Faculty NRL FAQ
Information for University faculty on the purpose, use, and benefits of the National LambdaRail network for researchers at Penn State and institutions around the country.
1. What is the National LambdaRail?
The National LambdaRail (NLR) http://www.nlr.net/ is a consortium of businesses and institutions devoted to advancing the research, clinical, and educational goals of its members, by establishing and maintaining a unique nationwide network infrastructure owned and controlled by the U.S. research community. NLR provides researchers unprecedented control over its national infrastructure, offering up to 40 individual "lightpaths" — each of which can transmit data at 10 gigabits per second and be used to deploy dedicated side-by-side (but physically and operationally separate) production and experimental networks. The NLR infrastructure is the result of over three years of work and nearly $100 million in funding by its members.
The defining characteristic of the NLR infrastructure is its ability to support many distinct networks for the U.S. research community using the same core framework. Multiple broadband networks within the NLR infrastructure support cutting-edge applications, while simultaneously experimental networks enable the deployment and testing of new networking technologies — providing researchers national-scale test beds, without the limitations typically associated with production networks.
2. How could NLR help me in my research?
With the University's new connection to the NLR infrastructure, Penn State faculty are positioned to consider fundamentally new ways to approach their research. Researchers will have virtually unlimited Internet bandwidth across the nation, enabling them to consider ground-breaking and different methods for data acquisition and sharing. As the United States invests (through agencies such as the National Science Foundation, NASA, Dept of Energy, etc.) in powerful new instruments to measure natural phenomena, the amounts of data collected are skyrocketing. NLR will make it possible for researchers and research organizations to develop new techniques and strategies for analyzing this data. Additionally, research communities will be able to develop new methods of operating remote instruments and data collection facilities, opening the door to critical new ways of conducting science.
A wide range of networks within the NLR infrastructure provide researchers convenient and broad-based access to multiple cutting-edge networks, as well as access to real-world production network data. This same feature facilitates the migration of promising technologies into production, and permits research and development to transcend individual networking technologies. By enabling work across traditionally separate network layers (such as optical, switched, and routed networks; end-to-end transport protocols, as well as middleware and applications) NLR allows researchers to more efficiently integrate new technologies plus effectively manage critical resources and security.
3. How do I know if I need NLR?
Information Technology Services (ITS) encourages all Penn State researchers to look closely at whether their network and computational needs could benefit from the vast bandwidth and technological innovation made possible with NLR. If you are engaged in research investigations, data transfer or computational analysis, you will likely find that participating in NLR can accelerate your efforts in the following areas:
- experimental and production networks
- high-performance research and education networks
- collaborative research
- simulation or modeling
- networking research
- next-generation Internet applications
- large data-set manipulation
- virtual/visual technologies
All participating NLR members and associated institutions work closely together to provide end-to-end network services. Because of the close and ongoing coordination among these organizations, NLR is able to provide researchers with a unique level of assistance in provisioning and maintaining these services. NLR also has a dedicated national Experiment Support Services team to support the networking needs of scientific research. The ESS team is available to provide end-to-end planning and engineering support for researchers who decide to participate in NLR, including the use of regional service providers. If you have questions about participating in NLR or would like to learn more about the infrastructure and its services, send an e-mail to nlr@psu.edu.
4. What do I have to do to take advantage of NLR?
"Layer 3" services
It is likely that you've used NLR today. At one level, NLR is simply being used to transmit and receive information to and from locations that are connected to NLR. By being a member of and connected to NLR, we are already enjoying the benefits investing into the high-speed nature of NLR. In the vocabulary of NLR, we are taking advantage of what NLR calls its "Layer 3" service on a daily, hourly, and minute by minute basis.
This initial provision of the "Routed IP" version of NLR's PacketNet (Layer 3) service is provided free for anyone within Penn State to use. The University is connected to NLR in such a way that the free "Layer 3" service is useable in a manner similar to how Internet2 is used. NLR-bound data will be carried for the immediate future as part of the University's Integrated Backbone service, and available for use without you having to do anything to communicate with other institutions connected to NLR (provided these universities and institutions provide the same kind of service to their faculty).
"Layer 2" services
NLR Layer 2 services are the foundation for establishing ground-breaking data transfer capabilities for your research with colleagues, agencies, and instruments across the nation. Layer 2 services require coordination with University network engineers in ITS who in turn must coordinate with network engineers between Penn State and the destination you want to reach in new and excitingly fast ways. In addition, Layer 2 services have a different cost structure associated with them than do Layer 3 services. NLR cost models are still emerging and are subject to negotiation. The good news is that funding agencies have started to recognize that paying for resources like NLR Layer 2 services are part of helping to develop new methodologies for data acquisition and management. Check with program managers and agencies with whom you regularly work to make sure, but the national trend is clear: Layer 2 costs are fair game for your research budgets.
Each layer 2 service is unique in its end-to-end construction. Because of that, many parties will be involved in a layer 2 service implementation. These will include NLR personnel (to endorse network use, and determine which network segments are involved) and staff at Penn State and distant institutions (to determine work necessary at a local level). The mechanism for requesting this form or service is still in its infancy. For more information on ordering layer 2 services send email to noc@nlr.net, with a copy to nlr@psu.edu.
More specific details for technical administrators setting up NLR functionality are available at Network Administrator FAQ.
5. What kinds of national projects are currently being supported by the NLR infrastructure?
A dedicated set of facilities and services supports the numerous projects that NLR currently has underway. A complete list of the NLR projects is available at http://www.nlr.net/supported.html
6. Who are the current members of the NLR community?
NLR is a membership-based organization with members and associates that include over 150 universities, research institutions and other organizations. The NLR infrastructure has nodes located in 28 cities. NLR's core set of basic services are offered from these nodes and then distributed regionally by its members and associates. A list of the current NLR members and associates and their participants is available at http://www.nlr.net/members.html
7. How is NLR different than Internet2?
NLR and Internet2 are both nationally recognized consortiums that seek to advance research through high-performance production networking and experimental networking. Within this broad goal, NLR tends to focus on network research (including technology, protocols, services, and management). Alternatively, Internet2 efforts have included both network research and research in other domains that require or benefit from access to high-performance networking. Each organization has an advisory council comprising representative network researchers and a council designed to represent scientific research in general and other academic disciplines.
Given several shared goals, Internet2 and NLR have recently begun to discuss the possible consolidation of their two national high-speed fiber optic networks. The objective of the merge would be to put into place a single overall organization that provides the research and education community in the United States with greater access to experimental networking facilities and cutting-edge Internet applications and services. NLR/Internet2 board members believe the consolidation of these two powerful infrastructures could significantly enhance the scientific community's ability to execute the development of new technologies that will serve as the foundation for the global Internet of tomorrow.
8. Why is Penn State providing the connection to the NLR infrastructure?
Penn State is a very active member in the National LambdaRail (NLR), a major initiative of many research universities across the country. Connecting to NLR's cutting-edge network infrastructure will enable the University to support its strategic goals and continue to enhance its nationally recognized research standing by providing the most modern technology and capabilities for its faculty.