News for and about the Internet2 community

["Lauren Rotman" <>]

NEW INTERNET PERFORMANCE RECORD SET
Team sets new performance threshold in Internet2 Land Speed Record Contest 

ANN ARBOR, MI - November 14, 2005 - Internet2(R) today announced that an
international team set a new Internet2 Land Speed Records (I2-LSR) in both
the IPv6 single-stream and IPv6 multi-stream categories.  As an open and
ongoing competition for the highest-bandwidth, end-to-end networks,
Internet2 LSR marks represent the rate at which data is transferred
multiplied by the distance traveled. The most recent record setter
demonstrated the ability to send more than five and a half gigabits of data
per second (Gbps) across a distance spanning three-quarters the
circumference of the Earth.  Because of delays due to the speed of light and
other factors, data transfer over the Internet becomes more challenging as
speed, or distance, or both increase.  

The team from the University of Tokyo, the WIDE Project, and Chelsio
Communications worked together to successfully transfer data at a rate of
5.58 Gbps over a distance of over 30,000 kilometers traversing the WIDE,
IEEAF, JGN2 networks. Achieving a mark of 167,400 terabit-meters per second
(Tb-m/s), the team more than doubled the existing record, surpassing it by
131 percent.

The team utilized an "Inter-layer coordinating optimization" technology
developed by the Data Reservoir project at the University of Tokyo and used
10 Gbps Ethernet adapters by Chelsio Communications to fine-tune the output
rate.

"Devising a methodology to prevent unnecessary packet losses at the
receiving end has always remained a critical obstacle in achieving very
high-bandwidth TCP.  By leveraging several kinds of fine tuning methods on
packet intervals, our team has been successful in creating technology that
we believe will prove indispensable for high-utilization of 10Gbps networks
in the future," said Dr. Kei Hiraki, professor at the University of Tokyo.
 
For more information about this record-setting attempt, see:
http://data-reservoir.adm.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/lsr-20051029/sub.html

Additionally, to pave the way for this record attempt, the team was also
successful in transmitting data at an even higher rate of 5.94 Gbps for over
15,461 kilometers in the IPv6 single and multi-stream categories.  The data
crossed the WIDE, JGN2, and IEEAF networks. 

"The Internet2 Land Speed Record competition has provided a creative venue
for leading research institutions in collaboration with network providers to
push the limits of IP networking," said Rich Carlson, chair of the Internet2
Land Speed Record Judging Panel. "The latest record has established a new
data transfer benchmark using next-generation IPv6 protocols, demonstrating
that the research community continues to pioneer the use of leading-edge
Internet technologies."

Details of past winning entries, complete rules, submission guidelines, and
additional details are available at: http://lsr.internet2.edu/

About Internet2(R)
Led by more than 200 U.S. universities working with industry and government,
Internet2 develops and deploys advanced network applications and
technologies for research and higher education, accelerating the creation of
tomorrow's Internet. Internet2 recreates the partnerships among academia,
industry, and government that helped foster today's Internet in its infancy.
For more information, visit: www.internet2.edu.

Contact:
Lauren Rotman
202.331.5345