Networks for non-Networkers 2 (NFNN2)20 June, 05 12:00 PM - 21 June, 05 04:00 PMe-Science Institute, 15 South College Street, , Edinburgh |
 | ||
| |||
| [eSI Events] | [NeSC Home] | [Registration] |
|
| ||||||||
| |||||||||
Any slides or other material generated as a result of this event can be found at: www.nesc.ac.uk/action/esi/contribution.cfm?Title=533
Networks for Non-Networkers 2 (NFNN2) is a one and a half day workshop for people working at the technical level in high-bandwidth dependant science. It is not aimed at network researchers or networking experts, but at people trying to use the network for science; people who have questions like:
"I want to transfer data from A to B, but I can't. Why not?"
and
"My institution's off-site network connection is 'fast', so why is downloading experimental data so slow?"
Through a series of presentations from experts in their field the workshop aims to giving attendees an introduction to computer networks and the performance issues surrounding them (TCP, LAN, end-user systems etc.). We also hope to have demonstrations of relevant tools and performance issues available during the breaks.
NFNN2 provides an improved version of last year's event (http://gridmon.dl.ac.uk/nfnn/nfnn1.html).
The workshop is not intended as a definitive guide to networking, primarily because a workshop of this nature cannot answer every question from the wide range of scientists, technical experts and system administrators expected to attend. However, it will equip participants with the basic knowledge and set of starting points required to begin investigating network performance problems that may arise in their day-to-day work. There will also be opportunity for questions and further discussion.
As further motivation, there is no registration fee for attending NFNN.
Although NFNN is a general workshop, it will be of particular interest to those working with high-bandwidth Grid projects.
For more information, please email: nfnn@dl.ac.uk
After two introductory talks, the workshop will consist of a series of 30-60 minute presentations outlining various problem areas (TCP, LAN, end-user systems etc.). We also hope to have demonstrations of relevant tools and performance issues available during the breaks.
People working at the technical level in high-bandwidth dependant science, who wish to gain an introduction to computer networks and the performance issues surrounding them.
| Day 1: Monday 20th June 2005, 1pm - 5:30pm, with lunch from midday | |
| 12:00 | Registration and lunch |
| 13:00 | Workshop opens: |
| 13:00 | Welcome - Peter Clarke, NeSC |
| 13:10 | Life of a Packet - Robin Tasker, Daresbury Laboratory Setting the scene. What happens to your bytes when they leave your application? |
| 13:50 | Just What is OC-48? - Robin Tasker, Daresbury Laboratory Explanation of networking terms, and overview of available global research and educational networks. |
| 14:30 | Coffee Break An opportunity to talk with the speakers and share ideas with colleagues from other projects and institutions. |
| 15:00 | TCP - Brian Tierney, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Introduced in the late 70's and standardised in 1981, the Transmission Control Protocol is used to transport the vast majority of traffic on the Internet, and is therefore largely unavoidable in data transmission. TCP however, does not scale to operate in today's high bandwidth networks. This talk will provide an introduction to TCP, outline new TCP stacks designed to combat problems associated with LFNs (Long Fat Networks) and will consider ways in which TCP performance can be improved. |
| 16:00 | 1st day Question & Answer session - chaired by Peter Clarke, NeSC |
| 17:30 | Finish for first day |
| 19:30 | Re-convene at nearby restaurant(s) for further discussion. Conference dinner will be held at Howies, Victoria Street. |
| Day 2: Tuesday 21st June 2005, 9:30am - 4pm | |
| 09:30 | Workshop restarts: |
| 09:30 | End-User Systems: NICs, the OS and discs -
Richard Hughes-Jones, Manchester University Hardware and software issues affecting the network performance of end-user systems. |
| 10:40 | Coffee Break Another opportunity to talk with the speakers and share ideas with colleagues from other projects and institutions. |
| 11:10 | LAN: Sam Wilson, University Of Edinburgh Local Area Network issues. |
| 11:50 | Security - Paul Kummer, Daresbury Laboratory An introduction to network security issues, and the performance aspects surrounding them. |
| 12:30 | 1 Hour Lunch Lunch, with an opportunity to look at demonstrations of relevant tools and performance issues. |
| 13:30 | Diagnostic Steps - Les Cottrell, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center Steps end users can take in measuring network performance and diagnosing problems. |
| 14:10 | What Can You Do With All This? One Use Case - Clive Davenhall, NeSC Clive attended the first NFNN workshop, and in this short talk will summarise the use he and his colleagues have made of the knowledge disseminated during that meeting. |
| 14:30 | Final Question & Answer session, inc. workshop feedback discussion - chaired by Peter Clarke, NeSC |
| 16:00 | Workshop closes |
The National e-Science Centre, e-Science Institute in Edinburgh is a centre for education and research for e-Science, and provides new state-of-the art facilities including an Access Grid system.
Conference Dinner will be held at Howies on Victoria Street on the 20th June at 19:30.
Registration for this event is now closed. To enquire about an application or to cancel a previous application please contact NeSC Administration.
Enquiries should be made directly to our Conference Administrator.
Travel: The e-Science Institute is less than 15 minutes walk from Waverley rail station, and from St Andrews square bus stations. It is approximately 20 minutes by taxi from Edinburgh airport (40 minutes by bus). Please see our web site for a map of the area.