Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Researcher Only High Bandwidth Network

Posted by samzenpus on from the elite-fiber dept.

Icarus1919 writes "A brand-new 10 gigabit per second per user optical fiber network is now available to researchers in the U.S. (compared to Internet2, which offers only 10 gigabits of bandwidth total, regardless of the number of users). The National Lambda Rail, as it is known, is named for the 40 different wavelengths of light it uses to send data within the fiber network. In the past, researchers have complained about the relatively (relative when you're dealing with terabytes of data) small bandwidth they can access to send data, and the addition of the NLR will most likely be a boon to research."

15 of 209 comments (clear)

  1. High Speed, but what about processing? by pholower · · Score: 4, Interesting

    From what I understand, they will be using quite a bit of the bandwidth in this as well. Do we know how much data must be trasfered at once? Is this continuous data, or is it in chunks? How much ram would it take to hold all of this data until it can be placed unto a disk for storage?

    --
    -- johntracy.com, because everybody else is wrong.
  2. of course by mrpuffypants · · Score: 4, Funny

    the addition of the NLR will most likely be a boon to research."

    and, of course, bittorrent :)

  3. Not enough bandwidth? by Spillman · · Score: 5, Funny

    relative when you're dealing with terabytes of data

    They should be recompressing all those movies to Xvid, then they wouldnt have that bandwidth issue. I mean isn't that what you would do if you had a network dedicated to "research"? (the above post was meant to be humorous, not trollish)

    --
    sig?
  4. The application process by Blair16 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Me: Hello, I am a researcher and I would like access to this network

    Them: And what is your field of research, sir?

    Me: Why, I am researching human biology and behaviour in group situations.

    Them: Well that sounds very interesting. How exactly would having 10 Gbps help you.

    Me: Glad you asked. First I download all the pr0n I can find, then I watch it...

    Them: Look, this is about the 1000th application we have had that wants to download porn. Good day, sir.

    Me: But, but....

    Them: I said good day!

    --

    Chaos will always win out over order because chaos is more organized
    1. Re:The application process by Geoffreyerffoeg · · Score: 4, Funny

      pr0n

      How do you do that over the telephone without it sounding like "pron"? Do you say "pruh", dial 0, and say "nn" or something?

    2. Re:The application process by metlin · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Well, I've heard that genetic data is huge -- but have never encountered any first hand.

      However I do have first hand experience with particle physics data, and yes those are HUGE. Those are really unweildy and have a lot of work that need to be done on them.

      Some of the particle accelerators on an average generate a few TBs for every collision experiment, and those are pretty huge numbers.

  5. Stop the Press! by dancingmad · · Score: 4, Funny

    So Bush was right and there are internets?!?!

    --
    "There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter," Jeeves, (Jeeves and the Impending Doom)
    1. Re:Stop the Press! by irc.goatse.cx+troll · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Internet2 has been around for years. Theres atleast 3 government/military networks that use the InternetProtocol. Thats just in the US, who knows what kind of private nets are out there in forign nations.

      So, looks like monkeyboy knows more than you.

      --
      Pain lasts, kid. Its how you know you're alive. Sometimes I think this growing up thing is just pain management-TheMaxx
  6. Just Like Al Gore Dreamed It !! by serutan · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... oh wait, this isn't Fark. My bad.

  7. Re:Boo hoo by Fancia · · Score: 4, Informative

    They're both 10Gbps, but the difference is that this new one is 10Gbps per *user,* while Internet2 is 10Gbps for *all* users. That's a rather significant difference, I suspect.

    --

    Bít, zabít, jen proto, ze su liska!
  8. And if you remember your history... by physicsphairy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is really not so different from how the present internet got started. Will researchers pave the way for a new international fiberoptic network?

    --
    When things get complex, multiply by the complex conjugate.
  9. obligitory comparison... by endersdouble · · Score: 5, Interesting

    how does this compare to a station wagon full of DVDs hurtling down the highway?

  10. So what qualifies as a researcher... by Trogre · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ... in the US?

    What do you need to be researching? Who do you need to be affiliated with?

    Do people like RMS count?

    --
    "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
  11. This is progress by shaneh0 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You may remember that the "internet 1" was a researcher-only network once and we all know how that turned out.

    With even more competition now that the Electric companies can offer broadband service I think we'll see a Moores-law type situation in Telecom (albeit with a longer cycle then 18 months). With networks like this serving as a proving ground for new technology I think we'll see a speed-race among providers. Americans love Horsepower, RPM, GhZ, and they may not know it yet but Mb/s. Shane

  12. Re:Different units by burns210 · · Score: 5, Funny

    More than you can shake a uh... stick at?