EMERGE
iCAIR was a research participant in the EMERGE experimental testbed research project, which was one of the first in the world to attempt to closely integrate edge process control of core network resources, using innovative network middleware. This Department of Energy (DoE) funded initiative, which was led by UIC (www.evl.uic.edu), designed and developed a Science Grid testbed - the ESnet/MREN Regional Grid Experimental NGI Testbed. The project experimented with new concepts of middleware on a large scale, DiffServ (Differentiated Services) enabled network. Testbed extensions included an experimental DiffServ IPv6 testbed, international experimentation, and QoS-enabled host systems with special TCP stacks.
A key goal of EMERGE was established to design, deploy and test DiffServ on an IP/ATM Regional GigaPoP network (MREN, ref: www.mren.org) inter-operating with ESnet for applications in combustion, climate and high-energy physics.The initiative also worked with the DoE, NSF and NASA supported groups to deploy "Grid Services", and document and evaluate the performance of emerging NGI technologies, such as multi-domain authentication and resource brokering services, adaptive network APIs, high performance transport protocols and IETF architectures such as such as Differentiated Network Services (DiffServ) on real large-scale scientific applications.
In part, this project was undertaken to achieve and demonstrate DiffServ over MREN as a representative model for DoE/University connectivity, to support DoE-specific Next-Generation Internet (NGI) applications and attempt to motivate inter-operability across other GigaPoPs as well as the Abilene network and ESnet. This project provided DiffServ capabilities as a part of advanced Grid Services, and implemented capabilities for: access control (identification, authorization, authentication, and resource utilization); directory services via the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) ; delivery of multimedia data through sequence numbering, time stamping, and contents identification using Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP); and Real-Time Control Protocol (RTCP) to control RTP data transfers; and network management including instrumentation. This project has concentrated on facilitating advanced data flows, extremely large computed datasets, ultra-high resolution rendered imagery, and real-time unicast/multicast digital video (including implementations of the 1394 (Firewire) protocol encapsulated within IP). iCAIR testbed extensions included an experimental DiffServ IPv6 testbed, international experimentation, and QoS-enabled host systems with special TCP stacks.
Back to top.
Middleware Services and Applications
iCAIR has participated in a number of projects that have linked middleware services techniques with specific applications, including many large scale e-science applications, datamining, visualization, digital media - distribution, digital video transmission, and video conferencing - and large scale interactive gaming. One project was the design and implementation of a prototype national digital video network based, in part, on advanced middleware technologies to provide high-quality digital video services through a national digital video network, enabled by technologies. iCAIR has also established a number of middleware-related projects that will provide for network performance and measurements, including those related to specific applications.
Back to top.
IPv6 and 6Bone
iCAIR has participated in multiple IPv6 research projects, including many using new middleware techniques. IPv6 is a particularly important successor to IPv4 because it extends address space, which is a requirement to deploy billions of IP deveices. The MREN community was one of the first to implement IPv6 through 6Bone, a research implementation of IPv6 based on tunnels. iCAIR participated in a project to allow for provisioning native IPv6, instead of tunneled IPv6. Another project created the world's first IETF DIffServ QoS IPv6 testbed. iCAIR also investigated MBGP peering between a specified IPv6 routers and peer IPv6 routers. See isocbriefing01.pdf.
Back to top.
Multicast and SGM
Many iCAIR digital media research projects have integrated network middleware and new types of multicast techniques. Multicast is an important technique for optimizing bandwidth for a wide range of applications, especially digital multimedia, by allowing for the total number of data streams to be managed more efficiently. For example, by using multicast techniques, it is possible to direct streams only to nodes where they are required and can reduce the total number of streams required in network segments by avoiding duplication. While today's multicast schemes are scaleable in the sense that they can support very large multicast groups, these schemes have problems when a network needs to support a very large number of distinct multicast groups. The Small Group Multicast (SGM) project centers on a new approach to multicast that complements today's multicast schemes. The URL for the internet-draft on Small Group Multicast (SGM) can be found at http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-boivie-sgm-00.txt. A slightly expanded version of the draft has also been published in the May/June 2000 issue of Internet Computing. Following is a URL for the online version: http://computer.org/internet/v4n3/w3onwire-a.htm. For further information, see Small Group Multicast.
Back to top.