Draft High Throughput Networking Special Interest Group - Terms of Reference

Over the past 2-3 years a number of scientific disciplines have purchased large instruments that are capable in generating appreciably large datasets. In addition to this increase in data production, there is a requirement for the produced data to be processed and analysed. Generation and processing capabilities are physically located in different locations around the UK, therefore there is a growing requirement from the community to transfer large (>1Tb) files, or multiple thereof, in the shortest possible time frame. Whilst the Janet network provides significant capability at the wide area network level, Janet does not have the knowledge or capability internally to provide application or operating system level support to the community to facilitate high throughput services.

As such a Janet co-ordinated special interest group around high performance networking will be setup in the summer of 2013, with the inaugural meeting-taking place in July 2013. It is expected that the meetings will be bi-annual, and encompass the network, application and systems that make up the end-to-end system.

Specifically the group will:

• equip researchers to realise the potential of existing connectivity and understand what is possible;
• allow researchers and institutions to achieve greater end to end throughput;
• provide information around generic network patterns of use;
• inform researchers on the applications, systems and network that can be used for high throughput networking;
• knowledge generation around good practice for end-to-end performance;

• be hosted and co-ordinated by Janet, specifically the research support group;
• community focused, concentrating on both technical and non-technical high throughput networking topics;
• consider throughput in an end-to-end context[1] 
• be held bi-annually at a mutually convenient venue;
• open to all disciplines and sectors including commercial;
• provide technical knowledge around achieving high throughput for both existing and new JANET connections;
• provide mailing list facilities;
• provide an online presence for collaboration;