<nettime> amsterdam-alaska

["geert lovink" <geert@xs4all.nl>]

Internet data speed record will benefit scientists
13:31 23 May 02
NewScientist.com news service

A new trans-continental internet data transfer record has been set by
researchers at the University of Alaska and the University of Amsterdam.

The record was set using cutting edge network infrastructure that is
being developed as part of a project known as Internet2. This project
involves over 190 universities as well as government and industry
research teams.

The goal is to develop an internet backbone capable of carrying vast
amounts of data between computers. It is hoped this will drive forward
new internet technologies that require high data transfer speeds, such
as tele-immersion and virtual reality.

This backbone could also give researchers in many scientific disciplines
access to massive amounts of data and computing power at other
universities across the planet. The integration of these resources is
often referred to as "the Grid".

Cees de Laat, researcher at the Faculty of Science of the University of
Amsterdam says: "High speed backbones are essential for today's Grid
applications where scientists on a global scale want to handle terabyte
size datasets in international collaborations. This Land Speed Record
shows what two distant locations can do together when they set their
mind to it."

Gigabyte flight

The record-breaking feat, reported in New Scientist magazine on 18 May,
involved send a CD's worth of data - almost a gigabyte - a quarter of
the way around the world in just 13 seconds.

Data transfer speeds peaked at 401 megabits per second in transit over
the 12,272 kilometres of network between the two institutions. This is
more than 8000-times faster than the average dial-up modem and hundreds
of times faster than most broadband home internet services.

The feat won the Internet2 Land Speed Record, organised by the Internet2
consortium.

"The new Internet2 Land Speed Record demonstrates that high performance
networking is not constrained by national boundaries," said Rich
Carlson, network research scientist at Argonne National Laboratory in
Chicago and consortium representative.


Will Knight

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