffee available throughout the workshop does a lot for mood, and therefore for productivity. Providing full meals can be a considerable time-saver, especially for lunch, and especially if the workshop location is not close to restaurants. Vegetarian options are recommended.
Sample schedule
At least two and a half days are needed to cover the material. If more time is available, the Multicast on the LAN, MSDP, and Multicast Troubleshooting sections — especially the labs — are often cited by attendees as parts of the workshop they'd like to spend more time on. Also, if the first language of the presenters is not the same as the first language of the attendees, more time may be needed. In contrast to the hands-on technical focus of most of the workshop, the SSM Revisited and Making the Case for Multicast sections deal with broader deployment issues, and may be omitted if time is short.
Day One - Afternoon
- Overview
- Multicast on the LAN
- Lab 1: Multicast on the LAN
- SSM
Day Two - Morning
- Lab 2: SSM
- ASM in general
- Intra-domain ASM
- Lab 3: Intra-domain ASM
Day Two - Afternoon
- MBGP
- Lab 4: MBGP & Inter-domain SSM
Day Three - Morning
- MSDP
- Lab 5: MSDP & Inter-domain ASM
Day Three - Afternoon
- SSM Revisited
- Making the Case for Multicast
- Multicast Troubleshooting
- Lab 6: Multicast Troubleshooting
This document is a work in progress and is provided in the spirit of sharing our experiences and gaining from yours. We are very interested in feedback on this document and on the workshops themselves, both those run by Internet2 and any workshops that might be replicated by partners elsewhere. Send feedback to Heather Boyles (heather@internet2.edu) or Ana Preston (apreston@internet2.edu).
