Design of versatile academic infrastructure for multilayer network services

This paper describes the network design and configurations of the new Japanese academic infrastructure, called SINET3, which provides a rich variety of network services to more than 700 universities and research institutions. Since the start of full-scale operations in June 2007, the network has expanded its services to include multi-layer transfer services (IP, Ethernet, and layer-1), enriched virtual private network services (L3VPN, L2VPN, VPLS, and L1VPN), enhanced QoS services (packet-based and circuit-based), and brand-new layer-1 bandwidth-on-demand (BoD) services. This paper explains how the network provides these various network services on a single network platform by effectively configuring leading-edge networking components, such as high-performance IP routers, layer- 1 switches, and a BoD server. Evaluations of the network design and configurations confirmed that the networking functions were effectively coordinated. The procedures and techniques related to the configuration validation that covered all phases of the network design and construction are also presented.