Networking for Non-Networkers

Here is an archive of an historic working group organised by Mark Leese at the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC), now known as STFC.

*The following text is taken from the web archive of the group*

Networks for Non-Networkers 2 (NFNN2) was a one and a half day workshop for people working at the technical level in high-bandwidth dependent 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 aimed to give attendees an introduction to computer networks and the performance issues surrounding them (TCP, LAN, end-user systems etc.). 

The workshop was not intended as a definitive guide to networking, primarily because a workshop of that nature cannot answer every question from the wide range of scientists, technical experts and system administrators expected to attend. However, it equiped 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. 

Although NFNN was a general workshop, it was of particular interest to those working with high-bandwidth Grid projects.

Presentations

Networks for Non-Networkers - Introduction to the day which gives a good overview of the issues one may face when moving large datasets and a historic look at the arcitecture of Janet in 2005.

Security and Performance - A historic perspective on how CCLRC implemented a 'secure zone' to deal with the large data movements within the Tier-1 Large Hadron Collider project, and how to get maximum throughput.

The Life of a Packet - A superb overview of the hetrogeneous and complex environment which a we live in. This talk give a good overview around the types of technology a connection tranverses when you move data accross the Janet and International research and education networks.

TCP Tuning Techniques for High-Speed Wide-Area Networks - An advanced tutorial on how to get the most out of the network bandwidth you have available.  Gives a good overview of the coding best practice, network diagnostic toold and how to tune end hosts. 

End-user systems:NICs, MotherBoards, Disks, TCP Stacks & Applications - A good overview on the questions to ask when creating an end-to-end system

Lans (but not Firewalls) - An overview of local area network issues, and the types of issues and problems you need to look out for.  

What you can do with all this? - A realworld case study on moving large datasets around the Janet Network.