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News Releases
November
17, 2003
Media Contacts:
Doug
Ramsey, OptIPuter/Cal-(IT)², (858) 822-5825, Cell: (619) 379-2912
Patrick Weinmayr, BigBangwidth,
(780) 490-4800 ext.224, Cell: (780) 905-3938
Cal-(IT)2,
UC San Diego Researchers Team with Canada’s BigBangwidth to Speed
Data Flows through the ‘OptIPuter’
Networking System Provides Direct, Secure Lightpaths
Between
San Diego Researchers, Easing Local Area Network Congestion
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 acts 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 twenty 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 introducing the Lightpath Accelerator this
week at Supercomputing 2003 in Phoenix, AZ. 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
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.”
About BigBangwidth
BigBangwidth provides up to 10-gigabit lightpaths directly to high-performance
workstations, servers and other network devices. The Lightpath Accelerator™
enables file transfer for use within Grid computing, visualization and
large file transfer. Established in 2000, BigBangwidth currently operates
in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. www.bigbangwidth.com
About OptIPuter
The OptIPuter is a five-year, $13.5 million project funded in October
2002 through NSF’s Information Technology Research program. The
project is led by the California Institute for Telecommunications and
Information Technology (a partnership of UCSD and UC Irvine), and the
University of Illinois at Chicago. Key partners include San Diego State
University, University of Southern California (Information Sciences Institute),
Northwestern University, Texas A&M, University of Amsterdam, and the
U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation Systems Data Center.
Industry partners include Chiaro Networks, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Telcordia
Technologies, Inc., and Big Bangwidth. The southern California- and Chicago-based
research teams are prototyping the OptIPuter on campus, metropolitan,
state, national and even international optical fiber networks. www.optiputer.net
About Center for Networked Systems
The Center for Networked Systems at UCSD is an academic-industrial partnership
which supports multi-disciplinary efforts across distributed systems,
networking, and network elements to address critical challenges in achieving
robust, secure, manageable, and open networked systems. CNS is a part
of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology.
http://cns.ucsd.edu
About Cal-(IT)²
The California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology
is one of four institutes funded through the California Institutes for
Science and Innovation initiative. Created in late 2000, the institutes
aim to ensure that California maintain its leadership in cutting-edge
technologies. The mission of Cal-(IT)² is to extend the reach of
the current information infrastructure throughout the physical world –
enabling anywhere/anytime access to the Internet. More than 220 professors
and senior researchers from UC Irvine and UC San Diego are collaborating
on interdisciplinary projects. www.calit2.net.
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