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RNP stimulates the use of Planet Lab’s nodes in Brazil

Researchers can submit research projects in the field of networks

Researchers working in the field of computer networks can submit research projects to the Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa (National Education and Research Network – RNP). The proposals will be analyzed by the Technological Innovation Directorate and can be included in Planet Lab Project, a virtual laboratory with a worldwide distributed network infrastructure of equipment to experiment with new technologies and protocols.

Planet Lab was introduced to the Brazilian academic community in May 2004, during the 5th Workshop RNP, by Dorgival Guedes, from the Department of Computer Science at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), the institution that got the first node of the program in Brazil. Looked for by Intel due to its range, with points of presence spread all over the country, RNP was in charge of the installation and maintenance of the nodes, becoming part of the project in 2004.

Three Planet Lab nodes have been installed in RNP’s points of presence (PoPs) in Rio de Janeiro, Ceará and Rio Grande do Sul. The six pieces of equipment (two for each node) were given by Intel, and, as part of the partnership, Planet Lab started to offer a set of slices (spaces to allocate projects) to be used by Brazilian researchers. It’s an infrastructure assembled a layer over the Internet network, with machines spread all over the world, to be used for research. This infrastructure is being franchised to Brazilian researchers.

Projects have an initial duration of two months but can be renewed

In the slices, each user puts his applications and assembles his own network, getting connected to other Planet Lab nodes spread all over the world. The institutions using RNP’s backbone can have access to this environment by submitting to RNP a proposal, which will be evaluated by the National Laboratory of Computer Networks (Larc). Once this proposal is accepted, a slice will be created to host the submitted project. This slice can be associated to as many accounts as necessary so that other participants can also work in the same environment. Each project lasts two months, but it can be renewed.

Those interested in applying can find a form to submit their proposals on RNP’s site. The researchers whose proposals are accepted will receive, by e-mail, guidelines to use the slice and to create accounts.

Planet Lab started in 2002 with Intel, HP and Google as partners, and now it has over 500 nodes in 275 places, permitting the development of projects in networks that could never be assembled in ordinary institutions. Therefore, it represents a great means of distribution of applications and allows organizations to get in touch with the environment of other institutes and researches all over the world.

An example of a project that became a service with Planet Lab’s help is the Internet Backplane Protocol (IBP), a protocol of remote storage management and use, developed by Logistical Computing and Internetworking (Loci) in order to give support to large scale logical networks, distributed systems and applications. This service is currently used by RNP’s Digital Video WG to store the videos that are part of the Video on Demand service.

[RNP, 09.05.2005]