VBNS
Encyclopedia
The very high-speed Backbone Network Service (vBNS) came on line in April 1995 as part of a National Science Foundation
(NSF) sponsored project to provide high-speed interconnection between NSF-sponsored supercomputing
centers and select access points in the United States. The network was engineered and operated by MCI Telecommunications
under a cooperative agreement with the NSF.
NSF support was available to organizations that could demonstrate a need for very high speed networking capabilities and wished to connect to the vBNS or later to the Abilene Network
, the high speed network operated by the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID, aka Internet2
).
By 1998, the vBNS had grown to connect more than 100 universities and research and engineering institutions via 12 national points of presence with DS-3
(45 Mbit/s), OC-3c (155 Mbit/s), and OC-12c (622 Mbit/s) links on an all OC-12c, a substantial engineering feat for that time. The vBNS installed one of the first ever production OC-48c (2.5 Gbit/s) IP links
in February 1999 and went on to upgrade the entire backbone to OC-48c.
In June 1999 MCI WorldCom introduced vBNS+ which allowed attachments to the vBNS network by organizations that were not approved by or receiving support from NSF.
The vBNS pioneered the production deployment of many novel network technologies including Asynchronous Transfer Mode
(ATM), IP multicast
ing, quality of service
, and IPv6
.
After the expiration of the NSF agreement, the vBNS largely transitioned to providing service to the government. Most universities and research centers migrated to the Internet2
educational backbone.
In January 2006 MCI
and Verizon merged. The vBNS+ is now a service of Verizon Business
.
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
(NSF) sponsored project to provide high-speed interconnection between NSF-sponsored supercomputing
Supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
centers and select access points in the United States. The network was engineered and operated by MCI Telecommunications
MCI Communications
MCI Communications Corp. was an American telecommunications company that was instrumental in legal and regulatory changes that led to the breakup of the AT&T monopoly of American telephony and ushered in the competitive long-distance telephone industry. It was headquartered in Washington,...
under a cooperative agreement with the NSF.
NSF support was available to organizations that could demonstrate a need for very high speed networking capabilities and wished to connect to the vBNS or later to the Abilene Network
Abilene Network
Abilene Network was a high-performance backbone network created by the Internet2 community in the late 1990s. In 2007 the Abilene Network was retired and upgraded network was known as the "Internet2 Network".-History:...
, the high speed network operated by the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID, aka Internet2
Internet2
Internet2 is an advanced not-for-profit US networking consortium led by members from the research and education communities, industry, and government....
).
By 1998, the vBNS had grown to connect more than 100 universities and research and engineering institutions via 12 national points of presence with DS-3
Digital Signal 3
A Digital Signal 3 is a digital signal level 3 T-carrier. It may also be referred to as a T3 line.*The data rate for this type of signal is 44.736 Mbit/s.*This level of carrier can transport 28 DS1 level signals within its payload....
(45 Mbit/s), OC-3c (155 Mbit/s), and OC-12c (622 Mbit/s) links on an all OC-12c, a substantial engineering feat for that time. The vBNS installed one of the first ever production OC-48c (2.5 Gbit/s) IP links
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
in February 1999 and went on to upgrade the entire backbone to OC-48c.
In June 1999 MCI WorldCom introduced vBNS+ which allowed attachments to the vBNS network by organizations that were not approved by or receiving support from NSF.
The vBNS pioneered the production deployment of many novel network technologies including Asynchronous Transfer Mode
Asynchronous Transfer Mode
Asynchronous Transfer Mode is a standard switching technique designed to unify telecommunication and computer networks. It uses asynchronous time-division multiplexing, and it encodes data into small, fixed-sized cells. This differs from approaches such as the Internet Protocol or Ethernet that...
(ATM), IP multicast
IP Multicast
IP multicast is a method of sending Internet Protocol datagrams to a group of interested receivers in a single transmission. It is often employed for streaming media applications on the Internet and private networks. The method is the IP-specific version of the general concept of multicast...
ing, quality of service
Quality of service
The quality of service refers to several related aspects of telephony and computer networks that allow the transport of traffic with special requirements...
, and IPv6
IPv6
Internet Protocol version 6 is a version of the Internet Protocol . It is designed to succeed the Internet Protocol version 4...
.
After the expiration of the NSF agreement, the vBNS largely transitioned to providing service to the government. Most universities and research centers migrated to the Internet2
Internet2
Internet2 is an advanced not-for-profit US networking consortium led by members from the research and education communities, industry, and government....
educational backbone.
In January 2006 MCI
MCI Inc.
MCI, Inc. is an American telecommunications subsidiary of Verizon Communications that is headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia...
and Verizon merged. The vBNS+ is now a service of Verizon Business
Verizon Business
Verizon Business is one of three operating units of Verizon Communications It was created in 2006 when Verizon Communications closed on its merger with MCI, Inc..Verizon Business has over 30,000 employees with 321 offices in 75 countries...
.