US Energy Agency Demos Blazingly Fast Network

by Carolyn Duffy Marsan,  Network World

The U.S. Department of Energy recently launched the Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), a 100 Gbps Ethernet network that will enable researchers to create more complex, real-world simulations in climate change, particle physics, astronomy, and other scientific fields.

ESnet’s Steve Cotter says the network was built using federal stimulus grants to achieve two primary goals. “One was accelerating the deployment of 100G so that the equipment manufacturers didn’t shelve the technology on fears that there wouldn’t be demand,” Cotter says. “The other reason they gave us the money was to build a next-generation network test bed and to fund network research.”

The 100G network will connect the U.S.’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the Argonne National Laboratory, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory using dark fiber. “We believe we are the first network at this scale to collect that information and make it available to researchers so we can begin to look at the energy consumption of networks,” Cotter says.  Report