Internet2 Members Update

November 2002

<> Fall 2002 Internet2 Member Meeting
<> Virtual Briefings
<> Abilene Router Upgrade
<> Member-to-Member Announcements
<> Applications Update
<> International Update
<> Middleware Update
<> End-to-End Performance Initiative (E2Epi)
<> Internet2 K20 Initiative Update
<> Future Internet2 Events
<> New Members
<> Internet2 Days
<> Showcase Opportunities
<> Internet2 Related Events

<> Fall 2002 Internet2 Member Meeting
+ Meeting Summary
Internet2 would like to thank all those who attended the Fall 2002 Member Meeting and we would also like to thank all speakers who gave presentations at the plenary sessions, track sessions, Working Group meetings, and BOF leaders. Netcast and presentation archives are available at: http://www.internet2.edu/activities/html/fall-02-netcast.html and http://www.internet2.edu/activities/php/p_by_events.php?evt_id=122

Attendees are encouraged to help shape future member meetings by completing the Member Meeting Evaluation. Those who submit evaluations by November 22 are eligible to participate in the drawing for a global-positioning (GPS) watch. http://www.internet2.edu/activities/html/fall_02-evaluation.html

+ Seeking Participants for the Member Meeting Program Committee
Individuals who would like to become involved in planning the structure and design of Internet2 Member Meetings are encouraged to contact Laurie Burns <lburns@internet2.edu> to express their interest.

<> Virtual Briefings
+ Upcoming Virtual Briefings
"Live from SC2002" is the title of the Thursday, November 21 Virtual Briefing. This briefing will feature a series of live interviews from the SC2002 demo floor. Time for the Briefing is 11:30 am-1:00 pm EDT (UTC -4). For more details on this Briefing and SC2002, see: http://www.internet2.edu/activities/html/briefings.html and http://www.sc2002.org/

The Tuesday, December 10 Virtual Briefing will be a simulcast of Megaconference IV, the world's largest videoconference. Plans for this Briefing are still underway. Check the Internet2 Virtual Briefing web page for the latest information. More details about "Distance Learning and Far Away Places", the theme of Megaconference IV, are at: http://www.mega-net.net/megaconference/

+ Lessons Learned Update
Acompilation of what the Internet2 community has learned from previous Virtual Briefings is now available. The Virtual Briefings seek to find the optimal mix of quality, audience reach, and interactivity with the technologies used to present the Briefings. In the spirit of experimentation, a mix of technologies is used to support the Briefings, rather than just one solution. For the complete report see: http://www.internet2.edu/activities/html/lessonslearned.html

<> Abilene Router Upgrade
The 10 Gbps upgrade of the Abilene Network is proceeding on schedule with ten next generation routers already in place and a new optical circuit ('lambda') path established transcontinentally from Los Angeles and Sunnyvale, California, on the West Coast to New York City and Washington, D.C., on the East Coast. In an important early validation of network performance, the new backbone already has supported an 8 Gbps sustained bi-directional traffic flow - including a 50%/50% mix of IPv4 and IPv6 traffic as well as a 100% IPv6 flow - without any packet loss or reordering. In addition, Abilene is serving as the U.S. partner for two transatlantic circuits - including a 10 Gbps lambda - donated through the Internet Educational Equal Access Foundation (IEEAF). For more details on the status of the Abilene Network, please see the slides from the Abilene Update session at the Member Meeting.
http://www.internet2.edu/abilene/assets/applets/abilene-update-mm-28-oct-20021.pdf

To track the progress of the Next Generation Abilene Router Upgrade, please see: http://loadrunner.uits.iu.edu/weathermaps/abilene-ngar/

<> Member-to-Member Announcements
+ Cisco Higher Education Technology Symposium
Cisco Systems is offering an opportunity to learn about the latest advancements in networking and how to prepare for next-generation technologies at the Higher Education Technology Symposium, coming soon to a city near you. Topics include, network security, mobility/wireless, storage networking, and IP Telephony. For more information please see: http://www.internet2.edu/members/html/infoshare-cisco.html

+ Information Sharing Guidelines
Periodically members are interested in sharing information about special activities or opportunities with the Internet2 community such as technology symposiums, workshops, donation programs, product offerings and or grant opportunities. In an effort to facilitate information sharing we are adding a Member-to-Member section to this monthly update. Members interested in contributing notices should review the guidelines at: http://www.internet2.edu/members/html/informationsharing.html or email <evaughan@internet2.edu> with proposed announcements.

<> Applications Update
Excerpts from the applications newsletter are below, for the complete applications newsletter go to: http://apps.internet2.edu/html/newsletter.html

+ Applications Activities at the Fall 2002 Internet2 Member Meeting
The Internet2 Applications Team would like to thank all the speakers who gave presentations in the applications track sessions, the applications Working Group chairs and BOF leaders who held meetings. For those less familiar with high-performance networking applications, this meeting featured a new tutorial "Applications 201" based on the well-received "Internet2 101" tutorial, but providing a broader overview of the activities going on throughout the advanced applications community. An evening performance event at USC's Bing Theater "Cultivating Communities: Dance in the Digital Age" highlighted the capabilities of Internet2-enabled collaborations and the talents of performers from our member institution campuses.

Demos: http://apps.internet2.edu/html/fall2002-demos.html
Performance Event: http://apps.internet2.edu/html/fall2002-perfevent.html
Applications 201: http://www.internet2.edu/presentations/fall02/20021028-Apps201-Hanss.htm

California Orthopedic Research Network Launched
The launch of the California Orthopedic Research Network (CORN) took place at the Fall Member Meeting. CORN will enable surgeons to participate in remote surgical procedures and allow students to observe interactively using high-bandwidth videoconferencing. The initial CORN participants will include USC, Stanford, UCLA, and UC San Diego. CORN utilizes the advanced services of CENIC's CalREN network and also uses Internet2's Abilene network infrastructure.

CENIC's InterAct Magazine: http://www.cenic.org/InterAct/interactvol3.pdf
CORN netcast archive: http://www.internet2.edu/activities/files/realarchive/fall02/20021029-corn.rm

+ Congratulations to the Digital Film Festival Winners!
A Digital Film Festival, held in conjunction with the Fall Member Meeting, featured short documentary works by students on member campuses and showcased the ability to deliver digital film and interactive critiques from experts in the film industry over high performance networks. The two prize winning films, both from University of Alabama at Birmingham, were "House of Prayer," produced by David Gathings, Corine Sinnette and Emily Simon and "Wounded -- Body Piercers in Birmingham," produced by Brittney Pietrzak and Val Bowden. http://apps.internet2.edu/html/digitalfilmfestival.html

+ Internet2 Booth at SC2002
Internet2 will have a booth on the exhibit floor at SC2002, taking place in Baltimore 16-20 November. The booth will feature Internet2 informational materials and live demos including Video IBPster--High Bandwidth Video Over the Internet Backplane Protocol and two demos from the Internet2 End-to-End Performance Initiative: H.323 Beacon and Abilene Active Measurements: OWAMP 1-WAY PING. http://apps.internet2.edu/html/sc2002-demos.html

+ Joint Internet2/NLM Tutorials and Demos at RSNA
Internet2, the National Library of Medicine (NLM), and the Metropolitan Research and Education Network (MREN) are collaborating to present a series of tutorials and demos on "Next Generation Internet, Internet2, and the Future of Medical Practice and Education" at RSNA 2002 (Radiological Society of North America), taking place in Chicago 1-6 December. The tutorials and demos are part of the infoRAD exhibit, which is designed to showcase the most innovative technology solutions in an interactive, educational environment for over 60,000 RSNA attendees. http://apps.internet2.edu/html/rsna2002-demos.html

+ Megaconference IV
Megaconference IV -- the world's largest video conference -- will be held December 10, 2002. This year's theme is Distance Learning and Far Away Places. Join the conference for educational sessions, virtual cafe breaks, a scavenger hunt game, and exceptional prizes, including a videoconferencing unit. Find out more at: http://www.mega-net.net/megaconference/

<> International Update
+ Ecuador (CEDIA) and Venezuela (CNTI), New Internet2 International MoU Partners
At the Fall 2002 Internet2 Member Meeting, Ecuador's CEDIA, Consorcio Ecuatoriano para el Desarrollo de Internet Avanzado, as well as Venezuela's CNTI, Centro Nacional de Tecnologias de Información, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Internet2.

The recently formed CEDIA, brings together over 10 research centers and universities in Ecuador, with support from Ecuadorian Science and Technology Secretariat, its Executive branch the Ecuadorian Science and Technology Foundation (FUNDACYT), and The National Telecommunications Council (CONATEL). The interconnection of CEDIA and its national network with Internet2 networks is currently under discussion. http://www.internet2.edu.ec/

CNTI is responsible for supporting research, scientific and technology goals, and developments of Venezuelan universities and research centers. The research and education network of CNTI, REACCIUN currently connects over 22 nodes distributed across the country and provides interconnections for 26 universities and 12 research centers. The interconnection with Internet2 networks is currently under discussion. http://www.reacciun.ve/

<> Middleware Update
+ Shibboleth
Shibboleth facilitates inter-institutional sharing of web resources subject to access controls. The pilots are continuing to make progress. Content providers such as EBSCO, ProQuest, and OCLC are actively involved as target sites in the effort and an increasing number of institutions have deployed Shibboleth as an origin site. WebCT recently joined the pilot effort and within a few hours was able to integrate Shibboleth with access to their course management software. Shibboleth attracted widespread interest at the Internet2 Fall Member Meeting where it was available as a self-service demonstration. Project updates are maintained at http://middleware.internet2.edu/shibboleth/

+ National Science Foundation Middleware Initiative (NMI)
NMI Release 2 was announced during the last week of October. This Release includes new components from the Internet2 team (EDIT) such as Shibboleth, OpenSAML, LDAP Analyzer service, Metadirectory Practices for Enterprise Directories in Higher Education and Inter-realm Directories: Scenarios and Requirements, in addition to revised versions of the Release 1 components based on feedback from the testbed sites and other early adopters. The complete list of components is available at the sites listed below.

NMI Outreach tutorials were given at the Internet2 Fall Member Meeting in Los Angeles at the end of October

http://www.nmi-edit.org/
http://www.grids-center.org/
http://www.nsf-middleware.org/

+ Middleware Articles
Several new middleware articles of interest were recently published in the November 2002 issue of the EDUCAUSE Quarterly. Topics range from portal support to building directory services. For more information, see:

"Directory Services: The Foundation for Web Portals"
By Albert DeSimone
http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eqm0240.pdf

"Middleware: Addressing the Top IT Issues on Campus"
By Ann West
http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eqm0241.pdf

"On Beyond Z: Building a Directory Service"
By Paula J. Vaughan, Deborah Keyek-Franssen, and Marin Stanek
http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eqm0243.pdf

+ Directories
The Metadirectory Practices for Enterprise Directories in Higher Education and Inter-realm Directories: Scenarios and Requirements documents were completed and released as components of the NMI Release2. For more information see: http://middleware.internet2.edu/dir/

<> End-to-End Performance Initiative (E2Epi)
End-to-end sessions at the Fall Member Meeting were universally well-attended. Several tools under development were described and/or demonstrated including a Web100-based network configuration and performance diagnostic tool being developed by Rich Carlson of ANL; a demo of this simple, single test to gather E2E data can be seen at: http://miranda.ctd.anl.gov:7123

An H.323 tool, Beacon, developed by Prasad Calyum of ITEC Ohio can be downloaded from: http://www.itecohio.org/beacon/

<> Internet2 K20 Initiative Update
+ OARnet Named SEGP of the Month
In a recent demonstration by one of Ohio's 16 SEGP schools, the Cleveland Institute of Music collaborated with Case Western Reserve University by transcending time and space for an Internet2 Dance Performance. Separated by nearly 2,400 miles, dancers from CWRU and musicians from CIM performed new choreography simultaneously at the Mather Dance Center in Cleveland, and at the University of Southern California's Bing Theater in Los Angeles on Oct. 29 at the Internet2 Fall Member Meeting. For more information on this project and Ohio's OARnet see the Internet2 K20 website: http://k20.internet2.edu/segp/index.shtml

<> Future Internet2 Events
+ IPv6 Workshop
18-20 November
Houston, TX
http://ipv6.internet2.edu/workshops/workshop-houston.shtml

+ Future Internet2 Member Meetings
- Spring 2003 Internet2 Member Meeting, Arlington, Virginia, April 9-11
- Fall 2003 Internet2 Member Meeting, Indianapolis, Indiana, October 13-16
- Spring 2004 Internet2 Member Meeting, Arlington, Virginia, April 19-22

+ Joint Techs Workshop Winter 2003
The ESnet Coordinating Committee and Internet2 will sponsor a Joint Techs Workshop, February 2-5, 2003, in Miami, Florida. All sessions will be at Florida International University. For agenda updates, registration, and lodging information, see: http://www.ncne.org/training/techs/2003/0202/jt-miami.html

Attendees are responsible for making their own room reservations. To schedule a BoF, contact one of the co-chairs, Janet Brown <brown@psc.edu>, Paul Love <epl@internet2.edu>, or Bill Wing <wrw@ornl.gov>

+ Joint Techs Workshop Winter 2004
January 26-February 1, 2004 Honolulu, HI

<> New Members

+ Corporate Members
- JaalaM Technologies
- WebCT

+ University Members
- Brandeis University

+ Affiliate Members
- Oak Ridge National Labs

<> Internet2 Days
Hold an Internet2 Day for your Internet2 member organization. Technical support for live demonstrations and informational materials are available. For more information see: http://apps.internet2.edu/html/internet2_days.html or contact Marianne Smith <melser@internet2.edu>.

+ 15 November 2002
Wichita State University
http://www.hipecc.twsu.edu/internet2.html

<> Showcase Opportunities - Projects and People
Internet2 would like to showcase our members' efforts on our homepage. We encourage Internet2 members to share advanced networking milestones, as well events, collaborations and efforts in the advanced networking community. Members are also encouraged to submit a profile of a person in the Internet2 community whose efforts in advanced networking merit a showcase on the website. Include a brief description (less than 100 words), all appropriate links and images, and contact information. If you have suggestions about projects, people or news that might be featured, please contact Adam Csillag<acsillag@internet2.edu>.

<> Internet2 Related Events
+ Online Calendar
For a complete listing of events for and of interest to the Internet2 community, see the online Internet2 Calendar. Be sure the Internet2-related event you are holding or know about is listed at: http://www.internet2.edu/calendar/main.php

SC2002
16-21 November
Baltimore, MD
http://www.sc-conference.org/sc2002

CANARIE Advanced Networking Conference
18-20 November
Montreal, Canada
http://www.canarie.ca/conferences/advnet/index.html

RSNA 2002 Annual Meeting
1-6 December
Chicago, IL
http://www.rsna.org/rsna/index.html