Internet2
From Acorn
Tempel Summer Institute Presentation
A very simplified history of Internet1 and Internet2
1983 - The original Internet was developed, and owned by, a collaboration between the US Defense Department and a consortium of universities in the National Science Foundation
1985 - The Internet was opened to commercial interests and public use
Mid-1980s - Internet ownership was turned over by the Defense Department and NSF to privately funded computer networks ( X.25, Compuserve, aJANET, Telenet, etc.) which eventually merged with others.
1991 - The World Wide Web, HTTP and HTML were invented by Tim Berners-Lee. This allowed the internet to be used to render, or display, pages in a visual manner, including images. Before this, all data was displayed as plain unformatted text files.
1993 - The first popular web browser, Mosaic, was invented.
1996 - The commodity Internet, or Internet 1, became too congested for research and academic uses. The Internet2 organization was formed, by some of the same educational institutions that helped create Internet 1, to create a new physical, high-speed advanced network dedicated only to research and education.
1999 - This new network, called Abilene, was put in operation.
2000-2005 The state of Connecticut started building its own high-speed educational network, the Connecticut Education Network (CEN)
CEN was connected to Internet2's network, Abilene. The SE corner of the state was the last to be wired by CEN. Connecticut College connected to CEN, and thus Abilene, in 2006.
Membership dues for full Internet2 members are $30,000/year and the institution is expected to spend a reasonable amount and effort on Internet2 related activities. However, to encourage use by smaller institutions, a special category has graciously been created, the Sponsored Educational Group Participant. In our case, the SEG is CEN, whose dues are less than those of a full I2 member.
2006 - Our network administrators created our own educational and research subnet, to guarantee bandwidth for Internet 2activities. The subnet requires a dedicated ethernet port in the room, which usually can't be used for any other purposes.
Bandwidth "budget" for Connecticut College:
- Student network 30 megabits/sec
- Academic network 10 mbps
- Internet2 subnet 10 mbps (1 DVD quality stream going out, one coming in, one videoconference)
At the present time, there are I2 subnet ports at these locations:
- Dilley Room (Shain Library)
- Blaustein 203, 210, 212
- Bill 307 (pending)
- Cummings 307 (pending)
- Digital Curriculum Center (Blaustein 108)
At the present time, Frank is scheduling and budgeting I2 subnet use, so as we don't go over our 10 mbps limit. Please contact him for any needs, beyond videoconferencing use in the Dilley Room.
Following are some examples of possibilities enabled by Internet2/Abilene connectivity
1. Videoconferencing
Movable Internet2 cart for Blaustein. We can connect to hundreds of colleges and universities in the United States, and to many institutions in foreign countries. We can also connect to many non-profit organizations, and the Library of Congress. Please co-ordinate your project with Frank.
2. High-bandwidth data transfers, remote instrumentation
Monterey Accelerated Research System MARS
Neptune Project:
Astronomy: 6 institutions in the Southeast share a telescope through Internet2. http://astro.fit.edu/sara/sara.html
Astronomy: Institutions share the use of Gemini through remote software over high-speed networks: http://www.gemini.edu/home.php
Psychology: high-resolution 3-D mappings of brain structures and functions
New in Jan 08 Google hosting terabytes of open-source scientific datasets
3. Live Video Streaming
GRNET - Greek Research and Technology Network
[http://www.ostn.tv/BrandedIPTV/OSTNVF/OSTNlboro.html OSTN}, Open Student Televison Network
Live Music Concert: Philip Glass, America’s most recorded contemporary composer, appeared on Oct. 18, 2004, via Internet2. http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2005/jul/glass092404.html
Live Poetry readings from London, Paris, and the United States. http://arts.internet2.edu/howl.html
Classical Live Music Concert: http://arts.internet2.edu/fall2004-perfevent.html
Real-time viewing of expeditions Robert Ballard at Stellewagen Bank
UCTV_Channels Live International channels, pilot project Lower resolution samples
Some of the above performances are re-broadcast as non-live events.
Tools
To revise and edit:
Internet 2 is a non-profit consortium which develops and deploys advanced network applications and technologies, for education and high-speed data transfer purposes. It is led by 208 universities, in cooperation with 70 leading corporations, 45 government agencies, laboratories and other institutions of higher learning as well as over 50 international partner organizations. Many of the members of Internet2 were involved in the implementation of the original Internet.
Connecticut College is now connected to Internet 2's high speed network, Abilene, thanks to our Network and Systems Administrators.
Internet2 activities we support include:
VIDEOCONFERENCING We can connect to hundreds of colleges and universities in the United States, and to many institutions in foreign countries, during your class. At the present time, we can only support videoconferencing in Blaustein 203, 210, and 212. This can be used to:
- Listen to and speak to experts or notable individuals at other educational institutions, for the purpose of enhancing the course.
- Listen to and speak to scientists at other institutions.
- Listen to and speak to experts at the Library of Congress, which hires over 200 individuals in different specialties.
- Listen to and speak to individuals in foreign countries.
- Individuals at the "far end" can discuss specialized area of expertise, describe art and cultural objects and collections, give "master lessons", talk about local issues of importance.
The above connections are not to replace your own curriculum and presentations, but to enchace them with visitors, who would normally be unable to come in person.
If you know whom you want to connect to and what institution they are working at, if the instution has videoconferencing abilities we will help you schedule the videoconference, and handle all the technical issues.
If you know what type of expert or visitor you would like in your classroom, we can try and find them for you.
If you would like a demonstration of videoconferencing, we can arrange one for you.
We have a portable cart with a videoconferencing unit, televison monitor, loudpeakers, and microphones. We will move this to your classroom before the videoconference, and provide all technical support.
VIDEO TRANSMISSION We can now send a high-quality TV signal over the Internet2 network. live or pre-recorded.
VIDEO RECEPTION
We can now receive high-quality TV signals from Internet2, and record them. We are working with the University of Canberra to make a large selection of channels available.
For a current selection, streamed from the University of Canberra in Australia, click here
HIGH BANDWIDTH DATA TRANSFERS If you have the need to receive or transmit large amounts of data, we can sustain a network speed to Internet 2 of 10 megabits/second.
If you have any potential projects that require or can benefit from I2 connectivity, please contact Frank Fulchiero at x5006, email fful@conncoll.edu
Examples of Internet 2 Activities
a. Reliably participate in national videoconferences. As videoconferencing-enabled courses become more common, we will be collaborating with institutions outside our state.
b. Cell Biology: A 3-D interactive simulation of a virtual cell at North Dakota State University, requiring high-speed access.http://wwwic.ndsu.edu/vc/wwwic-vc.htm
c. Chemistry: Simultaneous, collaborative, remote control of a mass spectrometer located at the University of Delaware: http://www.udel.edu/topics/internet2/proj/maldi/index.html This network-based solution eliminates the need for collaborators to travel to the laboratory in which the large, expensive equipment is housed. Researchers can instead mail their samples to the lab. After the probe is inserted into the mass spectrometer, all aspects of the equipment control, data acquisition, and analysis can be performed at the instrument itself or at any number of remote locations at which collaborators work. VNC (Virtual Network Computing) software makes it possible to view and fully-interact with one computer from any other computer or mobile device anywhere on the Internet. VNC software is cross-platform, allowing remote control between different types of computer. http://www.realvnc.com/
d. Ocean Sciences: The NEPTUNE project will establish a regional ocean observatory in the northeast Pacific Ocean. The Project’s 3,000-km network of fiber-optic/power cables will encircle and cross the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate, an area roughly 500 km by 1,000 km in size. http://www.neptune.washington.edu/index.jsp 25 experimental sites will be established at nodes along the cable. These sites will be instrumented to interact with physical, chemical, and biological phenomena that operate across multiple scales of space and time. Sensor networks will fill in the volume between nodes and will include multipurpose robotic underwater vehicles that will reside at depth, recharge at nodes, and respond to events such as submarine volcanic eruptions. Via Internet2, the network will provide real-time information and command-and-control capabilities to shore-based users.
e. Music Studies: The Manhattan School of Music has instituted an innovative distance learning program devoted to exploring the use of videoconference technology for music performance and education. http://www.msmnyc.edu/special/distancelearning/ Uses include private lessons, master classes, educational outreach, composer colloquiums, professional development sessions, and educational exchanges among schools both nationally and internationally. Regular videoconference lessons are available to students. Live Jazz performances and recorded master classes are transmitted in multicast over Internet2.
f. Music: Philip Glass, America’s most recorded contemporary composer, appeared on Oct. 18, 2004, via Internet2. http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2005/jul/glass092404.html
g. Poetry: Live poetry readings from London, Paris, and the United States. http://arts.internet2.edu/howl.html
h. Music: Classical Live Concerts: http://arts.internet2.edu/fall2004-perfevent.html
i. The Telescience Project joins bio-medical imaging researchers in a collaborative, high-throughput enviornment. Telescience merges technologies for remote instrument control (Telemicroscopy), Grid Computing, and federated digital libraries of multi-scale, cell-structure data. https://telescience.ucsd.edu/index.html
j. Astronomy: 6 institutions in the Southeast share a telescope through Internet2. http://astro.fit.edu/sara/sara.html
k. Astronomy: Institutions share the use of Gemini through remote software over high-speed networks: http://www.gemini.edu/home.php
l. Psychology: Internet2 enables access to high-resolution 3-D mappings of brain structures and functions, allowing development of digital brain atlases, which store information on how the brain varies across age and gender, across time, in health and diseases: http://www.loni.ucla.edu/index.shtml
m. GIS: The I2 Geospatial Working group identifies critical issues and formulates best practice techniques and recommendations for dealing with issues associated with the use of advanced networking technology to enable rapid and ubiquitous access to geospatial data. http://geospatial.internet2.edu/geospatial-wg-charter.html
n. Transmission and reception of multicast high-bandwidth video. There is an increasing number of high-quality, educational video collections. Some examples are:
1) Open Video Project http://www.open-video.org/index.php
2) Informedia II project at Carnegie Mellon http://www.informedia.cs.cmu.edu/dli2/index.html
3) ReseachChannel video http://www.researchchannel.org/
4) The Digital Well Project http://digitalwell.org/ streamlines and simplifies the acquisition, aggregation, cataloging, storage, and delivery processes associated with managing large collections of digital content created and collected by disparate organizations and departments both within and outside an institution. Enables access to high quality video and audio assets via Internet2 networks.
Other High-Speed Multicast Applications
a. Access Grid: Supports large-scale distributed meetings, collaborative work sessions, seminars, lectures, tutorials, and training. Resources include multimedia large-format displays, presentation and interactive environments, and interfaces to middleware and visualization environments. These resources are used to support group-to-group interactions across the Grid, with over 3,400 users across 47 countries. Each institution has one or more AG nodes, or "designed spaces," that contain the high-end audio and visual technology needed to provide a high-quality compelling user experience. The nodes are also used as a research environment for the development of distributed data and visualization corridors and for the study of issues relating to collaborative work in distributed environments. http://www.accessgrid.org/ Good overview at http://www.nercomp.org/sigs/0405/020805VideoConf/NERCOMP%20Mullen.ppt Partial Access Grid schedule: http://agschedule.ncsa.uiuc.edu/default.asp A 10 megabit/sec multicast connection is usually recommended for an Access Grid node.
b. MBONE: Multicast Backbone. A live audio and video multicast virtual network that sits on top of portions of the Internet, made up of specially configured routers that support IP multicast. VIC provides the MBone video tool in a videoconference, RAT (Robust Audio Tool) allows users to participate in audio conferences over the internet. MBONE uses IP multicast and therefore all participants must reside on a multicast capable network.
c. VRVS: A web oriented system for videoconferencing and collaborative work over IP networks. The Virtual Room Videoconferencing System (http://www.vrvs.org) provides a low cost, bandwidth-efficient, extensible means of videoconferencing and remote collaboration over networks within the High Energy and Nuclear Physics communities. Recently VRVS also extends the service to other various academic and research areas.
the Connecticut Education Network (CEN), which is connected to the Internet2 (I2) network, Abilene. This will enable us to become involved in many new activities supported by and made possible by Internet 2
Technical Information
We connect to I2 through the Connecticut Education Network (CEN)
Traffic Monitor for CEN and Including Conn. Coll.
Internet2 connectivity requires both high bandwidth (minimum of 6 megabits/sec for MPEG2 streaming) and multicast capability. This can be tested with the Internet2 Detective.
Multicast Information, Including I2 subnet and VBrick information
