| Internet history timeline |
Early research and development:
Merging the networks and creating the Internet:
Commercialization, privatization, broader access leads to the modern Internet:
Examples of Internet services:
|
Abilene Network was a high-performancebackbone network created by theInternet2 community in the late 1990s. In 2007 the Abilene Network was retired and the upgraded network became known as the "Internet2 Network".[1]
One of the aims of the Abilene project was to achieve 10 Gbit/s connectivity between everynode by the end of 2006. Over 230 member institutions participated in Abilene, mostlyuniversities and some corporate and affiliate institutions, in all of theUS states as well as theDistrict of Columbia andPuerto Rico.[2]It connected to European research networksNORDUnet andSURFnet.[3]The legal entity behind the network was the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development.[3]
When it was established in 1999, the network backbone had a capacity of 2.5Gbit/s. An upgrade to 10 Gbit/s began in 2003[4] and was completed on February 4, 2004.[5]
The nameAbilene was chosen because of the project's resemblance, in ambition and scope, to the railhead inAbilene,Kansas, which in the 1860s represented thefrontier of theUnited States for the nation'srailroadinfrastructure.
The media often incorrectly used the term "Internet2 Network" when referring to the "Abilene Network". Some sources[which?] even suggest that Internet2 is a network wholly separate from theInternet. This is misleading, since, at the time of the Abilene Network, Internet2 was the consortium and not a computer network. It is possible that many news sources adopted the term Internet2 because it seems like a logical name for a next-generationInternet backbone. Articles that reference Internet2 as a network were in fact referring to the Abilene Network. Internet2 adopted the nameInternet2 Network for its entire network infrastructure.
Abilene formed a high-speed backbone by deploying cutting edge technologies not yet generally available on the scale of a national network backbone. Abilene was a private network used for education and research, but was not entirely isolated, since its members usually provide alternative access to many of their resources through the public Internet.
Abilene'sNetwork Operations Center (NOC) was hosted atIndiana University since its inception. "The cross-country backbone is 10 gigabits per second, with the goal of offering 100 megabits per second of connectivity between every Abilene connected desktop."[6]
The Abilene project had usedoptical fiber networks donated byQwest Communications. In March 2006, Internet2 announced its upgrade plans and migration toLevel 3 Communications. Internet2's Abilene transport agreement with Qwest expired in October 2007. Unlike the previous architecture, Level 3 manages and operated anInfinera Networks basedDWDM system devoted to Internet2. Internet2 has control over provisioning and uses the 40 wavelength capacity to provide IP backbone connectivity as well as transport for a new SONET-based dynamic provisioning network based on theCiena Corporation CoreDirector platform. The IP network was based on theJuniper Networks T640 routing platform.[7]
When the transition to the new Level3-based infrastructure was complete, the nameAbilene ceased to be used in favor ofThe Internet2 Network.