An Update on Optical
HARNET
(Hong Kong Academic and Research Network)
Ho Pui Tak (hpt@cc.hku.hk)
Computer Centre, The University of Hong Kong
22nd APAN Meeting, July 2006, Singapore
HARNET

Hongkong Academic and Research
NETwork (HARNET)

Managed by Joint Universities Computer
Centre (JUCC)

Supports the eight Universities funded by
the University Grants Committee (UGC)

Also supports some non-profit organizations
in Hong Kong
University Grants Committee
(UGC)
Joint Universities Computer Centre
(JUCC)
JUCC/HARNET members

8 full members, funded by University
Grants Committee (UGC)








The University of Hong Kong
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
City University of Hong Kong
The Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology
Hong Kong Baptist University
Lingnan University
The Hong Kong Institute of Education
The University of Hong Kong
(HKU)
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
(CUHK)
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
(PolyU)
City University of Hong Kong
(CityU)
Hong Kong Baptist University
(HKBU)
The Hong Kong University of
Science & Technology (HKUST)
Lingnan University
(LU)
The Hong Kong Institute of Education
(HKIED)
Other JUCC/HARNET
members

2 Affiliate Members


Open University of Hong Kong
Vocational Training Council (Institute of
Vocational Education)
The Open University of Hong Kong
(OUHK)
Vocational Training Council
(VTC)
Other JUCC/HARNET
members

2 Network Members


Hong Kong Examinations and
Assessment Authority
Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks
Hong Kong Examinations and
Assessment Authority (HKEAA)
Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks
(HKSTP)
Early HARNET Era before 1991




HARNET: established in 1985 based on
DECnet and UUCP 4800 bps dialup
connection
Connected to BITNET in 1989 via a
2400 bps leased circuit to Yale
University
Connected to Internet in 1991 &
High-speed wide-area network
backbone linking up the campus
networks of the JUCC members
Provides Internet network services to
JUCC member institutions, affiliate
and network members
HARNET/Internet Era 1989-2002

Growth of local HARNET
 1993 – T1-ring network
 1995 – T1-ring to T1-star
 1997 – ATM at 10Mbps
 2000 – ATM at 30Mbps
 2001 – ATM at 45Mbps
 2002 – ATM at 60Mbps
HARNET/Internet Era 1989-2002

Growth of HARNET/Internet bandwidth










1992
1993
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
64K
128K leased circuit
T1 (1.54Mbps)
E1 (2 Mbps)
6M
12M + Netplus
12M + 12M
48M
72M
96M
T1-Star HARNET in 1995
Current HARNET Backbone
LN
PolyU
EXODUS
UST
HKU
USA
Router
Router
WORLDCOM
T1
T1
Router
Router
T1
E1
T1
Cisco
4500M
Cisco
4500M
HKBU
T1
Router
Ethernet
Local T1
T1
CityU
Router
Router
CUHK
HARNET/Internet2 Era 2002-Present



HARNET connected to Internet2 in
October 2002
Via the STARTAP at Chicago through a
45Mbps link
Facilitated researches that require a
high-bandwidth connection to the
Internet2 backbone and NGI (Next
Generation Internet)
HARNET/Internet2 Era 2002-Present


HARNET/TANET Connection
 2002: connected to TANET via their
HK collocation site at 155 Mbps
HARVNET: for local and international
inter-institutional multi-party videoconferencing
HARNET/Internet2 Era 2002-Present

HARNET/CERNET Connection
 2004: upgraded from 2Mbps to
155Mbps
 2004: set up an IPv6 BGP peer
with CSTNET using IPv4 tunneling
 2005: connected to CERNET2 with
IPv6 BGP peering
HARNET/Internet - August 2002
PCCW
Data Centre
HKU
CUHK
PolyU
45M IPLC
54M/108M
6M/12M
54M/108M
6M/12M
54M/108M
6M/12M
CityU
54M/108M
5M/10M
45M/90M
8  24M/48M
PCCW
ATM
NETWORK
22M/44M
11M/22M
HKBU
Internet2
STARTAP
96M IP
10M/20M
35M/70M
25M/50M
24M/48M
6M/12M
EQUANT
INTERNET
BACKBONE
2
50M/100M
HKIX
24M/48M
6M/12M
2M
10M
HKUST
LU
HKIEd
Equant
Data Centre
Commodity
Internet
CERNET/
TANET
HARNET Network Configuration 2003-04
US
Collocation
Router
Public ATM
Service
Internet 2 Access Router
Cisco7206VXR
OC3
8 x 24M PVC
OC12 (for Internet2)
45M
Internet2
via
StarLight
8 x 45M PVC
Internet2 Router
Cisco 7507
FE
GE
NetFlow
MCU
GE
45M
TANET
Cisco 7603
FE
FE
FE
GE
Metro IP Service
GE
2 x GE
Cisco 7603
GE
GE
HARNET Router
(Cisco 7606)
HARNET Router
(Cisco 7507)
2x STM1
155M
International
Internet
GE
GE
OC3
Internet 2 Access Router
Cisco7206VXR
Data Centre
ATM
(for Internet2)
HKIX
Collocation
Router
HKIX
155M
CERNET
HARNET 2005
Analysis for International Traffic
The statistics were last updated Tuesday, 23 May 2006 15:22
'Daily' Graph (5 Minute Average)
'Monthly' Graph (2 hour Average)
Analysis for HKIX Traffic
The statistics were last updated Wednesday, 17 May 2006 15:27
'Daily' Graph (5 Minute Average)
'Monthly' Graph (2 hour Average)
Analysis for Internet2 Traffic
The statistics were last updated Tuesday, 13 June 2006 16:02
'Daily' Graph (5 Minute Average)
'Monthly' Graph (2 hour Average)
Analysis for CERNET Traffic
The statistics were last updated Friday, 20 January 2006 at 10:32
'Daily' Graph (5 Minute Average)
'Monthly' Graph (2 hour Average)
Analysis for TANET Traffic
The statistics were last updated Tuesday, 13 June 2006 15:57
'Daily' Graph (5 Minute Average)
'Monthly' Graph (2 hour Average)
On-going Development
2006 Development Plan
 Further enhancement of HARNET resiliency
 Central security protection against major
security attack like DDOS
 Optical HARNET
 Connection to CNGI and CERNET2
 Connection to HKLight/GLORIAD
 Connection TEIN2
 development of IPv6 for NGI applications
On-going Development – Optical
HARNET
JUCC Optical HARNET Network Diagram (Sept. 2006)
Cisco
7603
HKIEd
OME6500
GE
OME6500
17km
2 GE
2G
FC
Cisco
7603
CUHK
GE
2G
FC
Media Converter Shelf
32.68km
Cisco
7603
2 GE
2G
FC
OME6500
GE
13.8km
2 GE
2G
FC
Cisco
7603
HKBU
OME6500
2 GE
2G
FC
10Gbps
MSSPRing
19.48km
Cisco
7603
PolyU
HKU
Cisco
7603
17.5km
OME6500
32.3km
2 GE
2G
FC
OME6500
9.66km
15.6km
2G
FC 3 GE
OME6500
12.7km
Internet2 GE
2 GE
2G
FC
Media Converter Shelf
One GE each for
CUHK, HKIEd, LU
and PolyU
International
connections
Media Converter Shelf
ONE GE each for HKUST, HKBU,
CityU and HKU
Cisco
7603
CityU
GE
GE
GE
GE
17.78km
LU
OME6500
15.7km
26.3km
3 GE
Cisco
7603
HKUST
OMEA
GE
On-going Development
Optical HARNET
 a high-speed multi-gigabit optical
network infrastructure for the Next
Generation HARNET
 provides on-demand lambda
bandwidth between institutions for
research applications
 connecting advanced international
R&E optical networks
On-going Development
Optical HARNET – prospective applications
 high Performance and GRID computing
applications
 multi-party high-quality high-definition
videoconferencing
 VOIP (Voice Over IP) deployment
 off-site disaster recovery data centers
 remote SAN through fibre-channel
connections
 tele-medicine, digital libraries, virtual
classrooms, etc.
On-going Development
Optical HARNET – initial set-up
 a 10Gbps dual-ring backbone
 fiber diversity
 on-demand services of at least two 1G
Ethernet ports and one 2G Fiber channel
port at each institution
On-going Development
Optical HARNET – initial set-up
 flexibility in new lambda setup
 support future expansion using WDM
technologies with minimum 16
lambdas
 supports bandwidth allocation at the
sub-lambda level for easy reconfiguration
 CODEC for high-quality video
transmission
Future Directions




Continue to develop JUCC’s leadership
in Next Generation networks in HK
Increase cooperation with international
high-speed R&E networks
Develop high-quality videoconferencing over IP network
Foster inter-institutional and
international cooperation on network
security, new IT technologies,
applications and training