Latest Internet2 News

News Item added by Chris Robb

We've had systems developers and network engineers in knots over the past several weeks working on getting the ION service stood up on the national IP backbone. Most of that work has been devoted to transitioning the configuration from the lab out to the production routers in coordinated maintenance windows. Happy to report that the router configuration is done, and the ION control plane configuration is underway. Our engineers need a few more days to iterate through the configuration to get it up and running, but we're crossing our fingers for early next week. 

In the meantime, I wanted to share the letter that just went out to all the Network Connectors concerning the progress here.

Dear Colleagues,

As a part of its move to a hybrid architecture, Internet2 has been working on transitioning ION services to the Juniper network over the past several months. ION will be normalized as another service operating on the Connectors' existing interface to the Internet2 IP Network along with the current IP service and, where applicable, CPS.  The Ciena CoreDirector-based ION network will be decommissioned in July. Any existing Ciena connections will not be moved over to the IP Network, all ION services will operate within the Connectors' physical interface to the Internet2 IP Network. Further information on testing the new facility is appended.

During the transition, Internet2 will make more detailed plans available via its Network Blog. Please visit frequently to view draft versions of the updated ION service description, project plan details, and other informal operational updates:
https://wiki.internet2.edu/confluence/pages/viewrecentblogposts.action?key=network

As always, the ION Working Group is open to all in the community and we encourage discussion regarding ION within the community. We would also be happy to talk with you individually to answer any questions.  Please contact Linda Roos (lroos@internet2.edu) to schedule a call.  Thanks.

Regards,

Linda Roos on behalf of Internet2 Network Services

Testing the new ION service:

To facilitate the ION migration, Internet2 will make ION services available on the IP network during the first week of June (a note will be sent when this is available). This transition period will allow network providers and users to become comfortable with use of the new infrastructure. Initially, there will be limited bandwidth available on Internet2 backbone circuits and connector edge ports. During this transition phase the ION control plane will allow for only 2Gbps worth of ION reservations on the Connector edge ports. As Connectors feel more comfortable with the mixture of traffic, they should contact the Internet2 NOC to have the ION control plane limit raised. A second note will be sent to the community prior to the production date.

The ION web interface has been modified with pointers to both the Ciena and Juniper-based ION web services. We strongly encourage ION users to create reservations and build circuits on the new network before the Ciena network is decommissioned in July.

Here is the link to the ION web interface:

https://ion.net.internet2.edu:8443/ion/

Transition Timeline:

First week of June      

• ION services available with reduced bandwidth on Juniper infrastructure

June 15                   

• ION backbone bandwidth increased to full implementation levels
• ION documentation updated to reflect new infrastructure

July 1

• ION services turned down on the Ciena Network
• Internet2 NOC monitoring and measurement full production on Juniper network

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News Item added by Chris Robb

Whilst dusting off the Internet2 Network blog this morning a colleague remarked, "Am I missing something? Is the last post really from 2007?" Sadly, it's true. But no more!

While the network team doesn't have a unified blogging strategy fully baked (does anyone?), there's a definite feeling that we want to be posting more. Some of you may recall the fun we had during the 2007 Internet2 Network transition over at i2net.blogspot.com. Since then, we've been adding a bit of data to the Internet2 twitter feed and the Facebook page, but we wanted something where we could spread our wings a bit and give the community some richer content on a fairly informal basis.

Please bear with us as we re-learn how to do all this and find our voice.

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