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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION
FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY /
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Special Features:
BigBangwidth BOOSTS
OptIPuter
Researchers building a new type of Grid computing environment known as the
OptIPuter have agreed to deploy BigBangwidth's next-generation lightpath
technology. The system will be installed at the University of California-San
Diego (UCSD), and will act as an on-ramp for large data streams from
high-performance workstations connected to packet-switched networks.
"This is an important system for the OptIPuter because researchers need
advanced networking directly to the desktop," said Larry Smarr, OptIPuter
principal investigator and director of the California Institute for
Telecommunications and Information Technology (Cal-(IT)2). "BigBangwidth's
system will allow scientists to transfer files between two network hosts such
as workstations, storage facilities or servers directly. As a result,
interconnection speeds between the two could be many times faster."
The BigBangwidth Lightpath Accelerator automatically lifts large data
streams off of packet-switched networks to provide direct lightpaths to
high-performance network and storage devices.
"BigBangwidth originated from the University of Alberta, so we have
first-hand
knowledge of how important academic research projects are in the innovation
process," said Dan Gatti, president and CEO of BigBangwidth. "The Lightpath
Accelerator extends network performance for large file transfers, real-time
back-up, visualization and data-intensive Grid computing jobs -- all critical
for UCSD researchers linked to the OptIPuter network in San Diego."
The Lightpath Accelerator brings up to 10 Gigabits-per-second connections
directly to high-performance devices, by providing lightpaths between network
hosts such as workstations and servers that are otherwise connected through a
packet network. The lightpaths have minimal latency, no jitter, line-rate
dedicated bandwidth and high security -- allowing for large file transfers of
up to 20 times faster than conventional LAN equipment. Because network traffic
is lifted off the LAN, the Lightpath Accelerator also frees LAN resources and
extends the life of current network equipment. The Lightpath Accelerator
System is compatible with all IP-based networking equipment.
BigBangwidth is introduced the Lightpath Accelerator at Supercomputing 2003
in
Phoenix. First shipments to UCSD will occur in December. The system will
complement the main OptIPuter router on the campus, Chiaro Enstara, made by
Chiaro Networks Inc. Very large files can bypass the router and go directly to
the desired location.
"These systems enable experiments in optical network architecture,
combining
optical circuit switching, packet switching and routing, while giving
scientists at UCSD significantly greater capabilities in collaboration and
file-sharing," said Andrew Chien, chief software architect on the OptIPuter
project and director of the Center for Networked Systems (CNS) at UCSD's
Jacobs School of Engineering. "Current network infrastructures are not
designed for the size of files commonly found in visualization and
collaboration environments."
Chien's research team will use the BigBangwidth technology in ongoing
protocols research, specifically to carry storage protocols such as Fiber
Channel and Infiniband directly between application servers and storage.
The OptIPuter gets its name from "opt" for optical networking, "IP" for
Internet Protocol, and "uter" leveraging the end of the word "computer."
Researchers are prototyping the OptIPuter at UCSD as a new Grid computing and
networking architecture. It is designed to enable scientists to collaborate
and interact with large data sets via shared, distributed
information-technology facilities linked by optical fibers, each carrying
multiple wavelengths of light, or lambdas.
Added BigBangwidth CEO Gatti, "We hope this initial agreement will lead to
a
long-term relationship with OptIPuter scientists and Cal-(IT)2, as they push
the envelope of networking for Grid computing, collaboration and
visualization."
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