CCIRN Briefing

The Silk ProjectThe Silk Project

Silk O/v – Background

In 2001, NATO Networking Panel agreed installation of Regional Network for NISs of the Southern Caucasus and Central AsiaWould connect existing NRENs into GEANTStart with own resources – $2.5 M for 3 yrsAllow to be extensible by others

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Silk O/v – Countries and Sites

XX

X

X

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X

X

X

X

Silk O/v – Basic Technology VSAT Technology

DVB Shared Channel from hubSCPC from remotesUses Eurasiasat strapped beam transponder

Hub in Hamburg with 5.6m dishRemotes in 8-9 NISs, each with

2.4 or 3.8 m dishes

Routers connecting to NRENs

155 GB Content Engine Routers and Silk NOC part of Silk Network

Thinking the future

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CCIRN – Silk BriefingJuly 3 2004

Silk O/v - West Beam Transponder Map

Thinking the future

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CCIRN – Silk BriefingJuly 3 2004

Silk O/v – East Beam Transponder Map

Silk O/v – Schematic of the Silk System

Silk O/v – Architectural OverviewHub Earth Station at DESY accesses European NRENs and Internet via GEANT

Provides direct International Internet access

National Earth Station at each Partner siteOperated by DESY

Provides Internet access via satellite

Additional earth stations from other sources

Routers for each Partner siteLinked on one side to the Satellite Channel

On the other side to the NREN

Silk O/v – IPv4 Remote Site Schematic

CONTENTCACHE

NREN

REMOTE SITE (IPv4 only)

NRENROUTER(S)

IPv4/DVB DECAP

IPv4 Silk ROUTER

Silk NETWORK

SCPC

Silk O/v – Early Planned Silk Bandwidth

Planned Silk total bandwidth from NATOPer half year

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5

10

15

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25

30

02/H2 03/H1 03/H2 04/H1 04/H2 05/H1

Total bandwidth inMbps

Thinking the future

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CCIRN – Silk BriefingJuly 3 2004

Status - Current Status

All original 8 sites operationalWe are currently operating with 15 MHz Currently 17.4 Mbps DVB, 4.4 Mbps transmit

The caches currently save about 10% B/wCaches only store pages own E/s requests

Have implemented CIR quotas

Thinking the future

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CCIRN – Silk BriefingJuly 3 2004

Status - GovernanceHave set up Silk Board (SB)

Silk ManagersFundersOne representative each Silk countryInvited Guests

Set up Silk Executive Committee (ExCo)Silk Managers One representative from each region

SB meets 3 x per year, mainly in Silk countriesExCo has 2 Teleconferences per month

Thinking the future

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CCIRN – Silk BriefingJuly 3 2004

Status – Co-funding

NATO has put in $2.7MEC funds SPONGE management at $220KDESY houses hub and runs NOC at $400KCisco Donation now worth $550KISOC donations for workshops - $120K

Have held one so far, but sent people to CEENET oneNSRC donations for books/WLAN - $50KIREX is putting in – $30KSoros/Eurasiasat travel - $30KMany are funding projects that build up national infrastructure using Silk

Soros, EC Tacsis, UNDP, World Bank

Thinking the future

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CCIRN – Silk BriefingJuly 3 2004

Status – Personal Communications

Have provided 2 Cisco phones per siteUCL operates voice server

UCL has put dial-out on server to very limited outside lines

Used regularly for ExCo meetingsHave done extensive H.323 usage

Included Heads of State and NATO SecGen

Distance lectures including World BankRequires using CIR in both directions

Extending Silk – Possibilities

Have started talking to other funding agencies to provide extension

Could be just extra national bandwidth Could be extra VSATs – now adding KabulCould be Receive-only earth stationsCould be extra networks on Silk routersCould be alternate activity like IPv6

Early discussions look promisingIREX and Soros will provide fundsUniversity of Central Asia will use it via funds from Aga Khan.

Thinking the future

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CCIRN – Silk BriefingJuly 3 2004

Extending Silk – Workshops

Doing 6 workshops – mainly in RussianMainly from ISOC funds, one co-funded ANW from NATO and CEENET

Security – Armenia, June

Wireless – Hungary, August

Distance Education - Azerbaijan, September

IPv6 - Hamburg, September

DNS, Registration, address allocation - Kazakhstan, November

Thinking the future

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CCIRN – Silk BriefingJuly 3 2004

IPv6 Activities

Countries expressed interest in getting experience – but not at cost of IP4 serviceFairly easy to do with dual-stack router and tunnelled IPv6

Native IPv6 needs special hardware for DVB

ESA/IABG agreed to provide IPv6/DVB H/w

ESA providing some B/w for testing

6NET providing some B/w for dissemination

Each NIS will provide small IPv6 facilities

Thinking the future

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CCIRN – Silk BriefingJuly 3 2004

Longer Term – Future Steps

NATO Support should continue after 7/05But at a reduced rate with declining funding

Co-funding is vital to many others also

Hard to achieve with these countriesForm of Connectivity will become hybrid

Satellite necessary for some locations

Fibre will come into some sites; already looking at terrestrial possibilities

Other satellites cheaper than this Silk solution – particularly in Caucasus

Thinking the future

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CCIRN – Silk BriefingJuly 3 2004

Longer Term – Future Steps -2

Most terrestrial solutions go through Russia and perhaps Kazakhstan

Will become cheaper, but acceptable politically?EC starting specific Caucasus Programme

Perhaps Caucasus connects by fibre to GEANT, some others stay satellite

Discussing Central Asia plans with APAN/CCIRNPerhaps there will be links to Pacific Rim

Should use satellite broadcast capability Both Multicast and Broadcast caching

Will make proposal to NATO Science Committee in October, and also to EC (not only IST)

More information - Links

Silk projecthttp://www.silkproject.org

ESA IP over DVB projecthttp://telecom.esa.int/telecom/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=11271