NORTHERN TIER NETWORK NORTH DAKOTA FY16 North Dakota State University, University of North Dakota and North Dakota Information Technology Department /////////////////////////////////////////////////////INDEX FY16 ANNUAL REPORT 3 KEY ELEMENTS 4 LOOKING AHEAD–CRITICAL UPGRADES FOR NEXT GENERATION APPLICATIONS 4 OVERVIEW 5 FY16 FINANCIAL SUMMARY 9 21ST CENTURY COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND ACADEMICS 10 LOCAL AND GLOBAL IMPACT 14 MILESTONES 15 NTN-ND PARTNERS 18 REFERENCES 19 2 | NORTHERN TIER NETWORK FY16 ANNUAL REPORT The report will provide an update on the operations and maintenance of the Northern Tier Network – North Dakota (NTN-ND) for the fiscal year 2016 aligned to the intent of the network as described in the North Dakota Century Code. Contents of this report include a description of the functions of the network and its service to the research and education activities in North Dakota, along with its role in the larger regional, ///////////////////////////////////////////////////// national and global research and education (R&E) network community. This report is intended to inform NTN-ND stakeholders across North Dakota, especially those beneficiaries of the exemplary resources that connection to this global community provides. These include students, faculty and staff located at higher education institutions and Tribal Colleges, and the K-12 community. An overview of NTN-ND and its role within the larger regional, national and global R&E network environment is followed by a current financial report, examples of 21st century collaborative research and academics, highlights of major milestones in the evolution of the R&E network community, and NTN-ND partners. EVALUATION PROCEDURES Data gathered and analyzed for this document included a review of current financial records, annual operations, recent R&E network traffic summaries, and current trends in use cases of R&E networks. LIMITATIONS This report is intended to provide an overview of annual operations and maintenance, financial status and highlighted use cases that offer evidence of current and near-term trends salient to this topic. It does not provide detailed technical information on network operations and maintenance. The list of use cases highlights a short list of examples and is not considered to be exclusive of those experienced by institutions across North Dakota. ADDITIONAL REFERENCES Additional information on peer networks at the regional and national levels as well as primary partners and collaborators of NTN-ND are listed at the end of this document. “ The Northern Tier Network, part of a national research network, serves entities within and outside this state. The North Dakota University System may use the Northern Tier Network infrastructure only for the purpose of supporting the research and education missions of the North Dakota University System. N.D.C.C. § 15-10-45 This document is available in print format online at www.ndsu.edu/vpit/ntn 3 KEY ELEMENTS • NTN-ND continues to enjoy the engaged support of its three state-level partners: the Information Technology Department (ITD), North Dakota State University (NDSU) and the University of North Dakota (UND), all of whom are collectively responsible for oversight and visioning the future direction of this valuable resource. On behalf of this partnership, NDSU is the fiscal agent and supervises operations and maintenance activities. • This state connection to the national and global R&E network community depends upon North Dakota’s state government and education network (STAGEnet) to connect higher public education institutions and Tribal Colleges, and public K-12 schools. • NTN-ND is operated through contracts with private telecommunications companies and higher education services providers, mirroring a successful model prevalent in state and regional network partnerships across the United States. • NTN-ND continues to remain fiscally healthy since the time of its completion in 2009. Annual expenditures are designated for ongoing costs of operations and maintenance on equipment, fiber, services of a Network Operations Center, membership dues and network participation fees, and other miscellaneous operating expenses. No money is used to fund staff of NTN-ND partners ITD, UND or NDSU. • In 2016, North Dakota and its national counterpart, Internet2, celebrated 20 years as partners in the greater U.S. research and education collaborative environment. Since 1996, the Internet2 community has worked to develop and expand the networking capabilities that advance research and education on a global scale. Working together, this community solves common technology challenges and develops innovative solutions in support of their educational, research and community service missions. LOOKING AHEAD – CRITICAL UPGRADES FOR NEXT GENERATION APPLICATIONS • The NTN-ND’s collegial partnership with neighboring regional R&E networks includes visioning for current and future needs of academics and research. • Some of the closest neighboring states and regional networks who have completed or are in the process of completing network upgrades to 100G include the Great Plains Network (GPN), Merit Network/MI, BOREASnet/MN, Montana, Nebraska and South Dakota. • Partnering and staying in step with neighboring regional and global optical networks serving research and education allow students and faculty at all institutions to advance at the same level and ensures continued partnering on research and academics regardless of where institutions are located. 4 | NORTHERN TIER NETWORK OVERVIEW ABOUT NTN-ND The Northern Tier Network–North Dakota (NTN-ND) is a joint network effort between the State’s Information Technology Department, NDSU and UND to connect North Dakota to the nation’s research and education network. This high-speed backbone network depends upon STAGEnet for institutional connectivity and is operated through contracts with private telecommunications companies and higher education service providers. NTN–ND is the state-owned segment of the larger regional research and education (R&E) network called the Northern Tier Network Consortium, built collaboratively by states in the upper Great Plains and Pacific Northwest in an effort to provide high-speed network connectivity to research universities. ABOUT NTNC The Northern Tier Network Consortium (NTNC), consists of 12 member states between Michigan and Washington, and Alaska. As indicated in Figure 1, these state networks interoperate to form a larger whole, which serves to function as the governing body for the Northern Tier Network. As built, NTN–ND has a raw capacity of 10 circuits capable of 10 gigabits per second (10 billion bits per second) each. In comparison, advertised residential broadband is typically around 12-50 megabits per second (12-50 million bits per second), with the fastest available advertised speed being approximately 200 megabits per second (200 million bits per second). The high capacity of NTN–ND is used to facilitate collaborations in research, including access to shared computing resources, access and transfer of large data sets and use of high- performance networking applications for shared, real-time access to remote instruments across the country and around the world. This includes not only institutions of higher education, but also federal research labs such as Los Alamos National Lab and Pacific Northwest National Lab. Transport of this data takes place primarily over Internet2, the member-owned research and education network founded by the nation’s leading higher education institutions. NTN–ND enables North Dakota’s institutions of higher education to connect to this national resource. Alaska CANARIE/BCnet The Northern Tier Network Consortium Asia Grand Spokane Forks Seattle Coeur Missoula Bismarck d’Alene Fargo Houghton Marquette Pullman Dickinson Superior Sault Ste. Marie Miles City Wahpeton Moscow Yakima Ashland Billings Aberdeen Powers Bozeman Eau Portland Claire Marinette FIG.1 Minneapolis Green Bay Rapid City Sioux Falls Idaho Falls Lansing South- Pocatello Madison field Boise ORION Milwaukee American Falls Iowa Hillsdale Ames Ann Laramie City Stateline Arbor Omaha Chicago Lincoln OARnet NTNC Regional Optical Networks Salt Lake Fort Collins BOREAS NTN-ND City FRGP/BiSON PNWGP Boulder IRON SD-REED Denver Merit UNL Kansas Colorado Springs City MUREN Wiscnet Pueblo Internet2 National Backbone 2/19/2016 Figure 1: Full Northern Tier Network Consortium path (2015) 5 The NTNC seeks to develop and sustain advanced networking capabilities and shared cyber infrastructure facilities to support the educational, research and economic vitality of the Northern Tier region. Primary goals of the NTNC include: • providing a premier research network that connects the Northern Tier states from current endpoints in Chicago and Seattle to ensure that every Internet2 member in the Northern Tier has the ability to establish an appropriate high-speed connection to a national or international aggregation point; • maximizing network peering and interconnection opportunities between Northern Tier networks and other research networks and networking consortia; • providing a network which can serve as a foundation for regional economic development, as well as academic and research development; • leveraging intellectual, political and financial resources across the region to expand relationships with state and national leaders, attract greater federal interest, maximize opportunities for grant and contract support and create greater leverage with vendors; • enhancing