Publications

Modeling the 10-gigabit ethernet ASC WAN

Tolendino, Lawrence F.; Wertz, Jason W.

In recent years, modeling and simulation has played an increasingly important role in the maintenance of the nuclear stockpile. The Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) program continues to support and encourage the development of a modeling and simulation infrastructure to make these goals a reality. The Distance Computing Network has been making make the ASC resources available to users throughout the tri-lab environment for over five years. This network relies on the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol suite to provide high performance and reliable communications. Understanding TCP/IP operation in this unique environment is critical. Software modeling has been used to analyze current network performance and predict the effect of proposed changes. Recently the network architecture was radically changed and the software model had to be changed as well. Whereas the original network was based on 2.5 gigabit per second ATM links, the redesigned network is comprised of 10-gigabit Ethernet links arranged as a 3-node ring. Therefore, a new software model was needed to continue to predict the performance of proposed changes and allow engineers to experiment with new network applications without the risk of interfering with critical operations.