The Abilene Observatory

The Abilene Observatory is a program that supports the collection and dissemination of network data associated with the Abilene Network. The observatory serves network engineers by providing a view of the operational data associated with a large-scale network, and also the research community by providing data associated with the fundamental properties of basic network protocols.

The Abilene Observatory consists of two components: 1) Data collected by Abilene engineers using equipment located in the router nodes and operated by the Abilene NOC, and 2) Data collected by separate research projects using equipment collocated in the Abilene racks. Data collected by Abilene engineers as part of the first component is open to all research projects and is available either online or through special arrangements (See

• Research Projects

for a description of the current projects using the data). Participation in the second component, that of collocating equipment in Abilene router nodes, is open to all members (university, corporate, or affiliates) of the Internet2 project and is based on competitive proposals (See

• Proposal Process

for a description). The purpose of this component is to provide the research community with a vehicle for basic network research and all results from that research are expected to be open to the public through the process of peer review.

Data Views

There is an enormous amount of data collected under the Abilene Observatory program, and much of it is not easily displayed in a visual manner. Some of the data, however, can be presented in a pictorial way. Whenever possible we have tried to present the data in an easily understood manner. In an attempt accomplish that goal, the URLs below present different views of the Abilene network. The first is a summary view with basic information, essentially a "day in the life of Abilene." The second is a much more detailed engineering and research type of view. We encourage you to look at these two different views. Comments are always welcome - simply send mail to abilene@internet2.edu.

• Summary View
• Detailed View

Summary of important links:

• Abilene Observatory Proposal Process
• Research Projects using the Abilene Observatory
• Views of Abilene Data
  • Summary View
  • Detailed View