You are here : 
Calls & Context
LONG
Laboratories Over Next Generation Networks
Abstract
LONG aims to foresee and solve problems related to the design and deployment of Next Generation Networks and Advanced user applications.
LONG is focused in IPv6, since this protocol is expected to become part of Next Generation Networks. LONG experiments cover Network Access Systems (ADSL, CATV, ISDN) and Transport Technologies (ATM, POS, GbE) as well as IPv6 nodes (hosts, routers).
To achieve a complete study, LONG also includes studies and tests related to advanced network services (Mobility, Multicast...), end-user IPv6 applications (CSCW, Videoconference) and IPv4-IPv6 Transition Mechanisms.
Objectives
The first LONG's objective is to deploy a Next Generation Test-bed where IPv6 protocol can be studied and tested over different access and transport technologies.
Advanced Network services are studied and tested in order to validate the integration of them together with the IPv6 protocol.
IPv4-IPv6 transition mechanisms are studied and tested to incorporate transition scenarios and solutions in the LONG test-bed.
Finally a relevant end-user application or a set of them are to be migrated during the project, producing a set of guidelines about porting applications to IPv6 and mixed IPv4-IPv6 scenarios.
LONG Distributed IPv6 Test-Bed Platform
Technical Approach and Test-Bed
In order to achieve all LONG objectives, the following items are to be studied and tested: IPv6 study and equipment selection, Access and Transport systems, Transition Mechanisms, Advanced Network Services, End-user services, CSCW applications porting.
All partners work alone at the beginning for each item, generating documentation with a detailed description, standardisation status and basic installation and configuration of the selected implementation. Then, these technologies are installed in some partners premises including them in the LONG test-bed, to perform trials and experiments.
The first relevant milestone has been connecting all IPv6 partner's networks obtaining a first release of the LONG test-bed. The following step has been setting up some basic network services: DNS, routing protocols (BGP) and develop and install network monitoring tools.
The following step was to include in the network end-user services: WEB server, FTP server, Mail and News services connected to current Internet mail system, LDAP server including LONG participants information, IRC service, etc. The connectivity of these IPv6 servers with IPv6 & IPv4 clients, and even other IPv4 servers, will naturally demand the installation of the Transition Mechanisms studied and tested first by each partner (stand-alone tests).
In parallel with all this work, ISABEL CSCW (collaborative work) IPv4 application is used from the beginning of the project to perform most of LONG meetings using temporally an IPv4 broadband infrastructure (needs 2 Mbps for multivideoconference).
One main task of LONG project is to port ISABEL software to IPv6 and generate application porting and migration guidelines. Once ISABELv6 is tested enough, the objective is to re-design the IPv6 LONG Test-bed (using GÉANT or other broadband services/projects) to perform LONG meetings using ISABELv6 over the permanent project IPv6 infrastructure.
The stable IPv6 project Test-Bed is showed in the figure: the different access systems, user service's servers and client hosts appear to be connected to a single "IPv6 LONG Network". This is a representation of the distributed platform. The current infrastructure corresponds to it in the following manner:
- Central LONG IPv6 network: is a network of IPv6 subnets, each subnet is placed in each partner's premises.
- Array of IPv6 servers/clients: they are distributed among all partners premises.
- IPv4 Network and IPv4 servers/Clients: composed by all IPv4 test networks where each partners install IPv4 clients/server to test transition scenarios.
Trials and Experiments are performed over this stable platform.
Applications
LONG will provide guidelines and conclusions related to the integration and end-user orientation of several IPv6 based applications.
The main usefulness of the project will be derived from the results and conclusions obtained in the trials and experiments to be done once the stable IPv6 platform is ready.
Innovation
The most innovation characteristics of LONG project are:
- Integration: IPv6, different access & transport systems, transition scenarios, advanced services and applications are tested to integrate all them in a single platform.
- Practical orientation: i.e. not all combinations of transition mechanisms and transition scenarios are studied: The transition mechanisms are only introduced in the stable platform when needed by the network/user services (IPv4/IPv6 clients/host interaction).
- End-user orientation: All elements in the stable test-bed are introduced to provide benefits for user/network services.
- Project name:
- LONG: Laboratories Over Next Generation Networks
- Contract no:
- IST-1999-20393
- Project type:
- RTD
- Start date:
- 01 /12 /2000
- Duration:
- 24 months
- Total budget:
- 2,082,912 €
- Funding from the EC:
- 1,073,077 €
- Total effort in person-months:
- 233.3
- Website:
- http://long.ccaba.upc.es/
- Contact person:
- Mr. Carlos Ralli Ucendo
- email: ralli@tid.es
- tel: +34 913374563
- fax: +34 913374502
- Project participants:
- Ericsson/Telebit - DK
- PT Inovacao - PT
- Telefonica I+D - ES
- UC3M - ES
- UEV - PT
- UPC - ES
- UPM - ES
- Keywords:
- IPv6
- Network-Services
- Transition-Mechanisms
- CSCW-Applications
- Collaboration with other EC funded projects:
- 6NET
- Euro6IX