The Internet in BC

BCnetMichael Hrybyk, Michael.Hrybyk@bc.net

General Manager, BCnet

Director, Group for Adv Information Technology R&D, BCIT

President, BCIA

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Overview

Network Basics

Research Networks and BCnet

Advanced Initiatives

ISPs

The Voice (Telephone) Network

Based on circuits

A circuit is a dedicated connection between two destinations

Circuits are patched together and aggregated

Use of circuit switches

Each voice circuit is 64kbps digitized

Circuits

Call setup

Interaction

Session maintenance

Call teardown

Resources are allocated throughout the system during the life of the circuit

Comments on Circuits

Excellent for voice•dedicated bandwidth•No congestion control needed - on-ramp is controlled

Resources over-allocated•reserved even during periods of silence

Inefficient for short messages

Drawbacks for some forms of data

The Video Network

Broadcast

One-way transmission, one TX, one RX

Analog signalling

Use of cable or RF

All channels sent to all receivers

No room for return signals

Data Networks

Circuit-switched

Packet-switched

Connection-oriented

Connectionless

Packets

Small standardized chunks of data

Sequencing information

Addressing information

Size and error detection/correction

Type information

The Internet

A Unique Data Network

Packet-switched

Uses TCP/IP

Connectionless•higher layers maintain connections between applications

TCP/IP Protocol

The language of the Internet

Open standard, US DOD sponsored•Already runs over ATM at high speeds!

Media independent

Popularized by UCal Berkeley UNIX

Discarding Data is Good!

Seems ridiculous

Fundamental strength of TCP/IP

End points have the responsibility for keeping track of connections

The network (backbone) sends the packet through on the best possible route

No predetermined paths or resources set aside

Assessment of TCP/IP and the Internet

Good•Handles bursty data•Deals with outages well•Simple and efficient

Bad•No security at the network level•No guaranteed service levels

Internet Performance and Capacity

Capacity planning based on trend analysis rather than number of calls

Reasonable interactive response, but not guaranteed

The Next TCP/IP

Quality of service schemes

Better addressing

Tuned for high speed, error free links

What is the Internet?

The Internet is a network of data networks.

The basic building block is a single network, usually a LAN

LANs are connected to regional or mid-level networks at the second stage.

The regional networks are interconnected at the national level.

National networks also maintain interconnections, forming a vast web.

Internet Architecture

Use of the telephone network

Use of fixed data circuits, open all the time

Shared backbone ciruit

Tail circuits to sites

Internet Architecture II

No end-to-end circuits

Packets traverse across the backbone

Congestion results in dropped packets

Retransmission algorithms: sliding window, ...

Network Connections

Routers provide the glue

Routers forward packets to the next destination

Routers keep each other informed regarding the best way to get to a particular destination

Internet Governance

There is none!

Cooperation - boards and committees

IETF - Internet Engineering Task Force

IAB - Internet Architecture Board

INTERNIC - Internet Network Information Centre

History

Started in 1973 as a US DOD project

Became the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency)

Added to Berkeley Unix in the early 80’s

NSF funded a backbone and regional networks in the mid-80s

Complete commercial backbone at present

Canadian History

NetNorth and Datapac were early networks (non-TCP/IP)

CA*net formed in the mid 80’s

CA*net connects provincial networks together on a high speed backbone

One regional network per province

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Research and Education Networks

Connect•Major Universities•Colleges and Institutes•Schools•Government•R&D and tech firms

Evolution•ARPANET-NSFnet•Corporate •Internet II/CA*netIII

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BCnet and CA*net Yesterday

BCnet•Broadband Cable backbone, moved to T1•Tail sites using analog leased lines

CA*net•56k backbone, moved to T1, then multiples

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Canadian Research and Education Networks

National: CA*net2/3 (CANARIE)

Regional: BCnet, WURCNET, ONET, RISQ, ...

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BCnet: a decade of excellence

Our Mission:

To connect the information resources of the B.C. universities and colleges with business, government, and non-profit organizations.

To expand the opportunities for cooperative research across academic disciplines and organizational boundaries.

To widen the access to information resources to students, educators, and researchers.

To facilitate the transfer of university research and technology development to industry, government, and the wider community.

To promote the common good through enhanced communication and information sharing.

Special Recognition

At the 1999 New Media Conference, BCnet received the Hyperion Award for Excellence for its contribution to BC Internet growth.

Several BCnet personnel were recognized by the Prime Minister as “founders” and "builders" of Canada's Information Highway.

A BC First

BCnet created the first Internet connections in BC in 1988.

National Accreditation

CANARIE, an industry-led consortium promoting Canada’s Information Highway, appointed BCnet to operate the CA*netII gigaPOP in BC.

BCnet has a 10 year track record of visionary, cost effective, and sustainable implementation of internetworking that is unmatched by

any organization in BC, Canada, or the United States.

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BCnet Firsts

Connection to NSFnet

BC connection to CA*net

IP over Broadband CATV in BC

T1 IP backbone in BC

Ubiquity T1 backbone

ISDN service

38Ghz T1/T3 service

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BCnet Organization

Board of Directors (SFU,UBC,UVic)

General Manager

Office Support

Network Information Centre (NIC)

Network Management Centre (NMC)

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BCnet NMC

Technical Support

24x7 Monitoring and Assistance

IP Veterans

Main core at UBC, with added support by UVic and SFU

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BCnet & CA*net Today

BCnet•120 sites •8 TB/mo•OC3 ATM backbone•Multihomed to Bell Canada, Starcom, and soon to BCTel•Houses the BC Gigapop for CA*net3, and the BCIX•Tail sites using T1, ISDN, long haul ethernet over ATM, and FR

CA*net3•OC3 ATM backbone connected to the STARTAP and I2•OC48 WDM backbone next FY

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BCnet Topology

Clients

Colleges/ClientsUbiquity

BCIX

SFU

UVic

SFUHC

UBC

BellAT&T

Clients

ITSD

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BCnet Services/Servers

Dedicated Connections

DNS

News

Email gateway

MBONE

Real Audio/Video

Videoconferencing Servers

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Planned Services

Web Caching Servers

Internet Telephony

QoS-based contracts

Expanded RF facilities

Colocation facilities

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Current R&D Activities

Gigapop

BCIX

BCOIC

Projects

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CA*net3

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CA*net3

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General Connectivity in BC

CA*netII

Univ ofVictoria

SFUBurnaby Mt

SFU-HCBC Gigapop

Univ ofBritish Col

Univ ofNorthern BC

BCNET

Tier B Org

Tier B Org

Tier B Org

Tier B Org

RNET

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BC Gigapop

2 Nortel Networks BCNs (Tier A/B routers) and a Baystack switch

Fore ASX 1000

University and Ca*net2 155Mbps networks converge at an ATM switch

Will be upgraded to Gigabit Ethernet connection to CA*net3 soon

Use of segregation (separate routers) and filtering to implement CANARIE AUPs

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CA*net3 Locations in BC

VancouverSFU HC/BBy

UBCTechBC

BCIT

VictoriaUVic

Prince GeorgeUNBC

CA*net3

British Columbia

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BCIX

Second exchange point in Canada (the other is CANIX in Toronto)

An open exchange point, unlike CANIX

Currently: BCTel, Starcom, Group Telecom, Westel, Internet Direct, Rogers @Home

Coming: Bell, UUNET Canada, Netcom, Shaw @Home

Uses OC3 ATM for bilateral/multilateral arrangements (Fore ASX 1000)

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BCIX History

Started as a BCTel/BCnet joint venture

Now is an independent entity modelled after other local Ixs

Cheap and flexible

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Harbour Centre - An Internet Meet-Me Point

Harbour Centre is the Internet crossroads in Vancouver

Better than a CO - everyone has access. Simple to cross-connect at P1.

Building-supplied motor generator backup

Many facilities providers are located in HC•Web Farms

•ISPs

•Carriers

•Consultants/IT groups/Govt Offices

Currently used as a major CanTel cell phone relay, and can be used for wireless applications.

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BCOIC

Consortium to steer BCnet in the construction of an ‘all optical’ regional network.

Members: universities and institutes, Electronic Arts, Nortel, Fore Systems, PMC Sierra, Siara Systems, and others

To facilitate the growth of Internet technologies, not merely a service testing ground for carriers

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BC Optical Regional Advanced Network

Will hopefully be CANARIE funded, with provincial support

An RFI is being put together for the infrastructure by Deloitte and Touche

Comes on the heels of an unsuccessful CFI proposal

Expect to see partnerships form - ie, buy IRUs for strands of fibre

Use of MAN WDM gear

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Creating new possibilities...

A high-speed fiber optic network will foster growth in many fields:

•Remote medical diagnostics

•Data mining for hypotheses

•Computerized modeling

•Virtual design and architecture

•Interactive multimedia communications

The world of research has changed:

•Solitary endeavours have evolved to multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional collaborative efforts.

•Exciting new opportunities are appearing in bio-medical, historical, and environmental research.

•Research is expanding: from local, to regional, to national, to international.

…for research…for technology

…for economic growthInvestments in technology support greater economic growth than comparable investments in traditional infrastructure projects, such as roads and highways.

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The ISP industry has grown to over $200 million per year in revenues, and it has created over 3000 jobs in BC since 1994.

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"The knowledge, information, data and services travelling the Information Highway ... [are] forming the life-blood of the knowledge-based economy.” - [Source: Information Highway Advisory Council]

"The knowledge, information, data and services travelling the Information Highway ... [are] forming the life-blood of the knowledge-based economy.” - [Source: Information Highway Advisory Council]

ISPISP

Related and indirect revenues far exceed the revenues generated by ISPs alone. The IT sector is estimated to contribute 1.2% to Canada’s GDP.

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“If Canada does not create the products and services for the Information Highway, they will be created elsewhere, and we will not reap the spillover effects of a new economic base.” - [Source: Jobs and Growth in the Knowledge-Based Economy, Industry Canada]

“If Canada does not create the products and services for the Information Highway, they will be created elsewhere, and we will not reap the spillover effects of a new economic base.” - [Source: Jobs and Growth in the Knowledge-Based Economy, Industry Canada]

BC: advancing into the information age

Without an expanded high-tech infrastructure, we may fail to attract and retain the leading researchers and high-tech companies to BC.

“The Information Highway heralds profound technological and social change, challenging society to revisit fundamental assumptions about how our economy will function.”[Source: Jobs and Growth in the Knowledge-Based Economy, Industry Canada]

Highly qualified personnel have the luxury of choosing where to work:Infrastructure is a key component of this decision

State-of-the-art technology is strong attraction, and can help overcome the challenges created by higher taxes and lower salaries

“Technology and information are the sectors of the economy where we’re going to see the most growth.” [Source: Jobs and Growth in the Knowledge-Based Economy, Industry Canada]

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Creating capacity for future growth

Internet data volume is expected to double every 9 months

•Technologies such as IP telephony and high speed home and office connections are creating demand for ever increasing bandwidth.

Bandwidth prices in Canada are 3 - 4 times those in the U.S.

•This cost is strangling growth and innovation in British Columbia.

•BCnet’s initiative can drive down these costs, minimizing this issue for our critical users.

“Data traffic volumes continue to grow exponentially.”

“If the Internet is not congested, the marginal cost of sending an extra packet is essentially zero. However, when the network is operating at near capacity, bandwidth becomes a scarce resource. Congestion can impose a social cost, reflecting delays, interruptions and lost information.” [Source: Jobs and Growth in the Knowledge-Based Economy, Industry Canada]

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Data Traffic Growth in BC(Gigabytes per Month)

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

93 95 97 99 01

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The Next Network

Fibre to the home

IP over light/WDM

De-layering of protocols (and of the business??)

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Hot R&D Areas

Routing and policies•Route Management Project (BCIT)

Quality of Service•I2 QBONE and Bandwidth Broker Project

Multicast

Security

Fast routing

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The World of ISPs

Currently dialup providers

Moving to service providers•servers•ecommerce

Cable access and deregulation the toughest problem