CENIC Today: Volume 9, Issue 9

Welcome to CENIC Today, the monthly newsletter of the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California. In this issue:

CENIC News:

President's Message

I'll start this month's column with a trick question: what do Hewlett Packard and CENIC have in common? The answer is that we've both changed Board chairs recently, though for very different reasons. In CENIC's case, our Board chair, John Silvester from USC, stepped down from this position at the beginning of this fiscal year.

John's term as chair of our Board began way back in our infancy, in July 1999. At the time, CENIC was serving only the higher education research institutions, leased all our telecommunications capabilities from commercial telecommunications companies, outsourced our NOC, and had revenues of roughly $2.5M per year. John provided Board leadership through many advances, including our expanding to serve the K-12 community, the acquisition of our own fiber backbone infrastructure, our expanding to serve the Community Colleges and the California State University system, our initiating the Pacific Wave International Peering Exchange with Pacific Northwest Gigapop and USC, obtaining fiber across the border into Mexico to enhance connectivity to education and research institutions in Mexico and Central and South America, expanding to serve the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, and leading us to the point where our annual revenues are now $40M per year and we're on the verge of the upgrading from our second-generation network to our third.

We are indebted to John for the outstanding leadership he provided during his tenure as Board chair. Fortunately John will continue on the CENIC Board as USC's representative.

We would also like to welcome our new Board chair, Jim Davis, Associate Vice Chancellor of Information Technology at UC Los Angeles. CENIC has benefited greatly from John Silvester's leadership through some of the most significant changes in its history, and we're certain that Jim's tenure as Board chair will usher in an impressive legacy of progress as well.

-- Jim Dolgonas, CENIC

CENIC Represented at International Optical Networking Workshops In Tokyo, Japan

Two key international workshops focusing on the future of optical networking in service of research and education took place this month in Toyko, Japan. On September 8, the Optical Network Testbeds workshop 3 (ONT3, htte://www.nren.nasa.gov/workshops/workshop9.html) was hosted by The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) at the Akihabara Convention Hall in Tokyo. On September 12, the 6th Annual Global LambdaGrid Worshop (http://www.glif.is/meetings/2006/) was also held at the Akihabara Conventional Hall. CENIC was represented by Dave Reese, Chief Technology Officer, and Board member from the University of Southern California John Silvester.

ONT3 provided a forum for the discussion of research being conducted on optical network research testbeds. The themes of this forum included a wide range of advanced optical networking topics with a focus on international communication services. Abstracts and presentations are available online at http://www.nren.nasa.gov/workshops/workshop9.html, and a participant list will be posted shortly as well.

The Global LambdaGrid Workshop was the latest workshop organized under the auspices of the Global Lambda Integrated Facility (GLIF), which provides the opportunity for managers, engineers, researchers and developers working on global optical internetworking to come together to discuss development and operational issues. More information can be found at http://www.glif.is/meetings/2006/.

-- Dave Reese, CENIC

WHREN/LILA Steering and Technical Committees Meet in Santiago, Chile

CENIC representatives also attended a meeting of WHREN/LILA project members in Santiago, Chile to discuss this project and future directions. A key objective of the meeting was the proposed redesign of the California connection to support both CLARA and CUDI connecting directly to Pacific Wave. Currently, CUDI ( http://www.cudi.edu.mx/) and CLARA ( http://www.redclara.net/) each enjoy 1 Gigabit connections to CalREN.

At the meeting, Florencio Utreras, representing CLARA, and Jim Dolgonas, President/CEO of CENIC, signed the Pacific Wave agreement leading the way to a new level of international connectivity for CLARA. The final coordination steps between CENIC, Pacific Wave, CLARA, and CUDI should be completed in early October.

WHREN/LILA stands for Western Hemisphere Research and Education Networks/Links Interconnecting Latin America. The mission of this program is to increase the rate of discovery and enhance education across the Americas through the creation of a distributed exchange infrastructure to provide a hybrid of network services to support discipline-specific and general-purpose high-performance distributed-computing and networking services over wide geographical distances. CENIC's participation is made possible by the NSF via a sub-grant from Florida International University. Visit http://whren.ampath.net/ to learn more.

-- Dave Reese, CENIC

CalREN Update: Network Projects and Activities

September enabled CENIC to welcome yet another institution to CalREN. During the past month, a CalREN-DC connection was put into production in September to serve the University of San Francisco. Founded in 1855, the University of San Francisco is committed to becoming internationally recognized as a premier Jesuit Catholic, urban university with a global perspective that educates leaders who will fashion a more humane and just world. We look forward to USF's coming achievements with their new connectivity to CalREN!

The California Maritime Academy also received the first of its CENIC-managed fiber connections to CalREN as part of the California State University's Campus Access Infrastructure Initiative, which seeks to provide all Cal State campuses diverse Gigabit connectivity to the CalREN backbone. Their first connection to the Oakland backbone site was made operational on September 9, and their existing DS-3 connection will remain on standby until their second connection to the Sacramento node is completed.

CENIC is also in the process of upgrading a number of K-12 circuits, four of which will be Gigabit Ethernet connections. Firm due dates are not yet available but all are in various stages of deployment.

Furthermore, CENIC has been working with the K12 High-Speed Network (K12HSN, http://www.k12hsn.org/) and its Network Implementation Committee to prepare the Year 10 E-rate application for 2007-08. Towards that end, the required Form 470 was posted in late August and CENIC is expecting several servers providers to respond with circuit quotes. Concurrently, the K12HSN organization is working on securing additional Letters of Agency in an effort to increase consortial participation for the Year 10 E-rate application, and is working to update the K12 Connectivity Database.

-- Ed Smith, CENIC

CENIC's Website: New Look, New Layout

CENIC's website at www.cenic.org has undergone a significant redesign to make it easier and more convenient for you to learn about us and the California Research & Education Network (CalREN), as well as to find the information you need relating to CENIC, CalREN, our Network Operations Center, and CalREN Video Services.

Three websites now comprise the CENIC online web presence:

http://www.cenic.org/:

Information about CENIC, the CalREN network, benefits to membership in CalREN, publications, events, and press information.

http://noc.cenic.org/:

Our Network Operations Center online, including dynamic network maps, our complete maintenance calendar, links to our network management tools, and forms that will enable you to update your information, find out more about network services, and find CENIC's network FAQs and policies.

http://cvs.cenic.org/:

CalREN Video Services online, offering user and equipment guides, videoconferencing tutorials, and links to our new CVS Scheduling Desk where your campus Videoconferencing Administrators can schedule and manage your institution's videoconferences online.

We've undertaken this change to make our online presence more convenient for our users and Associates. If you have any questions about the redesign or would like to share constructive feedback about how our website can serve your needs better, please send e-mail to webmaster@cenic.org.

-- Janis Cortese, CENIC

University of California Begins Transition Process to CalREN Video Services

The University of California has recently begun the transition of UC campuses to CalREN Video Services (CVS) for videoconferencing. The UC Office of the President held a videoconferenced kick-off meeting with campus media directors and videoconference administrators on September 12, 2006. UCOP and CENIC staff coordinated on a series of informative presentations to facilitate the transition by outlining the transition process, technical environment and issues, and features of the new CVS Scheduling Desk. Kim Dorsey of UCOP and Cassandra Patrizio of CENIC will serve as coordinators for this project.

The information from these presentations can be found on CENIC's CalREN Video Services website located at http://cvs.cenic.org/. Questions about the UC transition should be directed to Kim Dorsey at UCOP via e-mail to Kim.Dorsey@ucop.edu. Questions about CalREN Video Services should be sent to CENIC via e-mail to SchedDesk@cenic.org.

-- Sherilyn Evans, CENIC

First Broadband Policy Forum Takes Place Throughout California via CalREN Video Services

On September 8, 2006 from 10:00AM to 12:00PM, legislative specialists in Sacramento met virtually with representatives from California's education and research communities as well as community technology leaders to discuss legislation currently of interest on the state level. The first in a series of Broadband Policy Forums, the videoconference was sponsored by CENIC, TechNet, the Broadband Institute of California, and the California Community Technology Policy Group and took place via CENIC's CalREN Video Services. The event was webcast with the assistance of Cal Poly Pomona, and the entire videoconference, including discussion among the legislative specialists as well as insightful Q&A from remote participants, can be found online at http://www.cenic.org/BBPF/.

Participants were located throughout California, including:

The CSU Office of Government Affairs in Sacramento The UC Office of the President in Oakland CENIC headquarters in Cypress The San Bernardino County Office of Education's West End Educational Service Center in Rancho Cucamonga San Jose State University The Tulare County Office of Education in Visalia, and San Diego State University

Legislative specialists included Joe Camicia, Legislative Consultant on Technology Policy to Senate President Pro-Tem Don Perata, Ed Randolph, Principal Consultant for the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee, and Awet Kidane, Legislative Consultant to Assemby Member Mark Ridley-Thomas. Location facilitators included Jim Hawley of TechNet, Rick Parker of AT&T, Jim Dolgonas, President/CEO of CENIC, Richard Chabran of the California Community Technology Policy Group, Allen Hammond of the Broadband Institute of California, and San Diego State University professor of Geological Sciences Eric Frost.

The discussion centered on bills AB2987, the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006, and AB1388, which authorizes funds repaid from the State General Fund to the California Teleconnect Fund to be used for grants to libraries and other community technology centers as well as public hospitals and health clinics to connect to CalREN for purposes of educational demonstration, telemedicine, and e-health demonstration projects. Our readers are encouraged to visit http://www.cenic.org/BBPF/ to view the archived discussion and subsequent Q&A session to take advantage of the insights offered by all of our participants.

-- Stephanie Couch, CENIC

CENIC `07: Making Waves Call for Presentations, Hotel Registration, Early Conference Registration

The CENIC 2007 Program Committee is seeking presentations, demonstrations, and panel discussions focused on network-enabled applications and research related to the 2007 conference theme, Making Waves.

We are planning for sessions that cover technology and infrastructure, teaching and learning, application development and use, trends, and/or future developments in network technology and related applications. Presentations focused on research, teaching and learning activities involving multiple segments of the K-20 community, and/or international collaborations are encouraged. Projects or studies to be featured may be works-in-progress. The conference venue will be connected to CalREN, NLR, and Internet2 to enable live demonstrations of content or capability.

Past topics have included optical networking, teragrid computing, network security, implementing IPv6, end-to-end connectivity, quality of service, last mile solutions, wireless technology, collaborative music and dance, and collaborative medicine.

The deadline for proposals is November 3, 2006.

To learn more about how you can become a presenter at CENIC `07: Making Waves and showcase how CalREN has enabled you to achieve your research and education goals, please visit http://cenic07.cenic.org/ for more information.

As noted previously, CENIC `07: Making Waves will be held at:

The San Diego La Jolla Marriott Hotel
4240 La Jolla Village Drive
La Jolla, CA 92037
(858) 587-1414

You can reserve your room to take part in Making Waves by visiting the CENIC `07: Making Waves website at http://cenic07.cenic.org/ or clicking on the following:

http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/SANLJ?groupCode=cencena&app=resvlink

And starting November 1, 2006, attendees will be able to register for CENIC `07: Making Waves online. Register before December 31, 2006 for a free conference t-shirt!

CENIC would also like to thank Titanium Level Sponsor Cisco Systems, Platinum Level Sponsor AT&T, and Silver Level Sponsors Verizon and Juniper Networks for their generous assistance in making CENIC `07: Making Waves possible.

Looking forward to seeing you in La Jolla in March 2007!

-- Janis Cortese, CENIC

National Networking News:

Kiwi Advanced Research and Education Network (KAREN) Joins Pacific Wave

New Zealand's new R&E network, KAREN (Kiwi Advanced Research and Education Network), went live on Thursday 31 August at 5:45pm (NZ time). The KAREN launch was be presided over by the Rt. Hon. Helen Clark. An archived copy of the live webcast of the launch can be viewed at at http://www.r2.co.nz/20060831.

Pacific Wave welcomes KAREN and its parent organization REANNZ (Research and Education Advanced Network of New Zealand) to Pacific Wave and the community of global research and education networks. You can learn more about KAREN and REANNZ by visiting http://www.karen.net.nz/.

-- Source: http://pacificwave.net/news/new/

New Global Grid Computing and Communications Technology Demonstrated by Researchers in US and Japan

On September 11, 2006, researchers in the United States and Japan demonstrated "automated" interoperability between network and computing resources in two national grid computing research testbeds . the first such demonstration of this scale between two countries of new, integrated computing and communication technology that can be used to exponentially enhance next-generation Internet performance.

The researchers believe that the future of information technology will include these types of capabilities - the direct integration of computing and the Internet across the globe.

The interoperability between the G-lambda project in Japan and the Enlightened Computing project in the United States was demonstrated at the Global Lambda Integrated Facility (GLIF) annual Global LambdaGrid Workshop in Tokyo, Japan. For the first time, a software application in a research testbed in one country was able to reserve, manage and monitor computing and network resources across both countries . a key milestone toward the development of a Global Grid of networked, interoperable resources, which some believe will lead to the next generation of computing and the Internet.

-- Source: http://mailman.nlr.net/mailman/listinfo/news

Putting Wireless Networks to the Terrorism Test at UC San Diego

University of California, San Diego researchers last week got a chance to test out a host of network technologies on something they hope they will never really have to be used for: a terrorist attack.

The Operation College Freedom drill involved a coordinated effort by the school and local emergency and law-enforcement officials to respond to a simulated terrorist attack.

"This full-scale exercise is the culmination of a three-year, $4 million research project carried out by the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology," said Calit2 Associate Director Leslie Lenert, a professor of medicine at UCSD and Director of Health Services Research for the VA San Diego Healthcare System, in a statement.

-- Source: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/083006-ucsd-terrorism-drill.html

Solar Power May Soon Bring The Web to Remote Areas

"One laptop per child" was the ambitious promise a group of MIT faculty members made to the world in January last year. The idea to develop and produce millions of simple, Internet-capable $100 laptops and give them to the poorest kids on the planet sounded appealing. But just how children in remote villages in sub-Saharan Africa were supposed to hook up to the Internet was unclear.

The solution may come out of thin air. Literally. All you need is a rooftop and the sun, claim the inventors of a solar-powered wireless device. "Green" initiatives like theirs, together with a range of wireless technologies, may extend the Internet's reach to developing communities around the globe.

-- Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0831/p15s02-stct.html

Collaboration in K-12 Schools: Anytime, Anywhere, Any Way

Collaboration in K-12 Schools: Anywhere, Anytime, Any Way is the fifth Con sortium for School Networking Emerging Technologies Report. Based upon extensive research and interviews with educators, administrators, and industry experts, the report explores the implications, technologies, costs, and current implementations of the digital tools that make collaboration -- regardless of location and time --possible for groups of teachers, administrators, and students. The report will be available for purchase through CoSN's online Catalog in late summer 2006.

-- Source: http://www.cosn.org/resources/emerging_technologies/collaboration.cfm

Podcasting Makes the Grade at UC Davis

While podcasting has been around for less than a decade, its popularity has grown tremendously in the last few years. After Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) began adopting the technology in 2003, podcasts from a seemingly endless variety of sources became available at the click of a mouse button. Podcasting is also gaining ground in the education market as a means to capture and distribute class lectures at institutes of higher learning.

In the Fall of 2005, the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) campus undertook a pilot run of recording devices and distribution methods to see if podcasting was suitable for their learning environment. In the calendar year 2004, the Hart Hall Media Distribution Lab at UC Davis checked out 17,307 recordings of campus lectures, all of which were on cassette tape. There was an obvious demand for the recordings but, given the advancement of digital technology, was there a better way to record and distribute them?

-- Source: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/6MT0i8dyS3OSM2/Podcasting-Makes-the-Grade.xhtml

Broadband for All? A Consensus Conference on Municipal Broadband

Many counties and cities in California are thinking about building their own high-speed Internet networks. It's called "municipal broadband" and it might help make the Internet affordable to everyone in your community. Some say that it will improve the schools, economy, crime prevention, firefighting, and medical care in your community. But others say it isn't practical and is too expensive. Cities like San Francisco and regions like Silicon Valley will build their own networks soon.

Should municipal governments enter the broadband field? If so, how should municipal networks be financed, built, and operated in order to provide service to groups that are least served by broadband now? What technology should be deployed, how should access be priced, and what services should the networks prioritize to spread the benefits of broadband to all residents?

To learn more about the Broadband for All? conference that will address these issues, please visit http://www.broadbandforall.org/.

Internet2 Applauds New FCC Program To Build Advanced Internet Infrastructure Dedicated To Healthcare

On September 28, Internet2 applauded the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) action to create a pilot program that will help public and non-profit health care providers establish state and regional broadband networks dedicated to health care services as well as provide funding for these networks to connect to Internet2's nationwide advanced research and education network. This new program will catalyze the formation of a ubiquitous advanced healthcare network that will serve the country's national interest by improving citizens' access to first class healthcare services, resources and research.

By linking high-speed state and regional research and education networks, the nationwide Internet2 backbone now connects more than 46,000 research and education institutions with high-performance, highly-reliable networking. Providing connectivity to health networks across the country is a natural extension of Internet2's existing network capabilities and complements its members' ongoing work in the health sciences arena.

-- Source: https://mail.internet2.edu/wws/arc/i2-news

About CENIC:

California's education and research communities leverage their networking resources under CENIC, the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California, in order to obtain cost-effective, high-bandwidth networking to support their missions and answer the needs of their faculty, staff, and students. CENIC designs, implements, and operates CalREN, the California Research and Education Network, a high-bandwidth, high-capacity Internet network specially designed to meet the unique requirements of these communities, and to which the vast majority of the state's K-20 educational institutions are connected. In order to facilitate collaboration in education and research, CENIC also provides connectivity to non-California institutions and industry research organizations with which CENIC's Associate researchers and educators are engaged.

CENIC is governed by its member institutions. Representatives from these institutions also donate expertise through their participation in various committees designed to ensure that CENIC is managed effectively and efficiently, and to support the continued evolution of the network as technology advances.

For more information, visit www.cenic.org.

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