Desktop-to-Desktop Gigabit per Second Wide Area Network Speed
Record
Using Windows2000 tcp/ip and Commodity Hardware.
>Contacts:
>
>Jennifer Todd, Waggener Edstrom/Microsoft, jtodd@wagged.com,
>
425-637-9097
>David Richardson, University of Washington, drr@u.washington.edu,
>
206-543-2876
>Karen Green, NCSA/Alliance, kareng@ncsa.uiuc.edu, 217-265-0748
>Susan Brandt, ResearchTV, sbrandt@u.washington.edu,
212-414-4672
>Lisa Young, Sony Electronics, lisa.young@am.sony.com,
408-955-5683
>Jacqueline Brown, P/NWGP, jbrown@cac.washington.edu,
206-685-6238
>
>For info on the demo’s network aspects see: www.washington.edu/hdtv/sc99/net
and /papers/Win2K_1Gbps_Press_Release.htm
(this document)>
and /papers/Win2K_1Gbps.doc
(an overview of the 1Gbps demo)
>
>PORTLAND, Oregon, November 15, 1999 -- Seven high technology leaders >collaborated at SC99 today to set
a number of Internet speed records, >demonstrating
that long-distance gigabit-per-second networking is >ready for prime
time and that next generation Internet technologies and >capabilities are emerging in applications, in
end-systems, and in >network
infrastructure.
>
>To set the stage, at the network infrastructure level, the
DARPA-sponsored >National Transparent
Optical Network (NTON), the University of >Washington-led Pacific/Northwest Gigapop (P/NWGP), GST
Telecommunications, and Nortel Networks >joined forces to deliver 2.4 gigabits per second (Gbps) of >packet-over-SONET based standard
Internet capacity from the Microsoft >Corp.
and University of Washington (UW) campuses, through a shared point >of presence at the
Pacific/Northwest Gigapop in Seattle, to the SC99 >exhibition hall in Portland.
>
>Microsoft, the National Computational Science Alliance (Alliance), the >University of Washington (UW) and
Sony (in support of the ResearchTV >consortium)
demonstrated two working, real-time gigabit applications in >their coordinated SC99
exhibits. Further, the UW, Microsoft,
the Alliance >and Sony were
able to run these applications concurrently, setting a >record of 2 Gbps in aggregate throughput—by a
wide margin clearly the >fastest
real-time applications ever run over a wide area network.
>
>Earlier this year, the UW and Sony were the first to demonstrate live >studio quality, High Definition
Television (HDTV) broadcasts over >Internet2/Abilene.
Today, in another record-breaking effort, they and the >partnership successfully transmitted a real-time
gigabit HDTV stream of >five
simultaneous channels of minimally-compressed, studio-quality HDTV >over the internet, using
industry-standard HDTV video, ‘Wintel’ computer >systems, and networking equipment from leading vendors
such as Juniper. >Each channel within the overall
stream consumed more than 200 >million-bits-per-second
(Mbps), for a total of well over a >billion-bits-per-second
in concurrent throughput in a state-of-the-art >real-time application.
>
>”More than just showing the stunning quality and immediacy that next >generation internet capabilities
can bring to the desktop computers, TV’s >and HDTV’s around the world, this demonstration illustrates the
>feasibility of regularly
using Internet transport technology for the >real-time delivery of extraordinarily high quality
video, virtual reality, >tele-medicine,
and other imaging streams” said UW Vice President Ron >Johnson.
He added that the demonstration shows “it is now possible to run >distributed broadband applications
over high-speed, next generation >Internet
WANS using hardware and software available in the consumer >market”. The demo used broadcast and Internet standards, Sony’s suite of >HDTV gear, off-the-shelf
networking equipment, and commodity PCs with >Microsoft NT running custom high performance software
the UW C&C group >developed
using Microsoft Visual Studio and other tools.
>
>By way of comparison, the UW/Sony/ResearchTV demonstration is the >equivalent of the simultaneous
transmission of the entire channel lineup >of a 150 channel cable TV system, or of 50 channels of
broadcast quality >HDTV, five
feature movies, or interactions among a large number of >high-resolution video walls, shared virtual
realities, &/or immersive >environments.
And, it shows that the internet is capable of speeds and >quality impossible to achieve with
traditional broadcast technologies.
>
>Microsoft and the Alliance and the partners demonstrated that it is now
>possible to send a
gigabit-per-second TCP/IP stream from one Windows 2000 >workstation to another over a WAN. Microsoft teamed with the Alliance’s >NT cluster development team and
with the National Laboratory for Applied >Network Research (NLANR) to verify that Windows 2000 TCP/IP
software >performance scales
at Gbps rates on long-distance networks. This work >demonstrates speed breakthroughs in end-to-end
workstation internetworking >and
shows the capabilities of Windows 2000 TCP/IP.
>
>”Our role in NLANR is to work with application teams to help them
harness >the capabilities of
high performance networks,” said Larry Smarr, director >of the Alliance and NCSA, the leading-edge site
for the Alliance. “Because >many
of these applications involve Windows workstations, gigabit per >second performance of Windows over
wide area networks is a capability that >impacts the entire high performance computing community.”
>
>Jim Allchin, senior vice president of the Platforms Division at
Microsoft >Corp., said this
demonstration showed that distributed computing over >high-speed, long-distance networks is a major part of
the future for the >Windows
OS. “This exhibition shows that Windows
2000 truly is a broadband >operating
system prepared for the next millennium.
Microsoft is thrilled >that
Windows 2000 is able to display its gigabit-readiness through such a >tremendously innovative
engineering feat.”
>
>Ed Lazowska, Chair of UW’s Computer Science & Engineering
Department, >added that
“enabling gigabit networking capabilities on what will >eventually be tens of millions of desktops is the
first step >in unleashing
developers worldwide to create the next generation of >applications, architectures and content.”
>
>Together, these collaborative demonstrations show that the era of >gigabit-per-second networking and
the next generation of Internet >applications
and content is at hand.
>
>The joint demonstrations will continue throughout the rest of SC99. For
>demonstration times, visit
the Alliance research booth (R300) or the joint >demo booth (RE602), or to see the demonstrations go to
the UW research >booth
(RE602) where the suite of coordinated demos are being run.
>About
Microsoft >
>Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in >software for personal and business
computing. The company offers a wide >range
of products and services designed to empower people through great >software - any time, any place and
on any device. Microsoft and Windows >are
either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the >United States and/or other
countries. Other product and company names >herein may be trademarks of their respective
owners. See http://www.microsoft.com/Windows2000.
>About
the Alliance/NCSA >
>The National Computational Science Alliance is a partnership to
prototype >an advanced computational
infrastructure for the 21st century and includes >more than 50 academic, government
and industry research partners from >across
the United States. The Alliance is one of two partnerships funded >by the National Science
Foundation’s Partnerships for Advanced >Computational
Infrastructure (PACI) program, and receives cost-sharing at >partner institutions. NSF also
supports the National Partnership for >Advanced
Computational Infrastructure (NPACI), led by the San Diego >Supercomputer Center. The National
Center for Supercomputing Applications >is
the leading-edge site for the Alliance. NCSA is a leader in the >development and deployment of
cutting-edge high-performance computing, >networking, and information technologies. The National Science
Foundation, >the state of
Illinois, the University of Illinois, industrial partners, >and other federal agencies fund
NCSA. http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/
About The
University of Washington (UW)
>The University of Washington is one of the world’s leading research >institutions. While the UW has
great strength in a comprehensive array of >disciplines and professions in technical and
non-technical realms, it is >especially
well known for its world class programs in computer science and >the health sciences, and for its
long and continuing role in the evolution >of the Internet, Internet messaging technologies, software
agents, and >digital
convergence in new media. For more information see >www.washington.edu/hdtv/sc99
>
>About
ResearchTV >
>ResearchTV is a consortium of many of the world’s leading research >institutions that is dedicated to
providing greater, much more timely, and >far broader access to progress in, and the findings and
outcomes of >university,
government and corporate R&D efforts. In partnership with >UCAID ResearchTV also conducts
core Internet2 (www.internet2.edu) >broadcast
and high-speed demand video initiatives. For more information >see http://www.washington.edu/researchtv
>
>About
Sony >
>Sony Electronics is the premier provider of leading-edge digital video >technology for broadcast, production
and HDTV, as well as exceptional >quality
consumer electronics, computer, and display products. The >University of Washington and Sony
have partnered successfully to pioneer >HDTV
over Internet capabilities. For more information, see >www.sony.com/professional
>
>About
the Pacific/Northwest Gigapop (P/NWGP)>
>The Pacific/Northwest Gigapop is the northwest’s next generation
Internet >applications
cooperative, testbed, and point of presence. PNWGP connects >universities as well as research
institutions and R&D enterprises >throughout
Washington, Alaska, Montana, Idaho and Oregon, to one another, >to the next generation Internet
backbones (including vBNS, >Internet2/Abilene
and now NTON), to federal research networks, and to >super-high-performance commodity internets. For more information, see http://>www.pnw-gigapop.net/.
>About
NTON >
>The National Transparent Optical Network links government, research and
>private sector labs and
provides the ability to interface with most of the >broadband research networks in the U.S. NTON is a 2000
km 10-20 Gbps >Wavelength
Division Multiplexed network deployed using in-place commercial >fiber. NTON provides direct access
to nearly all of the major universities >on the West Coast at data rates up to, and potentially beyond,
2.5 Gbps. >For more
information, see http://www.ntonc.org