Researchers Break Internet Speed Records

MosiMosi wrote to let us know about a new development on the Internet2 front. Researchers in Tokyo have advanced the speed of the network, breaking records twice in two days back in December of last year. "On Dec. 30 [researchers] sent data at 7.67 gigabits per second, using standard communications protocols. The next day, using modified protocols, the team broke the record again by sending data over the same 20,000-mile path at 9.08 Gbps. That likely represents the current network's final record because rules require a 10 percent improvement for recognition, a percentage that would bring the next record right at the Internet2's current theoretical limit of 10 Gbps."

Why is the theoretical limit 10 Gbps?

[msauve]

Don't they have redundant paths? Can't they use ECMP? (I'm assuming that the "limit" is referring to 10 Gbps max link speed)

Internet Causes Amnesia?

[Anonymous Coward]

9 Gbps! What is the human visual nerve bandwidth? Much less I think. It is becoming our new external vision. Good or bad? It's tough to say. I think it is good, but who knows... ;)

From the "Internet Causes Amnesia?":

"..the brain uses sight as the external memory, so it adapted not to spend effort to memorize what it is seeing."

http://thedialogs.org/2007/04/19/internet-causes-a mnesia/ [thedialogs.org]

We need a real alternative to the internet.

[zymano]

A backbone not owned by the phone companies would reduce prices. An alternative that that doesn't rely on the robberbaron phone and cable companies for the last mile(wimax?).

Something that allows for video like Iptv would be big.

It would be more disruptive than the current net because then you could attend classes from home.

This would be great for the economy too.

Gee I'm impressed...

[spydum]

I'd be more impressed if they DIDN'T modify the TCP stack, and used the PUBLIC Internet. Internet2 is far from a real production network. I'm sure if I ran 40,000 miles of fiber and interconnected two idle routers and modified my TCP stack to handle massive window sizes and other tweaks, I could get nearly the full line rate, at twice the distance.

Re:But...

[presarioD]

But can they beat a station wagon full of backup tapes (or DVDs or whatever) yet?

Hmmm, let's see: Let's have maximum capacity DVD's at 9GB and for the sake of this exercise let's say the station wagon's capacity is 1000 DVDs so we have 9000GB moving around. Let's say the 20,000 mile distance will be covered at top speed (breaking speed limits in all states) at 100miles/h that results in 200 hours of deliverance time so:

station wagon data speed = 9000 GB / 200 hours = 45 GB / hour = 0.0125 GB / sec = 0.1 Gbit / sec

Nope the Japanese win!

Re:But...

[Anonymous Coward]

What's the power rating of the entire network path they took? Including point 1 plus point 2 plus every router on the way, I'd like to see how the kWh consumed of this transmission compares to the kWh consumed on the datawagen (using biodiesel or veggie oil of course). If the datawagen were 100% plug-in electric, what would its terabit-per-second-watt come out to? Interesting questions, all. I'd do the math myself, but don't feel like looking up the data :)

size of a byte, and storage capacity of the net

[rmelton]

With simple assumptions and google calculator

c / 9.08e9 bits per second =
    the speed of light / (9.08e9 (bits per second)) = 0.264134324 m / Byte

20000 miles / (c / 9.08e9 bits per second) =
  (20 000 miles) / (c / (9.08e9 (bits per second))) = 116.212843 megabytes

So bytes are 26 centimeters long, and the network holds 116MB in transit.