from November 24, 2003, News-Sentinel
original URL:
http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_2453316,00.html
ORNL to develop UltraNet - new network for scientist
By Frank Munger
November 24, 2003
Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been awarded $4.5 million to design
a high-speed network capable of transporting the massive amounts of
science data generated by supercomputers in the 21st century.
The grant, announced today by ORNL, comes from the U.S. Department of
Energy's Office of Science.
The prototype is called Science UltraNet. The intent is develop networks
to support the high-performance computing at ORNL and other research
institutions that increasingly rely on the machines - capable of trillions
of calculations per second - to carry out projects once considered unthinkable.
In order to do the science, however, research institutions must be able
to share this extraordinary information in quick fashion. With today's
networks, that isn't possible because they don't have the needed capacity
to match up with the computing speeds.
"For example, with today's networks, data generated by the Terascale Supernova
Initiative (at ORNL) in two days would take two years to transfer to collaborators
at Florida Atlantic University,'' Nageswara Rao of ORNL's computer science
and mathematics division said in a lab press release.
Rao and colleagues Bill Wing and Tom Dunigan are heading the three-year project
that could change the way scientists exchange large amounts of data.
The effort will require a "quantum leap" in the functionality of today's computer
network infrastructure, Rao said.
A number of research programs - such as genetics, climate change and fusion energy - could
benefit great from the enhanced capabilities to move data at high speeds, the laboratory said.
The UltraNet is expected to operate at 10 gigabits to 40 gigabits, which is about
200,000 to 800,000 times faster than the fastest dial-up connection of 56,000 bits
per second, ORNL said.
Rao noted: "We're not trying to develop a new Internet. We're developing a high-speed
network that uses routers and switches somewhat akin to phone companies to provide
dedicated connections to accelerate scientific discoveries. In this case, however,
the people using the network will be scientists who generate or use data or guide calculations remotely.''
Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329.
