The document outlines a project by the University of Texas at Dallas to develop an integrated campus network called Pronet, which aims to enable high-speed, low-latency data transfers directly over optical circuits for both small and large data. Funded by a National Science Foundation grant, the initiative seeks to enhance network efficiency using an orchestrator for managing resources and improving circuit provisioning. The project aligns with the US Ignite initiative, focusing on fostering innovative applications through advanced networking capabilities.

1. Andrea
Fumagalli,
Ph.D.
(P.I.)
Donald
Hicks,
Ph.D.
(Co-­‐PI)
The
University
of
Texas
at
Dallas
The ogrammable ptical work*:
Enabling the
Design, Development, Deployment & Demonstration
of Innovative High-Speed Low-Latency
Net-Centric Applications & Experiences
*
This
research
is
made
possible
by
a
grant
from
The
NaHonal
Science
FoundaHon
under
the
provisions
of
NSF
15.534,
“Campus
Cyberinfrastructure,
Data,
Networking
and
Innova;on
Program”
-­‐
(CC*DNI)
Program
SolicitaHon

2. “Without
high-­‐performance
networking,
big
data
and
high
performance
compu;ng
have
very
limited
value.
It
has
long
been
recognized
that
the
highest
performance
data
transfers
should
directly
run
on
top
of
op;cal
circuits
without
Ethernet
switching
or
IP
rou;ng.
This
direct
layering
avoids
switching-­‐related
packet
loss
and
provides
a
cost-­‐effec;ve
service.
Op;cal
equipment
now
exists
that
will
permit
the
dynamic
establishment
of
single
applica;on
light-­‐
paths.
However,
the
;me
required
to
set
up
op;cal
circuits
is
too
long
for
short
or
small
transfers
–
taking
a
second
to
set
up
a
100
Gigabit/sec
link
in
order
to
transfer
a
small
file
does
not
make
sense.
This
project
is
building
an
integrated
campus
network
where
small
data
transfers
(megabytes
or
gigabytes)
ride
conven;onal
networks
and
big
data
transfers
(terabytes
or
petabytes)
ride
directly
on
op;cal
circuits.
The
project
is
building
PROnet,
a
campus
network
at
the
University
of
Texas
-­‐
Dallas,
which
provides
the
lowest
possible
network
latency
-­‐
signal
propaga;on
only
-­‐
scalability
to
100Gbps
and
beyond,
and
equipment
having
low
power
consump;on
and
complexity.
A
user-­‐
friendly
interface
will
be
developed
and
deployed
for
the
network
inexperienced
researcher
to
request
the
provisioning
of
as
needed
op;cal.
A
PROnet
controller
will
be
developed
for
the
scheduling
and
automa;c
provisioning
of
op;cal
circuits,
which
will
shorten
the
circuit
reserva;on
procedure
;me
significantly
by
removing
human
interven;on
from
the
en;re
process.
For
inter-­‐domain
opera;on,
the
open
plaYorm
OSCARS
will
be
extended
to
work
with
PROnet.
With
this
OSCARS
extension,
provisioning
of
hybrid
(op;cal
and
virtual)
circuits
spanning
across
mul;ple
(op;cal
and
non-­‐op;cal)
domains
will
be
a
reality.
The
so[ware
will
support
secure
use
of
the
network
via
InCommon
iden;;es.”
Source: NSF proposal narrative

3. -Enabled Services
• IniHally
will
be
a
prototype
consisHng
of
off-­‐the-­‐shelf
products
as
well
as
prototype
modules
developed
at
UT
Dallas
and
enabled
to
funcHon
as
a
circuit-­‐oriented
network
soluHon
• Users/clients
will
be
made
aware
of
the
prototype
nature
of
.
They
will
understand
that
accept
that
outages
and/or
malfuncHons
can
occur
from
Hme
to
Hme
as
development
work
proceeds
• Over
Hme,
will
transiHon
into
a
stable
network
product
offering:
1. ProducHon
circuits
(mostly
staHc
with
built-­‐in
reliability)
on
a
24/7
basis
to
UT
Dallas
and
other
parHcipaHng
organizaHons
throughout
Texas
2. PorHons
(slices)
of
the
resources
to
parHcipaHng
researchers
and
scienHsts
to
test
innovaHve
network
services
and
opHmizaHon
procedures
3. Circuits
“on-­‐demand”
to
users/clients,
including:
a. Researchers
working
at
-­‐connected
campuses,
requesHng
circuits
for
a
specified
period
of
Hme
b. IT
Offices
of
user
organizaHons
requesHng
dedicated
circuits
for
semi-­‐
producHon
purposes
c. Users
of
enterprise
IP
management
soware
seeking
dynamic
and
automaHc
creaHon
of
circuits
• The
enabling
module
for
all
of
these
services
is
the
Orchestrator,
which
will
be
capable
of
parHHoning
(slicing)
and
managing
the
available
network
resources.

4. – Campus-to-Campus
Example
Intra-Campus
Device-­‐to-­‐device
connec,vity:
• Range
of
transmission
capaciHes
=
1,
10,
20,
…,
100
Gbps
• For
intra-­‐metro
applicaHons,
end-­‐to-­‐end
round
trip
Hme
in
the
1
ms
range
• The
technology
can
be
extended
to
offer
inter-­‐metro
connecHvity.
Round
trip
Hme
increases
proporHonally
with
geographical
distance
60 km
Inter-Campus
Intra-Campus

5. Aligns with the
US Ignite Initiative
• US
Ignite,
a
501(c)3
nonprofit
organizaHon
recently
launched
by
the
White
House
Office
of
Science
and
Technology
Policy
(OSTP)
and
the
NaHonal
Science
FoundaHon
(NSF),
seeks
to
foster
the
design
and
development
of
shareable
innovaHve
applicaHons
and
digital
experiences
enabled
by
high-­‐
speed
low-­‐latency
networks.
These
applicaHons
will
have
the
potenHal
to
transform
how
we
access
and
experience
everything
from
weather
reports,
personalized
healthcare,
library
resources
and
transportaHon
services
while
at
home,
at
work,
or
while
mobile.
• US
Ignite
helps
maintain
US
global
leadership
in
innovaHon
by
leveraging
the
collaboraHve
capabiliHes
of
industry,
government,
and
academia.
• To
bring
these
applicaHons
to
life,
developers
leverage
the
unique
capabiliHes
of
next-­‐generaHon
networks,
including
• 100
Mbps+
and
low
latency,
permidng,
for
example,
mulHple
bi-­‐direcHonal
streams
of
uncompressed
video.
• Soware-­‐defined
networks
(e.g.,
OpenFlow),
promising
dramaHcally-­‐improved
control
over
network
rouHng
and
opHmizaHon.
• Networks
with
capabiliHes
such
as
virtual
network
“slices”
matched
to
applicaHon
requirements
and
distributed
programmable
resources
throughout
the
network.
• Integrated
wireless
networks
to
facilitate,
for
example,
sensor
networks
and
conHnuous
remote
monitoring.
• ApplicaHons
built
to
be
open,
shared,
and
extendable.

6. How Can Enhance Applications?
1.
Decrease
the
Hme
to
access
or
relocate
large
data
sets
from
the
producing
device
to
the
consuming
device
Transportation
Data
GIS Data
MRI Data
Data Center

7. How Can Enhance
Applications?
2.
Minimize
round
trip
latency
between
the
control
console
(human
or
computer
operated)
and
the
physical
executor
Data Center
Production Floor
Advanced Manufacturing
Remote Patient Monitoring, Care & Clinical Training
Control Center

8. Development Roadmap – Phase 1
Phase
1
will
launch
at/near
the
University
of
Texas
at
Dallas
campus
• AddiHonal
public,
private
and
nonprofit
sites
across
the
Dallas-­‐
Fort
Worth
region
are
encouraged
to
become
DFW
Founding
Affiliates
and
connect
to
the
UT
Dallas
anchor
site.
Corporate
&
Enterprise
Users
University
Research
Campus
Partners
Local &
Regional
Government
Services
Network
Providers
Anchor
Site
Public &
Non-profit
Partners
DFW Metro

9. Development Roadmap - Phase 2
State of Texas
• Future
phases
of
deployment
will
include:
• Expansion
to
independent
singular
sites
across
the
State
of
Texas
• Replicate
Metro
PROnet
clusters
at
metro
locaHons/
sites
elsewhere
in
Texas
&
the
U.S.
• CreaHon
of
an
global
ecosystem
soluHon
interconnecHng
mulHple
Metro
PROnet
sites