third frontier overview

OSC (Ohio Supercomputer Center) 1224 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212 www.osc.edu (614) 292-9248

THIRD FRONTIER OVERVIEW

OPLIN MEETING

April 8, 2004Al Stutz, OARnet Director

Chief Technology Officer

Ohio Supercomputer Center

http://www.osc.edu/


The Third Frontier Network will allow educational institutions and

businesses to work together using cutting-edge technologies to support

research and education.

The Third Frontier Network is the most advanced statewide research

and economic development network in the nation.

Existing fiber optic cable will be purchased from current

telecommunications companies, and the Third Frontier Network will

be implemented in three phases:

Phase 1- Build a new higher education backbone

All schools will be on net this fall

Phase 2- Connect 4-year public universities and

private research universities

Phase 3- Connect remaining public and private

universities and colleges

What is the Third Frontier Network?

http://www.osc.edu/


The Third Frontier Network:

• Enhance collaboration

• Allows dramatic increases in available

bandwidth at minimal cost

• Promotes the technological innovations

necessary to solve critical scientific and

industrial problems

• Separates different types of data

for faster data transfer

Why does Ohio need the Third Frontier Network?

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The Third Frontier Network investment in dark fiber for all of these locations in Ohio will

encourage private investment in broadband, making Ohio a national leader in broadband

deployment. The network will encourage businesses to purchase additional fiber from

commercial carriers to enhance their ability to collaborate in developing new network

technology applications and using these technologies to improve their competitiveness.

Economic Development

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Medical Discovery and Success

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Ohio has a national reputation for its expertise

in grid computing. Today, with the low cost

and advanced speed of individual processors,

researchers can create their own

“supercomputers” by building multiprocessor

“clusters.” As these clusters continue to

appear at every level of industry and research,

the Third Frontier Network will be necessary

for these machines to communicate with one

another, creating a “computational network

grid” for effective research collaborations.

Advanced Grid Computing

http://www.osc.edu/


Problems to be Solved

• Growing costs– Aggregate growth in higher education traffic of 30%/yr

– Loop costs drop approximately 4%/yr

– Net cost increase of 25%/yr.

– Harder to buy faster circuits. Telecommunications companies are limiting investment in equipment needed to use their fiber so higher speed circuits may not be available. In several areas this is already true.

– Security

– Quality of service

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Main Objectives

• A gigabit to the research campuses at start.

• Increased reliability and redundancy

• Scalable network on our terms

• The network would be less expensive than current network.

• Rates would be the same or less for everyone.

• State funding & current member commodity internet costs would fund TFN.

http://www.osc.edu/


TFN Partners

• OSC:OARnet – 91 member universities/colleges

• SchoolNet– 30 Data Acquisition sites

• not individual school districts or buildings

• Ohio Department of Education

http://www.osc.edu/


http://www.osc.edu/


TFN Status April 2004

• Fiber Characterization – 31 of 42 Spans completed and passed

• Fiber Construction Projects

– Akron, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo, and Youngstown

• Completion Scheduled for 4/15/2004

http://www.osc.edu/


TFN Status April 2004• Optical Switches Installed

• Columbus, Delaware, Marysville, Lima

• Columbus, Chillicothe, Portsmouth

• Athens, Lancaster, Columbus

– Pending Installations• Core Ring

• Ring 3

• Ring 2

• Ring 1

– Installation completion target date 5/31/2004

http://www.osc.edu/



• Conversion schedule for all schools Scheduled for turn-up June/July 2004– 17 GigE connections– All other school’s access to TFN based on

Local Loop decisions

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• Last Mile Update– RFP Completed

• 124 college and university sites

• 30 Schoolnet DA sites

– Reviewed by Committee– Selection of lowest cost options– Vendor Notification by OSU Purchasing - soon

http://www.osc.edu/


How does TFN relate to OH*1

• DAS is planning a study – Agency needs– Alternative network solutions

• TFN may be a viable option for a segment of OH*1

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Questions

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