Fiber-optic research net gains steam

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: OPTICAL NETWORKING
09/05/05

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* National Lambdarail is branching out across the country
* Links related to Optical Networking
* Featured reader resource
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by HP
Network World Executive Guide: The Evolution of Management
Technologies

With applications and infrastructures growing more sophisticated
and demanding, network and systems management technologies are
more critical than ever. Elevating their focus from bits and
bytes, these networked systems are being called on to close the
gap between IT and business services. Read about the future of
management, including BSM and emerging automation tools. Learn
about 'hot spots' and 'best products' in network management.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=112890
_______________________________________________________________
GAMBLING FORCES THE QUESTION: WHO CONTROLS THE 'NET?

A pair of Caribbean islands with a combined area about 2.5 times
that of Washington, D.C., and a population of about 68,000,
decided a while back to invest in Internet casinos as a way to
augment the tourist trade. Can the U.S. government prohibit U.S.
residents from partaking? Click here:
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=112406
_______________________________________________________________

Today's focus: Fiber-optic research net gains steam

By Cara Garretson

Despite a setback caused by Hurricane Katrina, National
Lambdarail, a nationwide fiber-optic network designed to
facilitate advanced network technology research, is gaining
support.

While NLR is firmly planted in the research community, the
results of experimentation and research done over the network
are likely to find a way into the commercial arena, participants
say, particularly in areas of next-generation protocols, network
management tools, provisioning capabilities and security
techniques - possibly in as little as 18 to 24 months,
participants say.

Having finished the network's first build-out phase that
connected points from east to west across the country last
August, NLR's second phase connects southern points on the map
and had been slated for completion in November.

However, Hurricane Katrina thwarted some of this progress, as a
number of points of presence along the Gulf Coast are currently
submerged, says NLR spokesman Greg Wood. The group plans to
provide an update of phase two's progress this week, Wood says.

The first of it's kind, NLR's infrastructure uses dense
wavelength division multiplexing technology to offer up to 40
simultaneous light wavelengths (or lambdas), each capable of
transmitting at speeds of 10G bit/sec. Other research-oriented
networks don't offer such dedicated capacity; Internet2, for
example, connects more than 200 U.S. universities with one
10G-bit/sec link each. Currently there are six research projects
underway that take advantage of NLR.

Cisco is providing the multiplexers, switches and routers for
NLR, and Level 3 Communications is supplying the fiber. Sun in
July announced it is working with NLR to connect its Sun Grid -
an Internet-based utility service - to the network.

User involvement

But that's about the extent of vendor involvement in NLR. The
network was designed by and for the research community, says Tom
West, NLR's executive director, so the infrastructure is not
managed by a vendor, but by users. "The primary benefit is this
dedicated capability that is [the user's] own to control and
manage," West says. NLR set a mandate that more than 50% of its
capacity be dedicated to network technology research.

Users pay for a fixed amount of usage over a period of time, say
three or five years, and get full use of one of the 40 dedicated
wavelengths. That means researchers can experiment with new
technologies without affecting or being affected by others.
"It's like a highway system; I have my own lane, and no one else
can get in," West says.

The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, jointly formed by Carnegie
Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, was the
first research organization to use NLR as part of its TeraGrid
distributed architecture for scientific research. It is looking
to take advantage of some new NLR features such as Layer 3
services, says Gwendolyn Huntoon, director of networking. For
advanced IP research, the power and flexibility of NLR's network
is key, she says.

"We have some well-known TCP/IP research, and we're looking at
some additional services [from NLR] that will give us the
opportunity to investigate revisions to protocols in the
existing stack that might be disruptive if done over a
commercial infrastructure," Huntoon says. "Certainly AT&T or
Global Crossing doesn't want us experimenting on their network."

Other considerations

Cost also has been a reason to use NLR instead of some
commercial services, Huntoon says, because the research network
is competitively priced but more flexible with contracts than
vendors tend to be.

And because NLR is developed for research institutions, the
network covers key points on the map that commercial services
might not, she adds.

Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX), a multi-state consortium of 37
participants that provides internetworks for advanced research
and education centered around Washington, D.C., plans to join
forces with a similar group in Virginia and become an NLR member
by early next year, according to Tony Conto, MAX executive
director.

The group has been using Internet2 services for research and
education, as well as experimentation, but is looking forward to
NLR's dedicated wavelengths for some advanced projects.

"With Internet2 it was originally instantiated as a broadcast
network, so you really couldn't parcel out a lambda to let you
do this experimental work - you were afraid of breaking the
network," Conto says. MAX plans to use services from both
networks going forward, he says.

MAX members, which include universities, federal laboratories
and agencies, and non-profits, will use NLR for more than
advanced network research, Conto adds, offering examples such as
telemedicine applications and physics experiments that will
traverse the network.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. VoIP rollouts generate heat, power concerns
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical6218>

2. Cell carriers tackle Katrina damage
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical6426>

3. 2005 salary survey
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical4002>

4. Google dives deeper into networking
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical6214>

5. Katrina news <http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical6427>

Today's most-forwarded story:

Cell carriers tackle Katrina damage
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical6428>

_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Cara Garretson

Cara Garretson is senior editor at Network World. She can be
reached at mailto:cara_garretson@nww.com
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by HP
Network World Executive Guide: The Evolution of Management
Technologies

With applications and infrastructures growing more sophisticated
and demanding, network and systems management technologies are
more critical than ever. Elevating their focus from bits and
bytes, these networked systems are being called on to close the
gap between IT and business services. Read about the future of
management, including BSM and emerging automation tools. Learn
about 'hot spots' and 'best products' in network management.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=112889
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Archive of the Optical Networking newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/optical/index.html
_______________________________________________________________
FEATURED READER RESOURCE

VoIP

For the latest in VoIP, check out NW's Research Center on this
very topic. Here you will find a collection of the latest news,
reviews, product testing results and more all related to keeping
VoIP networks performing at their best. Click here for more:

<http://www.networkworld.com/topics/voip.html>
_______________________________________________________________
May We Send You a Free Print Subscription?
You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered
at your fingertips each day. Now, extend your knowledge by
receiving 51 FREE issues to our print publication. Apply
today at http://www.subscribenw.com/nl2

International subscribers click here:
http://nww1.com/go/circ_promo.html
_______________________________________________________________
SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES

To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World e-mail
newsletters, go to:
<http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/Changes.aspx>

To change your e-mail address, go to:
<http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/ChangeMail.aspx>

Subscription questions? Contact Customer Service by replying to
this message.

This message was sent to: networking.world@gmail.com
Please use this address when modifying your subscription.
_______________________________________________________________

Have editorial comments? Write Jeff Caruso, Newsletter Editor,
at: <mailto:jcaruso@nww.com>

Inquiries to: NL Customer Service, Network World, Inc., 118
Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772

For advertising information, write Kevin Normandeau, V.P. of
Online Development, at: <mailto:sponsorships@nwfusion.com>

Copyright Network World, Inc., 2005