PanEuropean Research Networks: Past, Present

1
Pan-European Research NetworksPast, Present
Future

• Michael Enrico
• Network Engineering Planning
• DANTE Ltd
• Workshop on The Internet Protocol Optical
  Networking
• Grasmere, Cunbria, UK
• 23-25 September 2002

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Agenda

• DANTE in Context
• Who? What? Where? How?
• Who pays?
• History (of pan-Euro backbone RE Networks)
• The early days (EuropaNET)
• TEN-34 TEN-155
• Today
• The GN1 project and GÉANT
• Tomorrow
• What place for Optical Networking?

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Who is ?

• Delivery of
• Advanced
• Networking
• Technology to
• Europe

4
Who is ?

• Legal status not-for-profit Limited Company
  registered in the UK
• Governance
• Board of Directors
• NREN Policy Committee
• Started in 1993
• Based in Cambridge, UK
• Currently 22 people (most in Cambridge)
• Broad European makeup of staff
• 11 non-UK

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A Brief History...
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In the Beginning (pre 1992)...

• There were NRENs ...

• Ad hoc bilateral links

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EuropaNET (1992)

• RARE contracted EuropaNET from Unisource
• Not subsidised by the EC
• Competition with fledgling E-Bone
• E-Bone later followed the commercial route
• Some suspicion from commercial providers
• Would EuropaNET restrict itself to RE?
• Typical backbone circuits E1
• Used Telebit routers
• Offered a datagram service (X.25, IP CLNS)
• Finished in October 1995

8
IBDNS (1995)

• International Backbone Data Network Service
• Contracted from BT
• Used Cisco routers
• Typical NREN accesses few M
• JANET access was 8M at the end
• Finished early 1997

9
TEN-34 TEN-155 (1997-2001)

• IP Backbone built on managed ATM network
• DANTE owned (Cisco) routers
• TEN-34 (Early 1997)
• Typical backbone circuit 16M (e.g. London-Paris)
• Odd 34M circuit in backbone
• TEN-155 (Late 1998)
• Started with single ring of STM-1
• Finished up with main ring at 4 x STM-1
• Typical NREN accesses at STM-1
• Finished end of 2001

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January 2000 Topology
http//www.dante.net/ten-155/ten155net.gif
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TEN-155 Services

• IP transit service for European NRENs
• Connectivity to North American RE Networks
• Abilene, ESnet Canarie
• via DANTE POP in New York
• DANTE World Service
• Connectivity to UUnet in NY (by additional
  subscription)
• European Commodity Service
• Peerings with InfoNet
• Managed Bandwidth Service (MBS)
• end-to-end ATM CBR UBR PVCs
• Advanced IP services e.g. Multicast

12
GN1 Project

• A pan-European RE network with a dual remit
• To provide production network services to the
  European RE community
• To provide a platform for networking research

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GN1 Project

• Planned procured during 2001
• Switched on Nov/Dec 2001
• 10 Gbps in 8 locations, 9 circuits
• 2.5 Gbps in 7 locations, 12 circuits
• 3 main providers COLT, T-Systems Telia
• Connects 31 NRENs
• Connectivity to North America
• 3 x 2.5Gbps
• Connects Abilene, Canarie ESnet
• GTR(E)N POP in New York

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GÉANT Topology(Today)

• PLUS
• (not shown)
• 3 x 2.5G to NY
• STM-1 to Japan
• DWS peerings
• NREN Accesses

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How so BIG?

• Generous funding of Research Networks by the EC
  ...

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Typical GÉANT POP

• A single Juniper M160 router
• (except Frankfurt which needs two!)
• Ancillary management/monitoring equipment
• In-POP (switched) FE GE LAN
• Terminal server router (with ISDN POTS access)
• Two Sun workstations
• Housed in 3 or 4 racks or a small suite in
  (mostly) carrier-neutral datacentres
• Most POPs in capital city
• Exceptions DE (Frankfurt), IT (Milan), CH
  (Geneva),PL (Poznan)

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A POP(underconstruction!)
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Network Management Service

• NMS NOC outsourced to a company in Paris
• Second Line support performed by DANTE
  Operations team (based in Cambridge)
• Each NREN has an Access Port Manager (APM)

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Customer Services on GÉANT

• (Best effort) IP transit for European NRENs
• DANTE World Service (chargeable extra)
• Native Multicast
• Premium IP
• L2 VPN (using MPLS)

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DANTE World Service

• Commodity IP Transit service for NRENs
• Chargeable extra
• Not all NRENs make use of it
• Some use it as a back-up to their own commodity
  access
• 2 providers Global Crossing Telia (was KPNQ!)
• Numerous peering points around Europe
• Each at STM-16
• Routing policy hot potato
• Subscription levels allowed up to half of access

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New Services

• Less than Best Effort (Scavanger)
• Currently undergoing tests
• MBS Replacement?
• Need to be able to provide support for
  projects(e.g. GRIDs, 6net, testbeds, etc)
• Could use Premium IP but what about traffic
  isolation?
• Could use MPLS L2 VPN but what about BW
  guarantees?

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Extending the Reach of GÉANT

• EUMEDCONNECT
• Providing IP connectivity to EUMEDIS NRENs
• Phase 1 (feasibility study) now complete
• Phase 2 (procurement, implementation operation)
  to start shortly
• Lifetime up to summer 2006
• CAESAR
• Extending IP connectivity to Latin America
• Still in feasibility stages

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A Bit about IP Routing

• IGP is OSPF
• TE performed via OSPF metrics
• Plan to migrate to IS-IS (to allow for IPv6
  support)
• EGP is BGP4
• Full mesh of iBGP peerings (no Route Reflectors)
• eBGP peerings with all external peers
• Multicast extensions (MBGP)
• Each router maintains a full Internet routing
  table

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IP Multicast Service

• Access to the service
• Via primary access port
• Another possibility is via a GRE tunnel
  (currently nobody!)
• Support PIM-SM v2 only
• 3 Rendezvous Points (RPs) in network
• Source distribution via MSDP peerings
• Looking at SSM
• Operational procedures (rolling out now)
• Goal fully supported service as for unicast
• Plus specific monitoring
• Troubleshooting
• Extension of the trouble ticket systems to
  multicast incidents

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More information on Multicast Setup

• http//www.dante.net/nep/GEANT-MULTICAST

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Premium IP Service

• Aims to provide international Virtual Leased Line
  based on DiffServ
• The Premium IP service is an end-to-end service
  (site to site) crossing multiple administrative
  domains
• Defined on the basis of the DiffServ EF PHB which
  is required to offer
• Bandwidth, low loss, upper bounded delay and
  jitter

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Premium IP VLL Service
SE
NREN Janet
UK
AS786
AS20965
Rate limitation is applied on the NREN access
Regional Network
DE
GÉANT backbone
DFN
A
AS680
FR

• Premium IP packets are tagged with DSCP code 46.
• Rate Limitation is applied per aggregate on the
  NRENs access, based on the total demanded
  bandwidth towards the destination.
• Admission Control is made manually based on the
  Sum of bandwidth already booked on the
  destination access.

Regional Network
B
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The Optical Networking bit...
Random Thoughts
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GÉANTs Optical Networking Today

• DANTE does not operate its own transmission
  infrastructure
• GÉANT Connectivity
• International Leased Lines
• Unprotected SDH circuits for 622M or less
• Unprotected lambdas for 2.5G and 10G
• Often 2.5G lambdas are really SDH circuits
• White light (G.957/691) Thin SDH interfaces
• Use SR or IR POS interfaces on routers

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GÉANTs Optical Networking Tomorrow?

• Two drivers
• Support for higher bandwidthswhat happens when
  NRENs start to subscribe to 10G?
• Support for projects/user groupshow do we
  extract arbitrary bandwidth channels from
  2.5/10/40G core circuits?

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Support for Higher Bandwidths

• Will router vendors offer 40G interfaces (soon)?
• Next generation 40G capable
• What will be the form of these interfaces?
• STM-256 on white light?
• Will xWDM interfaces become incorporated into
  routers?
• Already appearing in SDH switches
• Does this help us at all?
• Will operators offer coloured interfaces?

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Support for Projects/User Groups

• Just use Layer 3 Techniques? (some say yes!)
• Simplify L2
• Use 40G if possible
• Are the routers really up to it (2.5G or 10G
  tunnels?)

Operator Network
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Support for Projects/User Groups

• Add L2 switch/mux capability ourselves?

POS STM-n i/f
Channelized mode
Keep POS i/f ?
STM-n
Operator Network
34
Evolution of GÉANT?

• Add L1 capability ourselves?
• Offer BoD? (some say no - leave it to operators!)

Light channel, ? bundle or even managed fibre?
Operator Network
Nature of i/f?
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Optical Testbed Possibilities

• Some European NRENs now have access to dark
  fibre
• CESNET (Czech Republic)
• PSNC (Poland)
• SWITCH (Switzerland)
• PSNC has been trying out Alcatel DWDM equipment

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Optical Testbeds
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Optical Testbed Possibilities II

• ASTON Project EoI (FP6)
• A Step Towards the provision of Optical
  Networking
• Has come out of TF-NGN activity on optical
  networks
• Information gathering, knowledge distribution
• Find partners to do Europe-wide testing of
  technologies methodologies
• Create feedback loops with manufacturers
  providers
• Results used for engineering new network
  architectures provisioning models

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Conclusions

• Research Networking Community has High Demands
• Early Adopters
• Some European NRENs are starting to do their own
  transmission
• Probably not going to happen on pan-European
  scale (at least for foreseeable future)
• However, feeling is that GÉANT and European NRENs
  will go more optical
• were just not quite sure how!

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Thank YouQuestions?