Policy question: external download experiments and management-network usage on F

[Rasman Mubtasim Swargo]

Hello,

I am working on a research project that evaluates adaptive downloading of large genomic datasets from public repositories such as NCBI/ENA. The experiments may involve multiple parallel HTTP download streams and dynamic concurrency control.

I previously received a warning on another testbed because high-volume traffic was sent over the shared control/management network. Before running larger tests on FABRIC, I wanted to ask:

• Are sustained or high-volume Internet-facing download experiments allowed on FABRIC?
• Are there any restrictions on using the management network for bulk traffic?
• Should this kind of experiment be coordinated with FABRIC staff in advance?

I want to make sure the experiments stay within FABRIC policy and do not negatively affect shared infrastructure.

Thank you.

[yoursunny]

You should be using FABNetv4Ext and FABNetv6Ext network types, which allows bulk downloads from Internet.

When I last used these, it appeared that they only peer with Internet at NEWY WASH STAR. This means you should deploy your slices in or near these sites for the best latency.

[Komal Thareja]

Hi Rasman,

Great question, and thanks for checking before running your experiments — we appreciate that!

As yoursunny mentioned, you’ll want to use FABNetv4Ext or FABNetv6Ext network services for your experiment rather than the management network. These provide dedicated public Internet connectivity for your slices and are designed for exactly this kind of bulk data transfer work. The management network is shared infrastructure and should not be used for high-volume traffic.

One important thing to note: FABNetv4Ext and FABNetv6Ext require additional project permissions that are not enabled by default. Your Project Lead will need to request the Net.FABNetv4Ext and/or Net.FABNetv6Ext permissions for your project through the FABRIC Portal (use the “Request additional project permissions” option under Experiments -> Projects).

Once you have those permissions, you should be all set to run sustained download experiments against NCBI/ENA without any issues on the FABRIC side.

Also, thanks yoursunny for jumping in with the helpful pointer!

Best,
Komal

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