Other R&E NewsOther Research & Education News
SCinet Call for Network Resources for SC12/Salt Lake City – Responses due by June 8, 2012
The University of Utah and the Utah Education Network (UEN) are partnering with SCinet to provide both Internet-based and dedicated wide area connectivity services for the SC12 conference and exhibition in Salt Lake City, Utah, November 10-16, 2012. In order to provide the best experience possible for the conference participants, we are asking exhibitors and network entities to describe their advanced network resource needs in supporting their organization’s presence and demonstrations at the Salt Palace Convention Center (SPCC).
SCinet will work with ESnet, Internet2, National LambdaRail (NLR), Netherlight, UEN, and other collaborating networking organizations to implement the required resources for SC12. If your organization will require network resources beyond a basic IPv4/IPv6 network service, please respond to this call with the details of your particular requirements. While we would like to have as many details as possible outlined early, we recognize that some issues will need to be worked out over time. Please describe your needs with the available information now, so we may plan accordingly.
- Network bandwidth required (e.g., GigE, 10GigE, Nx10GigE, 100GigE)
- Potential long haul network provider(s) to reach SPCC (e.g., ESnet, Internet2, NLR)
- Origination point(s) of network resources
- Will the network resources be dedicated to a single purpose or can they be shared with other SC12 participants?
- If the network resources can be shared, will you need Layer-2 (e.g., point-to-point Gigabit Ethernet) or Layer-3 (e.g., IPv4, IPv6) support?
Even if you are unable to provide all the details above please contact the SCinet WAN Team as soon as possible with what you do know.
Please send your connectivity requirements and questions to the SCinet WAN Team by June 8, 2012. Our e-mail address is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Thank you,
Jim Stewart, Director, Technical Services, UEN and SCinet WAN Team Chair
Governor Kasich Announces Ten-Fold Boost to Ohio's Broadband Network
Ohio's High-Speed Network Will Lead Nation in Unprecedented Statewide Initiative to Advance Cutting Edge Research and Job Creation
Columbus, OH – Feburary 7, 2012 - Ohio will soon see a ten-fold boost to its broadband network speeds, which will benefit research and job-creating assets statewide. Governor John R. Kasich made the announcement at his State of the State address in Steubenville today, highlighting the first ever state-led initiative that will leverage astonishing network speeds of 100 Gigabits (Gbps) per second to advance research and job growth across Ohio's medical research, higher education, manufacturing, engineering and technology networking corridors.
“This is a game changer for Ohio. These almost unfathomable speeds are highly sought by leading researchers and job creators in competitive markets around the world,” Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Jim Petro said. “This will solidify Ohio's standing as a technology leader thanks to the vision of our many public and private partners.”
Under a recently approved agreement with Cisco and Juniper, Ohio will invest approximately $10 million to harness new innovative technology that will, in essence, “open the faucet” of Ohio's current broadband infrastructure, over 1,800 miles of fiber, from its current 10 Gbps capacity to 100 Gbps. At this speed, every one of Ohio's 1.8 million enrolled K-12 students could download an eBook simultaneously in just over two minutes.
This expansion leverages the fiber optic network operated by OARnet, a member of the Ohio Board of Regents Ohio Technology Consortium. The 100 Gbps network will connect Ohio's major metropolitan areas to northern and southern connection points of Internet2, a nationwide advanced networking consortium led by the research and education community, spanning U.S. and international institutions who are leaders in the worlds of research, academia, industry and government.
For the network, $8.1 million will fund hardware development for Phase 1, which will connect Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton and Toledo by June 2012 and Phase 2 markets of Akron, Athens and Youngstown by October 2012.
Ohio public and private partners also will invest $2.3 million in a state-of-the-art innovation center that will enable and test 100 Gbps technologies and promote the development of compelling broadband, software and advanced technology applications. Located at The Ohio State University, the center will operate in research collaboration with Internet2, NSF-Future Internet Infrastructure (GENI), UC-Berkeley and other national laboratories.
Today's groundbreaking announcement is well received from many companies and organizations that currently utilize Ohio's robust technology resources:
Tom Lange, Procter & Gamble's Director of Corporate Research and Development Modeling and Simulation: “This is a big win for Ohio. It puts us on the 21st Century Digital Highway, which will help big businesses, mid-sized companies and small developing firms. At P&G, Ohio's Supercomputing capacity and the high-speed network that supports it, allows P&G to model and simulate our products, and production systems, thus lowering costs and improving consumers experiences with our products. For small and mid-sized Ohio companies, many of which are P&G suppliers, this game changing 'data highway' upgrade gives them greater access to and use of modeling & simulation that can improve their products and thus help their businesses grow and to compete globally.”
Dr. Philip Payne, Associate Professor & Chair, Department of Biomedical Informatics at The Ohio State University and Executive Director for the Center for IT Innovation in Healthcare: “Analyzing complex genomic information in order to deliver healthcare informed by the most up to date science consumes massive amounts of data. Until now, the speed and capacity needed to transmit this data between research facilities and healthcare systems throughout the state was non-existent and we had to physically ship large external hard drives between institutions. At these new speeds and bandwidth, we will now be able to transmit enormous genomic data sets with the click of a button to anyone connected to the network in just minutes. This is an incredible technological breakthrough for the medical research and clinical care communities, and will lead to improvements in health for every Ohioan.”
Caroline Whitacre, Vice President for Research for The Ohio State University: “Ohio's research broadband backbone is already the envy of many other states. Accelerating its capacity to 100 Gbps will make Ohio even more attractive to medical research, manufacturing, engineering and other technology sectors. This will put Ohio far ahead of the pack in university research collaboration and competition for federal grants.”
Fact sheet and more information on Ohio's 100 Giabit Network and Innovation Center is available here.
Download a PDF of this Press Release here.
About the Ohio Technology Consortium (OH-TECH)
The Ohio Board of Regents Ohio Technology Consortium (OH-Tech) includes the Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet), the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) and eStudent Services. OH-TECH serves as the umbrella organization for these three organizations, which offer innovative technology resources and services for Ohio higher education, K-12 schools and state and local government. http://oh-tech.org
Regional Network Futures Report
Advanced Regional Networks (ARNs) play a unique and vital role in America’s broadband future, according to a report published October 31, the outcome of a two-day workshop on “Envisioning the Future of Advanced Regional and State Networks.” Supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and hosted by the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, the workshop was attended by over 30 experts in the development and operation of ARNs as well leaders from the national research and education (R&E) networking community and industry.
“Over the past 25 years,” according to the report, “ARNs have played a critical role in the deployment of the Internet within the United States and the development of the global Internet itself. . . Today ARNs are expanding to serve entirely new sets of organizations, but are finding that they must adapt to do so. In fact, we are now at an inflection point unlike any other in the forty-year history of R&E networking, with ARNs facing an intersection of increasing opportunities and rising challenges. To realize their full potential, ARNs must reach a common vision for their future development, fundamentally reevaluating core issues such as funding, form, and function.”
For ARNs to realize their full potential as innovation platforms, the report makes a number of recommendations to the ARN community:
- Broaden the collaboration among ARNs to provide coherence for users
- Develop sustainable and coordinated funding models
- Strengthen the partnership and alignment between ARNs and national organizations
- Expand the leadership and coordination roles of the National Science Foundation
- Increase collaboration on new and advanced services
- Join forces to inform policy makers at the state, regional, and national levels
For full report, please visit: https://www.mcnc.org/sites/default/files/arn-workshop-white-paper-31-oct-2011.pdf.
SDSC Announces Scalable, High-performance Data Storage Cloud
Web-based system offers high durability, security, and speed for diverse user base The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego, today announced the launch of what is believed to be the largest academic-based cloud storage system in the U.S., specifically designed for researchers, students, academics, and industry users who require stable, secure, and cost-effective storage and sharing of digital information, including extremely large data sets.
Gates Foundation: Regional Networks Important Partner for Libraries, Other Community Anchors
Regional research and education (R&E) networks can be a source of affordable Internet access and value-added services for community anchor institutions, according to a report released earlier this year by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The report, “Connections, Capacity, Community: Exploring Potential Benefits of Research and Education Networks for Public Libraries,” focused in particular on the needs of public libraries to expand Internet and technology services to meet the growing needs of their communities.
“R&E networks have an important role in helping to achieve the goal in the National Broadband Plan that ‘Every American community should have affordable access to at least 1 gigabit per second broadband service to anchor institutions such as schools, hospitals and government buildings,’ ” according to the report. The report goes on to say that the expansion plans of many regional networks made possible by federal stimulus funding under the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) means that “thousands of additional community anchor institutions, including public libraries, will have new opportunities to benefit from increased bandwidth and additional services through R&E networks.”
Even after the announced BTOP projects have been completed, however, the Gates Foundation estimates that more than two-thirds of the approximately 17,000 public libraries in the country will still lack access to advanced fiber networks.
The report urges libraries to consider the benefits of working with a regional R&E network both on account of the “basic value” provided by regionals (network speed, quality and cost) and “added value,” such as new services and being part of a non-profit community connecting people and institutions with similar interests.
The value to libraries of working with regional R&E networks will grow and broaden as libraries’ capabilities, needs, and practices evolve, the report states, and as libraries seek to transform how they interact with and serve their patrons. For instance, by providing videoconferencing, library generated content, digitized content and by serving as enhanced channels in support of e-government and primary and continuing education.
When evaluating a potential partnership with a regional network, the Gates Foundation outlines seven dimensions to consider: the scope of the network‘s membership base, range of services, geographic reach, history and origin, governance, business model, and network typology.
Scientists Launch Internet Protocol Research Center
The Global Network Development and Deployment Initiative Formed to Facilitate Research on New Platforms and Architectures Based on OpenFlow Technology.
By Chandler Harris InformationWeek April 25, 2011
The Internet2 networking consortium, Indiana University, and Stanford University's Clean Slate Program have launched a research center that will create a new network platform for global scientific research.
The Network Development and Deployment Initiative (NDDI) will create multiple virtual networks that allow network researchers to test and experiment with new Internet protocols and architectures. It will also enable domain scientists to accelerate their active research with collaborators worldwide.
Full Article
http://www.informationweek.com/news/infrastructure/ipv6/229402172