TransPAC2
TransPAC has provided high performance research and education (R/E) network connectivity between the US and Asian Pacific region since 1998. Historically, it employed traditional network measurement and monitoring techniques including SNMP based Multi-Router Traffic Grapher (MRTG), various Round Robin Database (RRD) tools, the locally developed weathermap, and other Global Research Network Operations Center (GRNOC) tools such as Nagios Alertmon.
Changes in the last decade revealed the need for precise measurements of the network and its traffic load. Passive monitoring hardware is no longer cost-effective due to constant changes in link circuit technology and capacities. The High Performance (HP) Research and Education Networks (REN), national and international, have unique cultural aspects in their missions as well as highly diverse technology environments.
Also revealed is the need for international data exchange with common and well understood metrics. Trust relationships between network providers in this environment can provide a global service model at the operational level. This talk will focus on operational aspects of measuring and monitoring today's HP REN projects. Indiana University's involvement in some of these measurement efforts will also be explored including active and passive measurements, performance metrics, traffic statistics, and visualization.
TransPAC was part of the NSF High Performance International Internet Services (HPIIS) program (NSF97-106). In 2004, the NSF awarded Indiana University with the TransPAC2 project as part of the International Research Network Connections (IRNC) program (NSF04-560). TransPAC2 will initially consists of a single OC-192c connection between the west cost of the United States and the Tokyo XP. This link will continue to connect the Asian Pacific Advanced Network (APAN) to the U.S. R/E network infrastructure.
For more information on TransPAC2, see: http://www.transpac2.net/