NORDUnet 25 years Hans Wallberg SUNET University of Umeå The Future of NORDUnet

24 May #2 Predicting the Future? Study the history and extrapolate! Study the history and extrapolate!

24 May #3 The Mission of NORDUnet Provide international network connectivity to Research networks and the General Internet Provide international network connectivity to Research networks and the General Internet Network development activities Network development activities International representation of the Nordic networks International representation of the Nordic networks

24 May #4 Network Capacity 56 kbit/s in kbit/s in Gbit/s today 10 Gbit/s today 10 Tbit/s in 2015 ~10 Mbit/s per user 10 Tbit/s in 2015 ~10 Mbit/s per user

24 May #5 The NORDUnet Plug of 1989 X.25 DECnet TCP/IP

24 May #6 The NORDUnet Plug of Today IP – 10 Gbit/s IP – 10 Gbit/s NorternLight NorternLight n x GE Provisioned as completely separate connections Provisioned as completely separate connections

24 May #7 The NORDUnet Plug of Tomorrow IP 10 Gbit/s IP 10 Gbit/s NorthernLight NorthernLight n x GE n x 10 GE 40 Gbit/s or 100 GE? Distributed over one hybrid network based on dark fibre Distributed over one hybrid network based on dark fibre Will the national networks and campus networks be prepared to deliver lambdas to the individual researcher? Will the national networks and campus networks be prepared to deliver lambdas to the individual researcher?

24 May #8 Technical Issues Connection oriented or connectionless Connection oriented or connectionless Issues the first NORDUnet conference Issues the first NORDUnet conference X.25 and the Q-bit Cambridge Rings vs Ethernet In the beginning we were connections oriented and used X.25 In the beginning we were connections oriented and used X.25 From 1988 we became connectionless with packet switching and IP From 1988 we became connectionless with packet switching and IP ATM was an exception and a mistake ATM was an exception and a mistake

24 May #9 Connectionless or Connection Oriented Today Today Connectionless (packet switched) for general communications. Millions of flows per second. Connection oriented (lambdas) for special needs. Point-to-point between researchers. Few flows with long duration.

24 May #10 Connectionless or Connection Oriented Tomorrow Tomorrow Still connectionless for the general use Many more lambdas (connection oriented) for special needs Much higher bandwidth per lambda Will the connection oriented paradigm scale? The number of point-to-point links increases The lifetime of the links decreases

24 May #11 Technical Developments DWDM systems DWDM systems Transparent Passive core Automatic attenuation and dispersion compensation ROADMs Passive splitting instead of OADMs All active optical equipment at customer premises Increased number of channels (lambdas) 50 GHz per channel (25 GHz per ch will come?) Both C-band and L-band in the same system Higher bandwidth per channel Lightwave modulation: Duo Binary, ODB, DPSK, etc. Optical Switches – Photonic Switching Optical Switches – Photonic Switching Bit-rate and protocol transparent

24 May #12 The Reasons for Hybrid Networks Routers are too expensive Routers are too expensive Switches are cheap Switches are cheap Optical Switches are even cheaper Optical Switches are even cheaper Eliminates the bandwidth limitations of the campus networks Eliminates the bandwidth limitations of the campus networks Eliminates limitations of campus firewalls Eliminates limitations of campus firewalls The only way to achieve e2e performance The only way to achieve e2e performance We shouldnt use expensive routers for bandwidth intensive long-lived flows We shouldnt use expensive routers for bandwidth intensive long-lived flows Routers cause latency Routers cause latency

24 May #13 Killer Applications? Unlimited bandwidth needs in 5 years: Unlimited bandwidth needs in 5 years: Astronomy - VLBI Physics Space Physics - Sensors Life Sciences - Imaging Remote Visualization Grid Computing Will they really show up? Will they really show up? Will they be financed and able to pay their marginal part of the communication cost? Will they be financed and able to pay their marginal part of the communication cost? When will we see Grid Clusters with 10GE Interfaces? When will we see Grid Clusters with 10GE Interfaces? If these killer apps dont show up the networking community will loose credibility If these killer apps dont show up the networking community will loose credibility

24 May #14 Conclusions The future network of NORDUnet should: The future network of NORDUnet should: Use dark fibre Use the latest generation of DWDM equipment Future proof Future proof Flexible and adaptable to any needs Flexible and adaptable to any needs Compatible with the national networks Compatible with the national networks Router consolidation Router consolidation

24 May #15 Network development activities Participate in international network development activities (GLIF, GN2, etc.) Participate in international network development activities (GLIF, GN2, etc.) Coordinate common Nordic network development activities (Nordunet3, etc.) Coordinate common Nordic network development activities (Nordunet3, etc.) Participate in network testing and experiments for specific researchers (VLBI, etc.) Participate in network testing and experiments for specific researchers (VLBI, etc.) Most of the network development activities will be based on a common Nordic hybrid network Most of the network development activities will be based on a common Nordic hybrid network Challenges: Challenges: Participation from the Nordic national network Avoid interfering with the national networks

24 May #16 International representation of the Nordic networks One person instead of five attending international meetings One person instead of five attending international meetings Saves money and resources One Nordic voice One Nordic voice One common Nordic view One common Nordic view Makes an impact

24 May #17 Final Conclusion In the future NORDUnet should: In the future NORDUnet should: Provide international network connectivity for the Nordic NRENs Perform network development activities Represent the Nordic networks Internationally

24 May #18 September Göteborg Sweden NORDUnet 2006 Networking Conference Göteborg University Chalmers University of Technology