Connecting NOAA to the Next Generation Internet

Jerry Janssen
NOAA Boulder NOC

In order to provide NOAA a foundation for future remote computing and research collaborations, NOAA is moving to connect its research centers to the Next Generation Internet (NGI). These connections are providing a foundation for projects such as the collection of NEXRAD data from sites dispersed around the country in near-real time; and the use of native multicast to disseminate high volume National Weather Service data to universities, DoD, and NASA.

Several NOAA sites are now connected to Abilene, a project of the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID) developed to support the Internet2 project. Abilene is an advanced backbone network that connects regional network aggregation points, called GigaPoPs. It supports the work of Internet2 universities and research partners as they develop advanced Internet applications. The NOAA sites that are connected include: the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle Washington, the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman Oklahoma, the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami Florida, and the Boulder and Silver Spring campuses. Several other NOAA sites should also soon be connected such as the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab in Ann Arbor Michigan and the National Climatic Data Center in Ashville North Carolina.

This paper describes the ongoing effort to connect NOAA's research sites to the Next Generation Internet.

BIO - Jerry Janssen Mr. Janssen Manages the NOAA-Boulder Network Operations Center that is responsible for the design, installation, operation, and maintenance of the David Skaggs Research Center backbone network in Boulder, Colorado. The David Skaggs Research Center is one of the largest concentrations of NOAA researchers in the country, NOAA's Boulder facility houses 11 diverse and uniquely tasked research organizations. Mr. Janssen joined the NOAA Forecast Systems Laboratory in May of 1989 as an Electronics Engineer specializing in computer networks. In 1997 Mr. Janssen joined the NOAA-Boulder Network Operations Center to help with design and construction of the NOAA-Boulder ATM backbone, Ethernet LAN, and cable plant to be installed in the soon to be constructed David Skaggs Research Center. In February of 1999 Mr. Janssen took over as manager of the Network Operations Center.

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