CLARA: an advanced regional network integrating LA

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CLARA an advanced regional network integrating
LAC NRENs ()CCIRN 2004Cairns, AustraliaJuly
2004

• Michael StantonCLARA Technical CommitteeRede
  Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa RNP,
  Brazilwww.rnp.br/en michael_at_rnp.br
• () LAC Latin American and the Caribbean
• NREN National Research and Education Network

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Scientific User Community Needs in LAC

• The provision of high-capacity networking
  infrastructure in LAC countries is in good part
  to meet the demands of international
  collaboration
• It is hoped that such provision can be made by a
  combination of networking interconnections at the
  regional/inter-regional levels, combined with
  renovation of national NREN infrastructures

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Global connectivity supports science user
communities

• Scientific research increasingly dependent on
  access globally to resources, collaborators,
  data, scientific instruments.
• Access to scientific instruments with specific
  geo-location needs
• optical telescopes e.g., Gemini South and SOAR,
  Chile operated by US, Brazil and other countries
• Unique instruments impractical or unfeasible for
  each country to afford for its own community
• Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Geneva
  thousands of collaborators around the world
• Access to/collecting geo-specific data and
  getting it back for analysis, visualisation,
  sharing
• Environmental data from the Amazon or Antarctica

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Some of the scientific community connectivity
needs in LAC

• Areas of interest
• Astrophysics
• Argentina, Brazil, Chile
• E-VLBI
• Brazil, Chile
• High Energy Nuclear Physics
• Brazil
• Geosciences
• Chile
• Marine sciences
• Chile
• Environmental studies
• Brazil, Costa Rica
• Health and Biomedical applications
• Several countries
• Grid computing in general

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Global connectivity tendencies

• Very high capacity (10s of Gbps) networks in core
  countries and between them
• Increasingly regionalised networking
• European GEANT, South American CLARA, Asian
  cluster efforts
• aggregate inter-continental bandwidth now
  sometimes greater than continental bandwidth
• slow trend away from US as centre of the world
• many initiatives outside the US are engaging and
  establishing leadership roles in connecting to
  the world
• European Asian connectivity
• European Latin American connectivity

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The emerging global network(as seen from
Australia)
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LAC connectivity

• Phase 1 satellite communication with US hub
• bandwidth limited to 2 Mbps
• Phase 2 submarine optical cables
• initial bandwidth of 34 or 45 Mbps
• no upper limit in sight
• Phase 2A based on US hub
• AMPATH project (2001 - )
• Phase 2B region-centric
• CLARA network (2004 - )

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Phase 1 Satellite connectivity (1990s)
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Phase 2 New Submarine Cables in Latin America
(1999-)
to New Yorkand Europe
to Californiaand Asia-Pacific
Miami
San Juan, Puerto Rico
E-mergia (TIWS)Global Crossing TI
SparkleGlobal Crossing ImpSatTransandinoUniSur
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Phase 2 New cables in the Caribbean (Maya
Arcos)
Maya
Arcos(festoon)
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Phase 2A US-centric connectivity (2001 - )

• AmPath
• uses Global Crossing
• 45 Mbps (one size fits all)
• connections to Miami, and thence to Abilene (US
  NREN)
• connects Argentina, Brazil (2), Chile, Panama,
  Venezuela
• other LAC countries not so benefited
• Mexico
• 3 cross-border connections to US (Texas and
  California)

AmPath
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Where do we go from here?

• AMPATHs achievements
• Initial boost for Advanced Networking in LA
• Stimulus for advanced connectivity inside each
  country
• Motivation for collaborative projects
• BUT
• Why does LAC communicate internally through
  Miami?
• Why does LAC communicate with other parts of the
  world through the US?

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An alternative paradigm regional RE networking

• Since the early 1990s great efforts have been
  invested in pan-European networking.
• The present pan-European network is GÉANT (2002-)
• currently the largest capacity operational IP
  network in the world
• built and managed by DANTE

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GÉANT connections to other regions (2004)
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The European Commissions _at_LIS initiative

• Through _at_LIS programme the European Commission is
  supporting improved connectivity to Latin America
  and the Caribbean (LAC)
• _at_LIS Alliance for the Information Society
  (2003-2005)
• 62.5 Million Euros for EU-LAC on Information
  Society Issues
• 10 Million Euros for Interconnecting Europe
  LAC Research and Education communities
• Will interconnect LAC-NRENs
• Consequences
• Formation of new NRENs in many LAC countries
• Creation of the CLARA organisation of LAC-NRENs
• ALICE project to support the building of the
  CLARA regional network in Latin America

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• Association of NRENs open to all LAC Countries
• constituted in Uruguay (like LACNIC) in Dec 2003
• Created in response to _at_LIS initiative, but not
  limited to _at_LIS time scale and restrictions
• CLARA regional network will connect to Europe,
  North America and Asia-Pacific

Argentina (RETINA) Brazil (RNP) Chile
(REUNA) Costa Rica (CRNET)
Panama (REDCYT) Paraguay (ARANDU) Peru
(RAAP) Uruguay (RAU) Venezuela (REACCIUN)
Ecuador (CEDIA) El Salvador (RAICES) Guatemala
(RAGIE) Mexico (CUDI) Nicaragua (RENIE)
CLARAMemberNRENs (July 2004)
(NRENs in formation indicated in RED)
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Phase 2B region-centric networking

• ALICE Latin America Connected to Europe
  (2003-2006)
• Project to build CLARA network, supported by the
  _at_LIS programme (cost-sharing EU 80 - LAC 20)
• Coordinated by DANTE, with participation of NRENs
  from Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and some LAC
  countries, and CLARA itself
• (target countries include present 14 CLARA
  members, plus Bolivia, Columbia, Cuba and
  Honduras)
• August 2004 CLARA network to commence operations
• ALICE websitewww.dante.net/alice
• ALICE brochure (in English, Spanish and
  Portuguese)www.dante.net/alice/ALICEbrochure.pdf
  

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Expected CLARA network topology

• Initially connected to Europe
• Tijuana (Mexico) PoP to be connected by dark
  fibre to CENIC (California)
• access to US, Canada and Asia - Pacific Rim
• Initial backbone ring bandwidth of 155 Mbps
• Spur links at 10 to 45 Mbps (Cuba at 4 Mbps by
  satellite)
• Initial connection to Europe at 622 Mbps from
  Brazil
• Network to be operated by CLARA (through CUDI and
  RNP)
• Expected also to support future US funded
  international scientific collaborations,
  including through the IRNC program

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IRNC - International Research Network Connections
new NSF program launched in March, 2004

• Synopsis of Program
• Support for international collaboration for
• access remote instruments, data, and
  computational resources located throughout the
  world
• Remote access to large-scale science and
  engineering facilities located both inside and
  outside the U.S. utilized by multi-national
  research and education collaborations
• NSF expects to make awards to provide network
  connections linking U.S. research networks with
  peer networks in other parts of the world.
• Links funded by this program are intended to
  support science and engineering research and
  education applications.  
• Funded projects will enable state-of-the-art
  international network services similar to and
  interconnected with those currently offered or
  planned by domestic research networks.

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CLARA response to IRNC

• CLARAs major interest in this program is to
  leverage good quality connectivity between the US
  and countries served by the CLARA network through
  new links from the US to backbone nodes of the
  CLARA network
• Cross-border dark fibre from Mexico to US
• Direct access to the Southern Cone countries
  (Argentina-Brazil-Chile)
• CLARA believes the regions interests are best
  served by working with all US institutions
  proposing IRNC-funded links to LAC. We have
  therefore freely collaborated with both proposals
  we have learned about.

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1st Proposal CLARA for IRNC 2004
to US East Coast
to US West Coast
to Europe (existing)
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2nd Proposal CLARA for IRNC 2004
to US East Coast
to US West Coast(CUDI-CENIC)
to Europe (existing)
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• Thank you!
• Questions?
• michael_at_rnp.br