Research network engineering (RNE) community group
A community for sharing best practices in building network infrastructures to support cutting edge research.
Facilitated by Jisc
Open to staff from Janet-connected sites involved in network operations or in communities conducting data-intensive science
Monthly meetings via Zoom
About the community
Researchers at Janet-connected sites often have challenging network requirements. One notable case is an ever-increasing need for them to move large volumes of data to other organisations on the Janet Network or beyond.
The systems and network engineering knowledge required to design, build and operate effective platforms for such data transfers is not insignificant.
The broad aim of the RNE community is to discuss and share best practices in research networking, bringing together those with experience in the area with those who may be new to the subject, along with engineers and performance specialists from Jisc.
Topics might include examples of Science DMZ implementations, how to gather network performance measurements, and comparisons of software transfer tools. Ultimately, we hope to enable all Jisc members to make optimal use of their Janet connection to support their research requirements.
Aims of the community
Our aims are to:
- Present and discuss examples of network engineering practices in support of research
- Discuss the tools, software and concepts behind Science DMZ principles
- Arrange and report on data transfer tests in varying scenarios
- Explore new technical solutions
- Foster collaboration between communities, within Janet and internationally
These aims will be discussed and updated at the group's first meeting. The RNE community will meet on a regular, monthly basis to allow members to share and discuss ideas, best practices and any issues they face.
Who should join
The community is open to:
- Network managers
- Campus network engineers
- Campus IT staff supporting data intensive research
- Members of research communities seeking to share large volumes of data
No prior experience in the area is assumed.
Join the community group
To get involved, submit the research network engineering community registration request form.
Next community call
Streaming telemetry for network monitoring
Speakers: Tim Chown (Jisc), Raul Lopes (Jisc), Eoin Kenny (HEAnet) and Jonathan Churchill (STFC)
Date and time: Friday 24 November 2023 at 2pm (UK)
Register in advance for this meeting
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Abstract
Traditional network monitoring has for many years used the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), whereby an SNMP server polls devices on the network for information about traffic utilisation, interfaces, and other data, typically every 5-minutes. Such polling can be used for device up/down status, but is also commonly used to provide traffic utilisation charts via tools such as MRTG.
Streaming telemetry, in contrast, works through a subscription model, where a collector can subscribe to information for a device, and the device pushes the data to the collector, potentially on a near real-time basis. This model can facilitate near-live monitoring, and provide useful, finer-grained measurements which can capture short term spikes in traffic that are not visible when network utilisation is averaged over a 5-minute period.
In this session, we’ll explore streaming telemetry, looking at how it works, the high-level differences to SNMP, and present examples of the early stage pilot we’re running at Jisc (via Raul Lopes), the streaming telemetry work being done in Ireland at HEAnet (via Eoin Kenny). We’ll also hear from Jonathan Churchill at STFC who is just starting to explore the NetQ “What Just Happened?” telemetry reporting available on NVIDIA/Mellanox devices.
How will this style of telemetry reporting help us run our research networks? What advantages will it bring? What are the challenges in supporting it? We’ll leave plenty of time for discussion in the session.
Past event resources
By request: If you would like a copy of any materials used at any of our RNE community calls, please email Tim Chown (tim.chown@jisc.ac.uk)
Resources from 23 June 2023
- Globus: a key component of the RosalindFranklin Institute research data lifecycle
Resources from 26 May 2023
- Network Support for Large Scale Science, Eli Dart (ESnet)
Resources from 14 April 2023
- Jumbo Frames in Support of Large Scale Data Transfers, Tim Chown (Jisc)
- TCP Performance with 1500 and 9000 Byte Jumbo MTUs, Richard Hughes-Jones (GÉANT)
Resources from 24 February 2023
- Introduction, Tim Chown (Jisc)
- JASMIN’s Data Transfer Zone, Jonathan Churchill and Matt Pritchard (STFC)
- QMUL Core Network and Research Data Transfer Zone, Mike Wearden (QMUL)
Resources from 20 January 2023
Resources from 9 December 2022
By request: If you would like a copy of any materials used at any of our RNE community calls, please email Tim Chown (tim.chown@jisc.ac.uk)
Resources from 23 June 2023
- Globus: a key component of the RosalindFranklin Institute research data lifecycle
Resources from 26 May 2023
- Network Support for Large Scale Science, Eli Dart (ESnet)
Resources from 14 April 2023
- Jumbo Frames in Support of Large Scale Data Transfers, Tim Chown (Jisc)
- TCP Performance with 1500 and 9000 Byte Jumbo MTUs, Richard Hughes-Jones (GÉANT)
Resources from 24 February 2023
- Introduction, Tim Chown (Jisc)
- JASMIN’s Data Transfer Zone, Jonathan Churchill and Matt Pritchard (STFC)
- QMUL Core Network and Research Data Transfer Zone, Mike Wearden (QMUL)
Resources from 20 January 2023
Resources from 9 December 2022
Find out more
If you have any questions about the community please email the community facilitators at netperf@jisc.ac.uk
To hear about RNE community news and events, or to discuss ideas or challenges you may have with other members of the community, sign up to the JiscMail list.