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MAIN TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Next generation optical transport networks with 40Gbps capabilities are expected to be based on the ITU’s G.709 standard also known as “digital wrapper”. Unlike today’s long distance telecommunications networks that are restricted to transporting SONET/SDH frames, these new networks will also have the capability to transport 1 Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet and several other types of frames transparently. At the outset, the DataTAG project decided to build a multi-vendor testbed on top of a layer 2 Gigabit Ethernet transport network in order to get maximum flexibility and transparency. DataTAG selected the Alcatel 1670 SONET/SDH multiplexer which is a leading edge Multi Service Switch. In other words, it is a SONET/SDH multiplexer with the capability to encapsulate Gigabit Ethernet frames over SONET/SDH frames using the ITU’s Generic Framing Procedures (GFP). Thanks to these capabilities, a transparent bi-directional transatlantic Gigabit Ethernet bridge, between the CERN Internet Exchange Point (CIXP) in Geneva and the Starlight Internet Exchange in Chicago, could be built. This connects the two halves of the DataTAG testbed and, in effect, builds a distributed transatlantic exchange point.

INNOVATIVE ASPECTS

The DataTAG testbed is at the forefront of broadband network technologies with the following key innovative characteristics:

High-speed 2.5Gbps transatlantic optical wavelength (lambda) during the period September 2002 through August 2003, which became 10Gbps from September 2003.Open multi-vendor layer2 & layer3 testbed with equipment from Alcatel (1670 & 7770 RCP), Cisco (6506 & 7609), Juniper (M10 & T320) and Procket (8801). There is the possibility of including other vendors later.Transparent transport of Gigabit Ethernet over 2.5Gbps optical circuit also known as “Ethernet over Sonet/SDH networks”. Given the requirement to provide native 10GigE capabilities and the lack of proven commercial layer 1 or layer 2 solutions allowing the transport of 10 Gigabit Ethernet frames over 10Gbps long distance optical wavelengths, a layer 2 emulation solution based on Juniper T320 routers has been deployed to transport 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

To the best of our knowledge, DataTAG has been the first transoceanic test-bed with native 10GigE access capabilities.

TRANSATLANTIC TEST-BED

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INTERCONNECTION WITH OTHER NETWORKS

The DataTAG testbed has direct broadband connections to the following advanced testbeds and/or research networks:

GEANT, the leading pan-European Research & Education backbone,Netherlight, the leading optical Internet exchange in Amsterdam and Surfnet, the Dutch Research & Education Network,VTHD, the advanced IP/WDM (Wave Division Multiplex) next generation Internet testbed in France, Abilene, the national backbone supporting high-performance connectivity and Internet innovation within the U.S. research university community,Canarie, the Canadian Research & Education Network,ESnet, the Energy Sciences Network, or ESnet, is a high-speed network serving thousands of US Department of Energy (DoE) scientists and collaborators worldwide,and several other R&D networks in the Asia-Pacific region

The DataTAG testbed also has indirect physical connections but is working closely with the following advanced projects, research networks and research institutes:

MB-NG, the Managed Bandwidth - Next Generation project in the UK, whose aim is to create a pan-UK Networking and Grid testbed focusing upon advanced networking issues and interoperability of administrative domains,GARR, the Italian Research & Education Network,CNAF, the INFN (National Institute of Nuclear Physics) centre of expertise in Information Technology and Telecommunications in Bologna (Italy).

The DataTAG testbed is jointly funded by the European Union, the US National Science Foundation through the Electronic Visualisation Lab (EVL) at University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC) and the US Department of Energy (DoE) through the California Institute of Technology (CALTECH).

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