Dealing with Internet Congestion:Two SolutionsEnergizing the Internet Michael Weaver Bucknell University

About BucknellPrivate Liberal Arts UniversityPrimarily undergraduate3,250 undergraduates200 graduate studentsPrimarily residentialLocated in central Pennsylvania

In the wake of the Spring, 2000 Napster explosion

The cost of our Internet connection keeps going down. Soon it will be cheap enough that we wont need to worry about bandwidth consumption!

Myth 1

Something to Ponder!If audio from Napster causes this much trouble, what will happen as video becomes more widely available?

Whats the Potential?Do the Math!2800 computers in Resnet100Mbits/sec connection for each computer2800 * 100Mbits/sec = 280,000 Mbits/secOur capacity to consume content: roughly 31,000 times our current Internet connection to Resnet!

More realisticallyThere probably arent too many 100Mbits/sec streams out there.But there are lots of 1Mbit/sec streams2800 * 1 Mbit/sec = 310 times our current Internet connection.

Something to ponder!Is the price of our Internet connection going to come down enough that we can increase its capacity 310 times?

Myth 2We need to protect our technology resources for the Academic Mission of the University.

Something to ponder!How much of your current network activity is directly related to the Academic Mission of your University?

Email?Web browsing?Other communications (IM, for example)?

Something to ponder!Was your decision to implement Resnet an Academic decision?Was your Admissions Office involved in that decision?

Something to ponder!How many of your students have a high speed connection (like DSL) at home?Do you expect that number to grow?

Is this home use strictly academic, or does it include recreation and entertainment?

Does it (or will it) include audio and video?

Something to ponder!These are lifestyle changes!They are here to stay!

Our students will expect the same capabilities in their dorm rooms that they have at home!

Something to ponder!To what extent do these lifestyle changes enable technology for academic use?Was email a useful academic tool before it was part of our lifestyle?

Web browsing? Etc

Academic Mission RestatedWe must recognize the lifestyle demands on our technology resources, finding ways to accommodate them, without jeopardizing the academic needs for those same resources.

LaunchcastInternet radio station with a twistUsers can personalize their radio station

My thinkingIf we could put Launchcast content in the Bucknell network:We would provide students with a legal alternative to NapsterWe could reduce the traffic on our Internet connection.So I called Jeff.

Of course, my thinking wasnt completely original.

Launchcast was already using a service called iBEAM to put its content close to the edge.

That Sets the StageWe can reduce traffic on our Internet connection by moving content into our campus network.Well see three things that weve tried at Bucknell.

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iBEAMHosts content for various customers(Launch.com, MSNBC, The Archeology Channel, eHow.com, The Golf Channel)Streaming server (Real Networks and Windows Media Server)On-demand and live contentTiered ArchitectureMost popular content at the edgeOther content distributed on iBEAM servers throughout the InternetAll content available at iBEAMs central server.

iBEAMiBEAM installed a MaxCaster server in the Bucknell network last summer.We were the second school in the country to have one installed.

iBEAMs ArchitectureRequest for content that is on Bucknells iBEAM server

iBEAM Architecture:Live contentiBEAM

What does iBEAM cost?$0(A little rack space)

Who pays for iBEAM?Its customers!(Launch.com, MSNBC, The Archeology Channel, eHow.com, The Golf Channel)

iBEAM BenefitsBetter performanceSince some content comes from a local server instead of a server somewhere out on the Internet.Reduced traffic on our Internet connection.

Launchcast and iBEAMAs we started to work with Launchcast and iBEAM, we realized:Launchcast content is available in several bandwidthsMost of iBEAMs users are dial-up usersTherefore, the content on any iBEAM MaxCaster server (including ours) is mostly low-bandwidthHowever, our users are broadband usersSo, very little Launchcast content is served from Bucknells iBEAM server.So, we havent promoted Launchcast to our students as an alternative to Napster

iBEAMHowever, any content that is delivered from Bucknells iBEAM server is still a reduction in traffic on our Internet connection.

The last I heardiBEAM architecture change in the worksContent on Bucknells iBEAM server will be based on Bucknell usage, not global usage (heterogeneous edge).Both iBEAM and Launch are struggling financially.

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BACKGROUND="http://a772.g.akamai.net/7/772/51/5593ee8a8ef77e/www.apple.com/t/2001/us/en/i/1bg.gif">

C:\>tracert d a1904.g.akamai.netTracing route to a1904.g.akamai.net [134.82.11.7] over a maximum of 30 hops:1

AkamaiHosts web content for various customersApple, Britannica.com, CNN Interactive, JCPenney, MSNBC, YahooWeb serverTiered architectureAll content comes from Akamai server in Bucknell networkContent is cached on that server for some period of timeIf particular content is not on the server, it is sent down to the server from the closest location

AkamaiAkamai installed a FreeFlow server in the Bucknell network last summer.

Akamai ArchitectureBucknells Akamai ServerAkamai ServerBucknell NetworkInternet connectionRequest for content that is already cached on Bucknells Akamai server.Request for content that is not current on Bucknells Akamai server.

Akamai BenefitsBetter performance when web browsingSince some percentage of hits come directly from the Akamai server in our network.Reduced traffic on our Internet connection.

What does Akamai cost?$0(A little rack space)

Who pays for Akamai?Its customers!(Apple, Britannica.com, CNN Interactive, JCPenney, MSNBC, Yahoo)

Summary report from 2/26/2001 12:00AM -> 3/6/2001 12:00AM (GMT) of in/out traffic for Akamai region 493 Summary report from 2/26/2001 12:00AM -> 3/6/2001 12:00AM (GMT) of in/out traffic for Akamai region 493 Akamai Statistics

Total inbound hits656,914Total inbound Mbytes4,495Total outbound hits1,764,206Total outbound Mbytes14,651

Translated

Bytes per day that dont go over our Internet connection1,450 MbytesHits per day that dont go over our Internet connection160,000

Akamai NegativesNone that I can find!

Coming soon to AkamaiStreaming Content(6 9 months)Launchcast

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IntertainerWhat is it?Entertainment on DemandMovies, concerts, music videos, tv showsSome content is free (music videos, for example)Some content is pay-per-view (movies, for example)

Intertainer TestWe are conducting a semester-long test of Intertainer.We are their first school to try it.Server installed in January, and test started the first week of FebruaryLimited to one dorm320 students100 Mbits/sec connections, switched, w/gigabit uplink to backbone, so this should not interfere with anything else.If all goes well with the test, we will expand it to the entire campus next fall.

More About IntertainerWindows Media Server750 Kbits/sec streams (320 x 240, 30fps)Pay-per-view content ranges from $.99 to $3.99 for 24 hours access200 hours of content on the server at any given time

Intertainer ArchitectureBucknells Intertainer ServerInternet connectionBucknell NetworkRequest for any Intertainer content.

Intertainer Architecture IIRoughly 10% of content is refreshed each week.This content does go over our Internet connection (once) to get it to the server.We restrict them to off-hours so they dont interfere with other traffic.

What Does Intertainer Cost? < $0Bucknell gets a share of revenue(a little rack space)The production model isnt worked out yet.

Intertainer TestSo far, no technical problemsDoesnt interfere with other traffic on our networkReasonable quality streams even at full-screen (near VHS)Is usage meeting expectations?

Intertainer TestWhat do we hope to get out of it?To the extent that our students use Intertainer instead of similar services, they will not be using our Internet connection.We are testing our ability to deliver video over our network.

Intertainer TestWhat do we hope to get out of it?Can this service also be used to deliver course-related movies to students in place of three-hour checkout of VHS/DVD?Revenue generated from entertainment will be used to cover cost of academic use.Some licensing and timing issues to be worked out.

SummaryRecognize lifestyle demands on technology resources, and find proactive ways to deal with them.Reduce traffic on your Internet connection and get better performance by moving content into your campus network.Three vendors that you might want to look at: iBEAM, Akamai, IntertainerThe price is right!

Contact InformationMichael Weaver, Bucknell Universitywww.facstaff.bucknell.edu/mweaver/presentations570 577-1049, mweaver@bucknell.eduLaunch: www.launch.comiBeam:www.ibeam.comAkamai:www.akamai.com, www.akamai.com/html/en/op/aanp_partners.html, Kirsten Fitzgerald, 617-250-4635, kirsten@akamai.comIntertainer:www.intertainer.com, Larry Fitzgibbon, 310-895-2103, larry@intertainer.com

Internet CongestionTwo SolutionsMimi Royston - Assumption CollegeMike Weaver - Bucknell University

Internet CongestionAssumption Colleges Approach

Assumption CollegeSmall Liberal Arts SchoolPrivate Catholic College Residential Area of Worcester, MA 1800+ Undergraduate Students1500 Student Machines on the NetworkClose Community Environment

Mimi RoystonAssociate Director of Computer Services Network Manager Security AdministratorChair of our TLTR Alum of the campus

Why are you here? Napster GnutellaScouriMesh

What did you do? Ban Rate LimitPrioritizeCacheIncrease BandwidthOr Nothing

New NapstersAsta LavistaCuteMX Audio Galaxy Hot Client (HotLine)Yoink Gnutella (version ?)Cracks for Napster (banned MP3s)

This is just the beginning VideoStreamingDownloadingPhone ApplicationsFTP Tickers and Trading

Assumptions Network Utilization (3 T1s)Normal Day

Theyre Back! Students Return

Assumptions Current Network Utilization

Our ApproachPhilosophy & Policy need to be clear Start Here! Community Resource = Community Input Dont Ban Anything

Educate, Input, Educate, Input, Educate, Input Network, Status, Sharing, Priorities, Possibilities, Policy

The Network Goes DownDOS attack Our ISP is having problems The Internet (some other large ISP) is having problemsHardware ProblemsThere are lots of reasons other than Napster

What did we do? Educate - What are others doing?Think - What do we want to do?Get Input - Users Status of Network Educate - Shared Resource for Everyone!Get Input - Our Campus Priorities Educate - Technical Possibilities Get Input - Together Set Policy

PhilosophyNetwork is a shared resource for a diverse constituency! Network has an extremely diverse (and changing) set of applications. We are Education - Dont Ban Anything!We are Assumption = Community, Collaboration and Sharing.

How did Assumption react? Monitor the Network Notified the Campus Formed a Committee Purchased QOS software

Monitor the NetworkKnow your unique campus problemsiMesh was popular here (20%) Get to know what tools are good for what purposes / problems Educate!! Poll students, faculty and administration

Notifying the campus:Email Message(s):We have been monitoring the campus network for the past week and are finding that on average approximately 68% of our network usage is from programs like Napster, Scour, and iMesh. These programs are widely known to bring down campus networks because of the amount of bandwidth they use.

We will continue to monitor the network on campus. We do not intend to ban anything at this time. We are asking the entire Assumption community to limit the amount of bandwidth they are using by limiting the usage of these types of programs.

We will contact the high bandwidth users of applications such as Napster, Scour and iMesh in an effort to limit heavy network use.

Asking them to monitor themselves as well. Individual users will be asked to decrease their use. IT WORKED (decreased Napster traffic)

Forming a Committee - QOSFaculty SGA Administration StudentsTLTR GroupResnet Staff IT RepresentationEducation Lots of DiscussionWillingness to Debate!

Purchased a QOS productCheckpoints Floodgate Consultant Installation Still having problems Wide open continues to have best performance over time Can use when congestion is too high

QOS PolicyFIRST:Educational and Network FunctionsSECOND: Everything Else

Wanted a simple policy that we didnt have to chase after all the time!

Other Schools: Ban Rate LimitPrioritizeCacheIncrease BandwidthNo Single Solution !!!

Why are we unique? Education and Sharing is working Email to campus reduced 10% of Napster Not only solution (it helps!) Did not react right away Started with PhilosophyPolicy is focused on what we want to insure!