High speed connection between vBNS and SingAREN in Singapore

Shirley Ng Wai Man

National University of Singapore,
95, Yishun Street 81, #07-05, Singapore 768452
shirley@irdu.nus.edu.sg

Abstract
Nearly all advanced developed nations have rapidly emerging high speed national research and education (R&E) networks for broadband services based on advanced network technologies. These advanced networks are connecting with each other to form a giant nexus of technology, innovation, research and development that will ultimately drive the engines of economic growth in the new millennium. Such a global infrastructure will channel new technology to the emerging global information infrastructure (GII) for business and commerce. This poster serves to bring the world attention to Singapore's participation in the next-generation Internet technologies — Internet2, vBNS and STAR TAP — through SingAREN and S-ONE initiative in Singapore, to act as a research hub drawing on technologies from different regions directly via inter-continental links to USA and Europe, inter-regional links, national links and campus networks.

Keywords
SingAREN; Next generation Internet; High speed connection; Advanced research and education

1. Introduction

Singapore Advanced Research and Education Network (abbreviated as SingAREN) is an advanced network for research & education, and for the testing of leading-edge broadband technologies. Its initial start-up is jointly funded by the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS) and the National Science and Technology Board (NSTB), and its key objective is to support the research and education (R&E) community, which includes all the tertiary institutes and the R&D institutes in Singapore.

 
 

In the SingAREN plan, all tertiary institutions and research organisations beginning with Research Institutes and Research Centres (RI/RCs) will connect at high speeds (155 Mbps and above) to the S-ONE backbone to have rapid access to each others networks including the High Speed Network Testbed, HSTB II. To create high speed access to overseas R&E networks, we propose to follow the USA model of creating GigaPOPs (Gigabit network points of presence), beginning with an SingAREN-GigaPOP that will interconnect with the USA Chicago STAR TAP (Science, Technology And Research Transit Access Point) for access into the USA vBNS backbone. 

1.1. S-ONE

Singapore One Network for Everyone (S-ONE) is Singapore's national high-capacity network platform started in 1996 to jump-start the development of a national broadband info-communications infrastructure towards the IT2000 vision.

S-ONE is a core ATM backbone network. High speed local access from home can be achieved via Singapore Telecom ADSL network (up to 5.5 MBps downstream) and Singapore Cable Vision's cable network (up to 10 MBps downstream with coaxial cable).

See http://s-one.net.sg for more information on S-ONE.

1.2. vBNS

The very high performance Broadband Network Service (vBNS), which is funded by the National Science Foundation, provides a national infrastructure for high performance networking as well as research that pushes the capability of networks.

 

 
Member universities of Internet 2 are rapidly connecting to the vBNS in support of their national-scale project in the applications and technologies of advanced networks. The vBNS also plays a major role in the Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative.

 See http://www.vbns.net for more information on vBNS. 

1.3. STAR TAP

The Science, Technology And Research Transit Access Point (STAR TAP) is a persistent infrastructure, to facilitate the long-term interconnection and interoperability of advanced international networking in support of applications, performance measuring, and technology evaluations. The STAR TAP anchors the international vBNS connections program.

Physically, it connects with the Ameritech Network Access Point (NAP) in Chicago, as does the vBNS and other high-speed research networks. It enables traffic to flow to international collaborators from the approximately 100 U.S. leading-edge research universities and supercomputer centers that are now, or will be, attached to the vBNS or other high-performance U.S. research networks.

See http://www.startap.net for more information on STAR TAP.

1.4. Internet2

The Internet2 project, the joining of university community with government and industry partners to accelerate the next stage of Internet development in academia. Its mission is facilitate and coordinate the development, deployment, operation and technology transfer of advanced, network-based applications and network services to further U.S. leadership in research and higher education and accelerate the availability of new services and applications on the Internet.

See http://www.internet2.edu for more information on Internet2.
 

2. SingAREN operations and services

SingAREN operations will provide an uncontested 'bearer' service that gives reasonable assurance that there will be adequate bandwidth for carrying out advanced Internet applications R&D by the SingAREN community. In line with Internet2 objectives, it will progress from a best-effort service to a differentiated communications service, which has the capability of supporting an advanced communications and computational infrastructure so as to meet the requirements of Singapore's growing research and education community.
 

3. SingAREN projects

SingAREN is aimed to encourage other research and tertiary institutions in Singapore to put up high quality projects which will quality under an AUP, preferably those advanced applications research and development projects with USA partner institutions involved and/or as part of a USA-Singapore institutional or similar collaboration. The collaborative projects includes: See http://www.singaren.net.sg/html/collaborative.html for more information on the above collaborative projects.

References