1. Internet2: an update
Heather Boyles, Director, International Relations, Internet2
APAN meeting
Phuket, Thailand
January 22-24, 2002
This is a general overview presentation about Internet2. Internet2 is a consortium, led by US universities, which is recreating the partnership among academia, industry and government that fostered today’s Internet in its infancy.

2. Outline Quick Review of Internet2 areas of activity/projects
Internet2 network infrastructure update
Internet2 middleware initiative progress and plans
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3. Who is Internet2? 190 U.S. universities 60+ for-profit corporations
~40 research labs/regional networking organizations
36 international partners
~50 staff funded by membership dues
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4. Internet2 Mission
Develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies, accelerating the creation of tomorrow’s Internet.
This is the Internet2 mission.
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5. Internet2 Goals
1) Enable development and use of new generation of applications
2) Provide infrastructure (network, middleware) to support #1
3) Transfer technology and experience to the global production Internet
These are the three primary goals of Internet2.
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6. Internet2 Focus Areas Advanced Applications Middleware Engineering
Advanced Network Infrastructure
These are the five areas that Internet2, Internet2 members, and partner organizations are focused on.
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7. Quick Applications Update
Goals:
Understand and communicate applications requirements
Facilitate collaboration of key user communities
Help develop key apps components where needed
Recent Activity:
Internet2 Commons: large collaborative environment
first focus: VIDEnet H.323 architecture
New working groups: HENP, working with NEESGrid
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8. Quick Engineering Update
IPv6
Small, tutorial workshops around the country (6 this year) to promote deployment
End to End Performance Initiative
E2E Performance Measurement workshop: next week in Tempe, AZ
Growing Knowledge Base of performance issues/solutions at:
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9. Internet2 Network Infrastructure - Overview
Campus
Regional/State
Gigapop
Backbone
vBNS
Abilene
International Connections
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10. Internet2 Interconnect
Network Architecture
Internet2 Interconnect
Cloud
GigaPoP
One
Regional Network
University C
Commercial
Internet
Connections
University B
University A
This diagram illustrates a possible ways universities access the high-performance and commercial networks
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11. Abilene background & milestones
Abilene is a UCAID project in partnership with
Qwest Communications (SONET & DWDM service)
Nortel Networks (SONET kit)
Cisco Systems (routers)
Indiana University (network operations)
ITECs in North Carolina and Ohio (test and evaluation)
Timeline
Apr 1998: Project announced at White House
Jan 1999: Production status for network
Oct 1999: IP version of HDTV (215 Mbps) over Abilene
Apr 2001: First state education network added
Jun 2001: Participation reaches all 50 states & D.C.
Nov 2001: Raw HDTV/IP (1.5 Gbps) over Abilene
Partnerships are the foundation of how the Internet developed and they are also a part of the foundation of Internet2.
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12. Abilene – January, 2002 IP-over-SONET (OC-48c) backbone
53 direct connections
3 OC-48c connections - NCNI will be the 4th
1 Gigabit Ethernet trial - MREN
23 will connect via at least OC-12c (622 Mbps) by 1Q02
207 participants – research universities & labs
All 50 states, District of Columbia, & Puerto Rico
15 regional GigaPoPs support ~70% of participants
Expanded access
37 sponsored participants
18 state education networks (SEGPs)
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14. Future of Abilene Original UCAID/Qwest MoU amended on October 1, 2001
Extension of Qwest’s original commitment to Abilene for another 5 years – 10/01/2006
Originally expired March, 2003
Upgrade of Abilene backbone to optical transport capability - ’s
x4 increase in the core backbone bandwidth
OC-48c SONET (2.5 Gbps) to 10-Gbps DWDM
Capability for flexible provisioning of ’s to support future point-to-point experimentation & other projects
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15. Key aspects of next backbone - I
Native IPv6
Motivations
Resolving IPv4 address exhaustion issues
Preservation of the original End-to-End Architecture model
p2p collaboration tools, reverse trend to CO-centrism
International collaboration
Router and host OS capabilities
Run natively - concurrent with IPv4
Replicate multicast deployment strategy
Close collaboration with Internet2 IPv6 Working Group on regional and campus v6 rollout
Addressing architecture
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16. Key aspects of the backbone - II
Network resiliency
Abilene ’s will not be protected a la SONET
Increasing use of videoconferencing/VoIP impose tighter restoration requirements (<100 ms)
Options:
Currently: MPLS/TE fast reroute
Would prefer IP-based IGP fast convergence
Addition of new measurement capabilities
Enhance active probing
Latency & jitter, loss, TCP throughput
Add passive measurement taps
Support of Internet2 End-to-End Performance Initiative
Intermediate performance beacons
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17. Abilene backbone - upgrade
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18. Regional optical fanout
Next generation architecture: Regional & state based optical networking projects are critical
three-level hierarchy: Backbone, GigaPoPs/ARNs, campuses
Leading examples
CENIC ONI (California), I-WIRE (Illinois),
SURA Crossroads (Southeastern U.S), Indiana, Ohio
Collaboration with the Quilt
Regional Optical Networking project
U.S. carrier DWDM access is now not nearly as widespread as with SONET circa 1998
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19. Conclusions Abilene future
UCAID’s partnership with Qwest extended through 2006
Backbone to be upgraded to 10-Gbps in three phases starting spring 2002
Capability for flexible  provisioning in support of future experimentation in optical networking
Overall approach to the new technical design and business plan is for an incremental, non-disruptive transition
Follow-on network most likely will be developed around a national dark fiber facility and will utilize next generation optical transport technology
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20. Internet2 Focus Areas Advanced Network Infrastructure Middleware
Engineering
Advanced Applications
Partnerships
These are the five areas that Internet2, Internet2 members, and partner organizations are focused on.
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21. What is Middleware?
Specialized networked services shared by applications and users
Permit scaling of applications and networks
Take the complexity out of application integration
Second layer of the IT infrastructure, above the network
Where technology meets policy
What networks designers and applications developers each do not want to do!
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22. Core vs. Upper/Network
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23. Middleware Core middleware elements: Authentication Identification
Authorization
Directories
Security
Middleware is a layer of software between the network and applicaitons
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24. Why Middleware? Internet2 goal
provide environment in which new/advanced applications can be developed and used
Middleware is the next layer of infrastructure that needs to be taken for granted by applications developers
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25. Internet2 Middleware Initiative
Focus on core middleware as infrastructure
Interoperability
190 universities will never buy the same software
Getting stuff implemented
Best practices
Integrate into campus infrastructure
Discourage ‘islands’ of middleware infrastructure
E.g. core mware just for this grid project
Enable community to share resources
Grid, remote instruments, shared classes
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26. Initiative Structure
MACE: community members providing overall guidance
Early Adopters: small group of institutions
Engage early in implementation
Share best practices with rest of members
E.g. LDAP recipe, eduPerson
Projects: develop particular pieces of mware infrastructure
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27. Shibboleth Project
Goal: Support inter-institutional sharing of resources
Focus: Authenticate locally for access to shared, licensed resources at another campus
Scenario: Student at Stanford taking class at MIT needs to access licensed materials (journals) at MIT for class
Bottom line: MIT doesn’t issue new userid/password, trusts Stanford authentication
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28. Shibboleth Architecture Concepts - High Level
Browser
Pass content if user is allowed
Target Web Server
Authorization Phase
Authentication Phase
First Access - Unauthenticated
Origin Site
Target Site
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29. Shibboleth progress Beta testing with a few schools in February
Code will be available this summer
IBM supporting coding effort
Open source implementation
Leverages existing campus authentication processes/software
Ultimately develop ‘Club Shib’ – group of universities in trust relationship
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30. Video Middleware (VidMid)
Focus: provide desktop clients with config file (analagous to config file for client)
Point client to directory (find the person you want to videoconference with)
Point client to authentication services (assure the person you’re calling that you are who you say you are)
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31. VidMid progress Will build on directories and authentication work
Includes an international outreach: Egon Verharen (SURFNET)
Availability: by this summer, some infrastructure in place?
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32. How does Internet2 middleware fit with other initiatives?
Grid middleware
Upper versus core
Application specific versus campus infrastructure
Virtual organization versus federated administration
Internet2 and grid efforts working together
National Science Foundation’s National Middleware Infrastructure Initiative
Explicitly funded both grid group and Internet2 consortium to fit these two viewpoints together
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33. What about industry? Internet2 community is diverse
190 universities will NEVER buy the same software
Need interoperability!!!
Industry, generally, doesn’t see interoperability as positive to its bottom line (e.g. Microsoft)
Internet2 middleware projects rely on industry implementations
Goal: work with us
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34. APAN and Internet2 and middleware
Information, Documentation at:
Opportunities to implement project results:
Shibboleth – June/July 2002
Parallel thinking on how campuses in APAN area are preparing?
Review Early Adopters best practices docs
eduPerson object class specification (EuroPerson?)
Engage in Working Groups
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35. More Internet2 Information
On the Web
For more information about Internet2, please see these web sites, or contact directly by .
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