DOE UltraScience Net

 

The next generation DOE large-scale science applications have requirements that will drive extreme networking, in terms of sheer high throughputs as well as dynamically stable connections. The UltraScience Net is (USN) an experimental research testbed funded by DOE Office of Science to enable the development of hybrid optical networking and associated technologies to meet the unprecedented demands of large-scale science applications.

Current UltraScience Net Features

• USN provides on-demand and in-advance dedicated bandwidth channels at lambda and sub-lambda resolutions (SONET and Ethernet) between its edges.
• Users can utilize hosts located at USN edges or connect to it through their own specialized connections.
• Various types of protocol, middleware and application research projects can make use of dedicated channels provisioned by USN.

Details of the current USN topology, its architecture for supporting applications, middleware and transport, and the design details are maintained at the following locations:

• UltraScience Net toplogy
• Architecture for Applications, Middleware and Transport
• Design Details UltraScience Net

UltraScience Net Current Activities

USN currently supports a number of networking and related activities at national laboratories (FNAL, PNNL, ORNL) and collaborations with other advanced networking projects (OSCARS, HOPI, DRAGON, CHEETAH):

• LambdaStation project at Fermi National Laboratory utilizes USN connections for developing advanced networking to provision, dynamically configure & control, and monitor the wide area optical network infrastructure for potential application to particle physics collaborations.
• In collaboration with ESnet OSCARS project, USN connections are utilized to test data and control plane technologies for operation across packet (layer 3) and circuit switched (layers 1-2) networks.
• Network Research projects at Oak Ridge National Laboratory deal with utilizing USN connections for: 1) testing VLANs implemented over a composition of over layer 1-3 connections, 2) transport methods for dedicated channels, and 3) dedicated connections to supercomputers.
• In collaboration with DRAGON, HOPI and NSF CHEETAH projects, USN control plane technologies are being extended to interoperate with GMPLS.
• Pacific National Laboratory is utilizing USN connections for testing remote control of microscopes over dedicated channels, and for testing performance of Lustre file system for wide-area IP operation.
• California Institute of Technology is utilizing USN for testing the performance of Luster files system over wide-area IP operation and throughput of tranport methods.
• National Leadership Computing Facility at ORNL is in process of setting up test configuration for Lustre file system using Infiniband over SONET wide-area connections.

UltraScience Next Steps

• Infrastructure development of USN is close to completion
• USN will continue to play research role in advanced networking capabilities:
• Networking Technologies for Leadership Class Facilities
• Integrated Multi-Domain Interoperation System for USN-ESnet-CHEETAH-HOPI and USN-OSCARS
• Hybrid Optical Packet and Switching Technologies:
• - VLAN testing and analysis over L1-2 and MPLS connections
• - Configuration and testing of hybrid connections

UltraScience Net Architecture for Applications, Middleware and Transport

• Technologies could be developed on USN to enable users to dynamically assemble selected network technologies at each layer to satisfy the end-to-end performance requirements of science applications;
• An out-of band signaling network will be used to schedule, control, and manage network resources; and
• The logical network layer will facilitate the provisioning of packet or circuit-switched links consisting of single, multiple, or sub wavelengths.

Contacts for USN are:

• Bill Wing (wrw@ornl.gov)
• Nagi Rao (raons@ornl.gov)

UltraScience Net and ESnet

The Energy Science Network or ESnet is the Department of Energy's high-speed production network. It connects national laboratories, universities and other institutions with a general-purpose IP-based network and operates in support of DOE research missions. UltraScience Net, in contrast, is an experimental testbed that will support the development of networking and related technologies for the specific requirements of DOE tera-scale and peta-scale scientific applications. Its primary focus will be the exploration of circuit-switching as an alternative to packet switching for high-performance science applications.