Internet2, partners demo first uncompressed HD video using Dynamic Circuit Networks
OCTOBER 14, 2008 -- This week at its annual Fall Member Meeting in New Orleans, Internet2 (search for Internet2) together with several collaborators will showcase the first uncompressed high-definition videoconference application over Dynamic Circuit Networks (DCN). The demos highlight the promise of DCN and high-definition video technology to create the ultimate collaboration environment that can support new innovation in science, research, the arts, telemedicine, and beyond, say Internet2 representatives.
"The Internet2 community is deploying dynamic circuit networks to empower its users with the ability to self-provision dedicated point-to-point optical circuits on demand for applications that require very reliable high-capacity connections for short intervals of time," explains Rob Vietzke, Internet2 executive director of network services. "Uncompressed high-definition video is a natural fit for DCN as it requires about 1.2 gigabits of dedicated capacity to create a real-life, real-time visually stunning video experience."
At the meeting's second keynote session on October 15, Internet2 will showcase the use of iHDTV software. Developed by the ResearchChannel and the University of Washington, iHDTV will be used to stream uncompressed 1080i high-definition video between the conference floor in New Orleans and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Control Center at CERN in Prevessin, France. The technology interoperates across three international DCN network domains, including across the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative (LONI), Internet2, and US LHCNet.
From New Orleans, Ed Seidel, director of the office of cyber infrastructure at the National Science Foundation (NSF) will host a live tour of the LHC Control Center and will moderate a virtual Q&A with Jim Virdee, LHC CMS spokesperson; David Foster, head of communications and networking for CERN; and Harvey Newman, professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology.
Considered to be the largest scientific experiment to be undertaken in history and also known as the "Big Bang Machine," the LHC is expected to generate over 15 million gigabytes of data annually for thousands of researchers around the world to share and analyze. The LHC community was a primary driver for the development of DCN services and is actively deploying the technology in anticipation of their massive data transfer needs when the LHC comes fully online in 2009.
"New dynamic networking, as well as advanced video technology being pioneered by the research and education community, will play a critical role in supporting the next wave of scientific collaboration and discovery," contends Dr. Ed Seidel, director of the office of cyber infrastructure for the National Science Foundation. "I'm gratified to see such an impressive display of video technology using advanced dynamic circuit networks--both of which are important to our nation's cyber infrastructure in providing a truly collaborative foundation for new discovery."
At the meeting's third keynote session on October 16, Internet2 and its partners will highlight the use of UltraGrid high-definition video technology. Initially developed via a NSF grant to University of Southern California/Information Sciences Institute, the UltraGrid application is now primarily developed by the Laboratory of Advanced Networking Technologies at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic and is supported by CESNET.
The technology will link Louisiana State University Professor Thomas Sterling to students located in Brno, Czech Republic to showcase how advanced virtual collaboration technology can revolutionize the global educational environment. The video will also utilize international DCN connections across multiple circuit domains, including LONI, Internet2, and the G�ANT2 AutoBAHN networks.
The data for the demo will be distributed by application-level modular programmable UDP packet reflectors that have been developed by CESNET and Laboratory of Advanced Networking Technologies over the past five years. They allow for independence on network-native multicast, while it is possible to process the data in per-user specific way.
Both iHDTV and UltraGrid technologies are under active development by the research and education community. Through the iHD DevCore partnership, the community is currently investigating how to create interoperability between these platforms to enable more widespread adoption of uncompressed high-definition video technology.
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