What’s New with FABRIC?
An update from Ilya Baldin, FABRIC Principle Investigator
As the first year comes to an end, we are excited to share all we’ve accomplished and what is coming down the pipeline. The majority of the design tasks are now complete and we are in the process of rolling out FABRIC ‘hanks’. Currently 3 are being assembled; these are ‘development’ sites at RENCI, UKY and LBNL. Also, the first ‘production’ core site at StarLight has been ordered and is in transit with the expectation it being in place by end of Nov. The next sites in line are MAX, University of Michigan, University of Utah and UMass Amherst – all of which have negotiations for siting details in progress. In the upcoming year we plan to deploy a total of 16 ‘hanks’.
We have also been working on the various software elements: control framework, measurement framework, system services, portal and that work is on-going. We are planning to have an internal minimum viable product in the next month.
As you may have seen, we are planning a workshop in December 2020 to discuss issues of facility federation, connectivity and network services provided by FABRIC, data, measurements, security and a number of other topics. You can learn more about how to register for this workshop below.
Additionally, we’ve updated design documents and created a number of new design documents, which are available for community review. Design documents include control and measurement framework designs, information model, network services and peering and a number of others. The full list can be viewed below.
2nd FABRIC Workshop: Facility Partners
Dec. 3-4, 2020
The goal of this workshop is to discuss production details with our partners. We’ll delve into specifics on connectivity and federation, discuss challenges and solutions to early deployment problems, and address initial infrastructure operations. This meeting is targeted at core facility operators, regional network providers, campus IT staff, and high performance/computing centers. Invitations with registration links have been sent to invitees. More information can be found on our website.
Didn’t receive an invite but would like to join? You can request an invitation here.
Design Documents
We’ve been hard at work updating and creating new design documents, which will be finished by the end of the this month. Check back later to view our documents, which will be posted on the website.
The full list of documentation includes:
- Node Design
- Topology
- Functional Design
- Combined Software Design
- Control Framework Design
- Information Model
- Portal and System Services
- Network Services and Peering
- Measurement Framework Design
- Site Questionnaire
FABRIC Brochure
Know anyone who may be interested in FABRIC? Feel free to pass along our newly created 4-page FABRIC Brochure.
NSF announces $3 million award to expand FABRIC cyberinfrastructure globally
A new $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will expand FABRIC, a project to build the nation’s largest cyberinfrastructure testbed, to four preeminent scientific institutions in Asia and Europe. The expansion represents an ambitious effort to accelerate scientific discovery by creating the networks needed to move vast amounts of data across oceans and time zones seamlessly and securely. With the new NSF award, the sister project called FABRIC Across Borders (FAB) will link FABRIC’s nationwide infrastructure to nodes in Japan, Switzerland, the U.K. and the Netherlands. Read the full press release here.