international research initiatives

NORDUnet Nordic Infrastructure for Research & Education

International Research InitiativesJerry SobieskiDirector, International Research InitiativesNORDUnet

Presented to TREFpunkt 20May 14, 2009

Visby, SE

NORDUnet Nordic Infrastructure for Research & Education

International Research Initiatives

• “International Research Initiatives” - What is it and why is important?

• What are the technical focus areas?

• First year activities and progress…• What are the priorities in the

coming year and beyond?

NORDUnetNordic infrastructure for Research & Education

• “Research” has become increasingly dependent upon cyber-infrastructure -

• Computational simulations and modeling, • Sensor nets (for both scientific and social data

collection), • Visualization, HD/SHD video, immersive interactive

environments, • Data repositories of both raw data, processed

information, and the new insights and knowledge that results.

• Research topics are globalized• Energy, climate modeling, virology, astro-physics,

social studies (e.g. geo-political security and economics)

• Research tools are federated • Radio telescopes, HEP instruments, marine sensors,

MRI, Virology databases,telecommunications links, etc

• Research teams are international• HEP, E-VLBI, Biomedical, Economics,…

IRI - What is it and why?


IRI- What is it and why?• The network infrastructure - and the

expertise necessary to develop and operate it - are part of the research apparatus that the modern research community require to explore the physical world

• This applies to network research, cyber-infrastructure more generally, and new emerging models for e-science that require global reach, comprise a broad range of disciplines, and increasingly, include shared international resources.


IRI - What is it and why?• The R&E networking organization has a new

role to play in the 21st century: • Identify and help develop new technologies

required by the R&E community• First approximation is to help identify

emerging trends in networking and find ways to help develop new technologies to address those needs:• Trend: increasing global interactions required of

advanced networks• Trend: exponential growth of capacity

requirments while simultaneously providing guarranteed, predictable, and user specified performance levels

• Trend: increasing interdependence between networks & telecom infrastrcuture and other cyber-infrastructure (e.g. computational resources, storage, etc.)


IRI - What is it and why?• Being directly involved in the

technology development process will allow the Nordic community to influence the evolution of advanced networking on a global basis.

• … the Nordic community will be among the first to deploy and leverage these technologies

• IRI will create expertise and int’l relationships in technical areas that will insure the interests of the Nordic NRENs are met as new [cyber-infrastructure] technologies and policies evolve.


What have we been doing?• Initial Objectives (first year)

• Introduce the NORDUnet IRI as an recognized strategic priority for the Nordic networking community

• NORDUnet will be actively and directly involved in global networking activities where we can make an immediate difference:

• Projects such as GLIF, GLORIAD, CineGrid, GENI, GN3, …• Emerging technologies such as dynamic hybrid

provisioning, distributed storage, application specific networks, high capacity real-time and near real-time streaming for sensors and visualization, reliability and resilience, security

• Next Stage• Engage the [Nordic] NRENs and the Nordic

research community in these international projects


2008 Conferences• TERENA 2008 (Brugge, BE)• APAN 2008 (Queenstown, NZ)• Internet2 Fall Meeting (New Orleans, US)• GLIF (Seattle, US)• Optical Network Technologies W/S (Seattle)

• Generated report to US National Coordinating Office for Network Science and Eng priorities.

• CANS 2008 (Indy. US)• Key Chinese R&E network engineering & mgmt

• Supercomputing 2008 (Austin, US)• GENI Engineering Conference (Palo Alto, US)• TERENA E2E (Amsterdam, NL)• CineGrid (San Diego, US)

• (More on these activities later)


Current Activities• Develop [applied] research projects with

collaborators in US, EU, and PacRim• Generalized Resource Mgmt• Federated experimental networks• Resilient Networks• EU call for Experimental Networks due this

summer• GLORIAD

• US IRNC proposals/partners due this summer• Hybrid Networking

• OGF NSI-WG• NORDUnet DCN TestLab

• CineGrid


Upcoming Activities• Research projects taking shape:

• Federated Experimental Network Resources for International Research (FENRIR)

• A collaboration of several national and international R&E organizations to create a pool of experimental network research facilities that have a global reach.

• Currently includes AARnet, GENI, SURFnet, NORDUnet, GLORIAD, and several vendors. Proposal(s) will be submitted in Feb timeframe…

• Distributed Storage for High Performance Streaming

• Develop network-based storage for high speed real-time and near real-time streaming applications

• Simplifies streaming HD/SHD video, EVLBI streams, …

• Support synchronized access, security against [D]DOS attacks, forward staging data, …


• Generic Resource Mgmt Architecture• Develop integrated approach to dynamic

acquisition and integration of cyber-resources for application specific networks and distributed applications

• Resilient Topologies• How to harness power of dynamic circuit

provisioning to build apriori provably resilient distributed application network topologies

• Driven by DR/COOP mandates for secure and robust networks in the face of cataclysmic failure modes.

Research activities


Experimental Networks• Experimental Networking

• How should we design and build telecommunications and networking facilities that enable a broad range of non-conventional (disruptive) ideas to be deployed and evaluated with realism at scale?

• Ex: GENI, FENRIR, NETSE, FIRE, FEDERICA,…• Virtualization, generalized cyber-

infrastructure architecture, federation, dynamic provisioning, multi-layer abstractions

• Full integration of networks, computational resources, storage, sensors/instruments, visualization

• Application specific networks


FENRIR Project• Federated Experimental Network

Resources for International Research - “FENRIR”

• Objectives:• To develop and demonstrate an automated

cyber-infrastructure services model in which global cyber-infrastructure can be quantized into dynamically allocatable units that can then be assembled under user control to create application specific cyber-environments.

• Cyber-resources include any type of network, computation, storage, visualization, instrument, or sensor related resource, hard or soft. Thus FENRIR postulates a “generalized” notion of cyber-infrastructure management.


FENRIR – the elevator speech

• FENRIR has two main components:• A global pool of cyber-resources

contributed by project participants that span the globe – the “experimental network resources”

• A software development effort to automate the description, advertisement, allocation, and use of those resources – the Generalized Resource Management System (GRMS) architecture.

NORDUnetNordic infrastructure for Research & EducationGRMS – Allocation Phase

ResourcesFormal Textual

DescriptionResource Computational_Node {

Characteristic Arch = Intel_Generic;Characteristic Mem = 4 GB;Characteristic Clock = 2.4 GHz;Characteristic Local_Storage = 100 GB;Resource_Mgr clusterman.sdsc.edu 2020;Instance “Node01” 128.8.120.01 2021;Instance “Node02” 128.8.120.02 2021;Instance “Node03” 128.8.120.03 2021;

}

Other Resource ManagersResource

Database3

21

Computational nodes

Storage facility

Instrument

Resource Database of all

resources managed by this

resource manager

Resource Brokers

4

Resource Manager

5

NORDUnetNordic infrastructure for Research & EducationGRMS – User perspective

3

2

1

Resource Brokers

4

Resource Manager

5

UserApplication Master

User requests certain resources

Brokers locate a resource owner and submit request to Resource Manager(s)

Managers return tickets for reserverd resources

User confirms reservation with RM

User contacts resource “minion” to control the resource for the aplication.

NORDUnetNordic infrastructure for Research & Education FENRIR

Initial Contributed Resources

AARnet

NORDUnet

SYD

CPH

POZ

NYCLAX

STO

SURFnetHOU

AMS

PSNC

CHIMANLA

NJGN2TOK

StarLightPacific

Wave

iCAIRNYSERne

t

Mar 5, 2009

WDC

NGC

TWAREN

TEI

KREOnetDAE

NORDUnetNordic infrastructure for Research & Education FENRIR participants

• NORDUnet (lead)• University of Houston

(co-lead)• SURFnet + NetherLight• Pacific Wave• StarLight• MANLAN

• AARnet• Posnan Supercomputing

and Networking Center• NYSERnet• Northrup Grumman Corp• JGN2+ • TWAREN / NCHC• KREONET

Proposals have been submitted for FENRIR related activities to US GENI Program and to US DoE SciDAC program.Additional funding proposals will be submitted in conjunction with int’l participants to their sponsors.


Cloud Computing• Cloud Computing

• Over-hyped commercial services for small scale outsourcing…

• Old notion within R&E community… But what if recent cost and practical technical advances now enable CC to [finally] find a critical mass? What are challenges? E.g. historically limited by network capacity and latency

• Dynamic, scalable, and autonomous allocation processes of resources become important (if not critical)

• How do we trust such cloud computing models?

• Security, privacy, …


Known (trusted) resources

Untrusted cloud resources pose a privacy and security hole

Secure Cloud Computing• How can we trust an unknown cloud resource?

• Can we be sure the information we distribute to cloud resources will not be hijacked?

• Can we be certain the algorithms we deploy to cloud resources won’t be hijacked?

S

Known (trusted) Security perimeter

Encrypted (trusted) Transport


Untrusted Cloud Resource

Secure Cloud Computing• Encrypted computing:

• Both the data and the algorithm are encrypted• A public virtual machine is installed on the cloud

resource• The computation is performed in the encrypted

space – and encrypted result(s) are returned.• No clear text information ever leaves the

security perimeter

S

Known (trusted) Security perimeter

VMFUNC

IN

OUT

#%$^&%* VM!(&@#

#%$^&%*

NORDUnetNordic infrastructure for Research & Education Resilient Networks

• “Katrina” is now a verb.• As in: “Our entire bay area operations got katrina’d by

the earthquake and subsequent tsunami and fires.” • Recent Disasters:

• Indian Ocean Tsunami• Pakistan Earthquake• Hurricane Katrina, Rita, Ike, …• Buncefield Refinery Fire (UK)• Baltimore Tunnel Train Fire (US)• 9/11 (US)• London Tube Bombing (UK)• ChengDu, China Earthquake (CN)

• Lesson: serious ^#% happens…• Not “if”,…but “when”.• Our networks (and IT infrastructure in general)

need to be resilient in the face of large, rolling, and sustained failure modes


• Research Agenda:• How are multi-institutional telecommunications

relationships captured? What are the salient characteristics of such applications and/or services?

• How do you develop integrated failure mode resiliency planning?

• Integrate DR/COOP/BC across the entire supply chain• Integrate network protection and mitigation with

“nodal” (data center) resiliency/recovery planning• How should live applications deal with shifting network

characteristics? (e.g. database coherency)• How do resilient architectures affect network

engineering, capacity planning, prioritization, etc. • Can we adapt virtualization of major

infrastructure in order support resiliency?• Other topics will certainly become apparent as we pursue

the issues…


• Disaster Recovery (DR) and Continuance of Operations (COOP) is no longer something that deals with a building fire or spot event.• Disaster radius is now measured in 100+ km• Event duration is considered to be weeks (sometimes

longer.)• Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point

Objectives (RPO) are converging • As the event radius increases, regional supply

chain and customer base disperse • Small radius events affect one or two adjacent

application resources but the overall infrastructure remains operational

• Large radius events will knock out a large segments of the supply chain and other inter-organizational facilities

• This will cause all affected organizations to revert to DR or standy facilities simultaneously

• Result: Major and sudden shift in traffic loading on the network affecting performance or even overwhelming normally underutilized telecommunications links.


Resilient Networks- An example

Pre-Katrina Failure Mode

Radius

Post-KatrinaRadius


Current Research Topics• Next Generation Information

Repositories• Building “knowledge” repositories – globally

distributed storage facilities that incorporate raw data, processed information, analysis results, and the analysis techniques and processes - and the authenticated sequence of inferences and models used to construct this knowledgebase – is crucial new challenge facing e-science

• Meta-Data management – provinence, tagging, etc.

• Access – security & privacy – as governed by multi-national legal requirements

• Access – performance at a global scale• Multi-discipline integration• Exponential growth.


2009 Activities• Dynamic Circuits Hands On

Workshop• Jan 21 & 22, Copenhagen• May 13 & 14, Copenhagen• Technical workshop covering

architecture, engineering design, configuration, and verification of dynamic circuit based services

• Covers GMPLS standards for intra-domain provisioning, and IDC software for inter-domain, best current practices, etc

• See https://portal.nordu.net/display/NORDUwiki/NORDUnet+DCN+Tech+Hands+On+Workshop

https://portal.nordu.net/display/NORDUwiki/NORDUnet+DCN+Tech+Hands+On+Workshop




NORDUnet DCN Test Lab

• Dynamic Circuits Networking Test Lab• Deploy the DCN/IDC softwre in an

experimental environment such that users can employ it, and the the Nordic O&E teams can develop BCPs for such services

IDC

VLSRSwitch element

STO

CPHHAM

NORDUnetDCN XFNordic NRENs

DCN XF

Other NRENs


DCN Test Lab• The NORDUnet DCN Test Lab is a

distributed facility:• Stockholm, Copenhagen, Hamburg• Allows other networks, participants to easily

connect or otherwise access and take advantage of it.

• The facilitity will be used to test and evaluate other dynamic circuit service models as well• E.g. AutoBahn, DRAC, UCLP, MANITCORE, G-

Lambda, etc.• We encourage SUNET and it’s members

to participate by directly connecting to it and assiting with the studies


2009 Activities• Learn more- We are setting up meetings

with regional research community• Objective is to coordinate research

interests of NRENs and their constituents with the activities of the IRI team.• Met with Norwegian folks in January• Finland in December (2008) • Other meetings being set up…

• These are regular/as-needed/ recurring discussions: • Means of learning about focused research

activities within in the [Nordic] institutions, • Can be arranged whenever convenient …• Open/enhance collaborations with activities in

US, CN, JP, KO, CA, AU,…


2009 Activities• NORDUnet CineGrid workshop

• CineGrid is an international organzation that promotes the deployment and use of SuperHD video and visualization technologies in cyber-infrastructure

• NORDUnet will be developing a CineGrid iniative in the NORDIC region in 2009 to enable both SHD and HD services across the NORDUnet backbone to video presentation facilities at regional universities.

• Plans are “scketchy” at this point – any interested parties should contact Jerry to help develop this project.


2009 Activities• Ongoing Int’l meetings:

• TERENA – Malaga, Spain - June ‘09• WRNP – Recife, Brazil – RNP workshop on hybrid

networks and exp research networks• OGF – Research Triangle Park, US – Jun’09 • Korea- June 2009, Meetings with KREONET and KOREN

(Daejeon), Conference on Future Internet (Seoul)• Japan – June 2009 NICT + AIST• APAN 29 – Kuala Lumpur, Malyasia – Jul’09• GLIF – Daejeon, KR – Oct’09• CANS – Beijing, CN – Aug’09• ACM-VISA conference, Barcelona, Spain – Aug’09• NORDUnet 09 – Copenhagen –Sep’09• Internet2 – San Antonio, US – Oct’09• Supercomputing – Portland, US, Nov 09


NORDUnet Washington Office

• NORDUnet now has office in Washington,DC.

• Supports meetings, video conferencing, high performance networking demonstrations, transient work space

• Next to US National Science Foundation


Get Involved• These projects need expertise of

Nordic network research community• The plan is to fund personnel via grants

from NRC and/or EU or partnerships with other organizations

• Involved personnel will develop expertise in these technologies

• Other opportunities for interaction with network technical experts and activities:• Supercomputing 2009 • GLIF, OGF


Call Me!• I am based in Washington, DC

• We have easy access to locations anywhere in the US and Canada

• If you are in town, please let me know• If you have int’l relationships or

activities that I can help develop, let me know.• Call me! Email, Skype, Jabber (no Tweets or

Facebook)• +1-301-346-1849 mobile• Jerry (at) nordu.net

Tack!

international research initiatives

Documents

research educationiri

network research

research educationresearch

research topics

research apparatus

research educationwhat

network infrastructure

modern research community