New Fiber Ring Provides Backbone for University Research
by Mark Faulkner
CERF, the Cincinnati Education Research Fiber loop, is an approximately 60-mile pair of single mode fiber configured in a ring. See the route map, below, for the approximate fiber path.
In February 2003, P&G donated the use of this fiber optic cable to Cincinnati State Technical Community College (CSTCC). Later, CTSCC and UC formed a consortium to make use of the fiber, with UC designated to manage the facilities.
CISCO 15454 Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) electronics is used on the fiber loop. It is currently configured with one OC-48 (2.5 Gbps) lambda throughout the fiber ring. Cincinnati State's main and Evendale campuses and UC's main campus and Genomics Research Institute (GRI) are online, routing all data traffic over the fiber loop. Potential future participants include Xavier University, Hamilton County Schools' Schoolnet A site and Cincinnati Public Schools' Schoolnet.
Future plans call for the CERF ring to have redundant connections to the Ohio Third Frontier Network (TFN), which can provide faculty and researchers with ultra high speed access, through OARnet, to the Internet and Internet2. Currently, the timeframe for the connections is the second quarter of 2004.
OARnet is building the Third Frontier Network in the following four segments:
- Phase 1: Establish a statewide core backbone to hubs in major Ohio cities, including Cincinnati;
- Phase 2: Connect Ohio's major research universities to these hubs, including CERF;
- Phase 3: Connect Ohio's small- and medium-sized colleges and universities;
- Phase 4: Connect Ohio's corporate research centers with the academic research community.
CERF is a pilot for the first three phases.
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