All -- Our next Research IT Reading Group topic will be: *CENIC & Research Opportunities -- From Libraries, K12s, Cultural Institutions to OpenFlow SDN*. [CENIC <http://www.cenic.org/> is the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California; SDN is Software Defined Networking <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software-defined_networking>.]
We'll meet Thursday 28 Aug 2014, from noon - 1pm at 200C Warren Hall (see access instructions below). Discussion will be facilitated by Cliff Frost, Senior Advisor for Cloud Services at CENIC, and former director of IST - Infrastructure Services. Cliff writes:* CENIC is very interested in helping researchers make the most of the high-speed network and its rich connectivity. I plan to present an overview of CENIC with an emphasis on new developments that may be of interest to researchers. [...] I plan to spend at least half the time discussing Software Defined Networking (SDN) in general and OpenFlow in particular—aiming at knowledgeable IT professionals who are not network geeks (although network geeks are more than welcome!). There is an awful lot of hype and confusion about SDN and I hope to leave people with a reasonable framework for thinking about it.* Here's the *background material for review prior to our meeting*: ==> To understand the extent of CENIC's role in network access in California, please have a look at the Needs Assessment and Spending Plan for High Speed Broadband in California Libraries (~7MB PDF, attached to Research IT's wiki page for this Reading Group meeting <https://wikihub.berkeley.edu/x/PgT-BQ>). Cliff recommends the data analysis sections; I (Steve) have looked over the full report and recommend the Introduction as well. ==> For an incisive, thoughtful, and accessible overview of the significance of Software Defined Networking, Cliff asks us to watch a 30 minute presentation by UCB-EECS Professor Scott Shenker, here on YouTube <http://youtu.be/TuapgeRCPPI?t=2m43s>. Prof. Shenker's presentation runs from 2m43s to ~30m, but the questions that follow are quite interesting as well. The video is imperfect; slides are available on-line as a PDF <http://www.opennetsummit.org/archives/apr12/site/talks/shenker-tue.pdf>. (Shenker's bio <http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Faculty/Homepages/shenker.html> on EECS site.) Thanks, Steve *Warren Hall access*: For those who do not have keycard access to the building, please take the *elevator* to the second floor (stairwell door requires keycard). Before noon, let the receptionist know you're joining the Reading Group in 200C and s/he will let you in and show you the way. After noon, look for a sign next to the (closed) receptionist window to the right as you exit the elevators. We'll post a note with a phone number that you can call or text, and someone will come out to open the locked doors. -- Steve Masover Research Information Technologies http://research-it.berkeley.edu [email protected] 510-642-8488
