SwRI and Internet 2 

What is Internet 2? 

The Internet 2, founded by the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID), is a high-performance network intended to serve the research community in much the same way as the original NSFnet. SwRI is an affiliate member. UCAID promotes advanced network applications development under many scientific and engineering disciplines. They also sponsor the Abilene network, which along with the NSF/MCIWorldcom-sponsored, high performance Backbone Network Service (BNS), makes up the most advanced global network infrastructure in use today. The Internet 2 provides more than raw bandwidth -- the core network technologies enable applications to reserve bandwidth, prioritize traffic, and perform experiments with new technologies in ways that are not possible with the current commercial Internet. 

Why is SwRI participating in Internet 2? 

SwRI believes that Internet 2 participation will help create new research programs and will enhance existing programs. Many of the Internet 2 affiliate members are potential collaborators on research programs involving advanced computational science and data visualization. Many SwRI industrial clients may provide the real-world problems that can be solved using new network technologies. Government funding opportunities provided by the National Science Foundation and NASA seek to link research across many disciplines to the development of better networks, wireless networks, and new kinds of multipurpose network devices. 

What kinds of projects are using Internet 2? 

Many existing projects involve visualizing complex or high volume data sets at multiple locations. Others are concerned with better ways to perform distance education and collaborative science. Perhaps the most interesting ones are concerned with developing new protocols, middleware, and network monitoring tools. At SwRI, we have some recent experiences with distributed parallel computing over wide-area networks, now called GRID computing. Several on-going NASA sponsored programs will immediately benefit from high-volume data transfers over Internet 2. 

For more information, contact Jim Hokanson, SwRI's Internet 2 representative.

For Applications Consulting information, contact Myron Moodie or Richard Murphy.

Map from San Antonio Airport to SwRI 

September 07, 2007