January 2004




Soo PoP connected
Work on the ORION PoP in Sault Ste. Marie will be completed this week. Users, including Sault College, will now be able to connect to the network, says ORION Project Director Sam Mokbel. The network node is among the last to connect to the ORION backbone. Although the network equipment had already been installed and tested, the remaining portion of the work, which involved installation of equipment at several of the repeater stations along the network route, has now been completed. The Timmins PoP is the last node on the network to be connected and Mokbel expects work to be completed within weeks.

New traffic maps show growing ORION use
ORION's new online traffic map is giving a first-hand look at the growing volume of ORION's production traffic. The new map, accessible now on ORION's web site, allows the viewer to examine current, daily, weekly and yearly traffic at each PoP specific institution. The maps reveal growing traffic on the network as more institutions get connected. The new tool, designed and developed by ORION's Technical Support Specialist Tyson Vickers, offers regional views of the production traffic, with several options for consulting specific aspects of the traffic. "The maps give us an immediate, detailed look at the network, in a format that is intuitive," he said. "This type of reporting is crucial to understanding the flow of data throughout the network, in order to predict and respond to change in a proactive way." "I like it a lot," says Roger Watt, Group Director, Systems at the University of Waterloo. "It is an elegant way to portray that information." Bill St. Arnaud, CANARIE's Senior Director, Advanced Networks is also impressed with the new resource. "It's excellent," he said. "It will be very helpful for ORION users to diagnose problems and see traffic trends on the network." The maps can be viewed on the ORION Technical Page at http://tech.orion.on.ca.

ORION offers IP Multicast capability
ORION is also now offering multicast service to its users. Multicast is now enabled on ORION border and distribution routers, says ORION's Senior IP Engineer, Shahid Ajaz. Multicast allows the broadcast of data from one location to multiple sites, while conserving bandwidth. This will enable ORION-connected institutions to use multicast for video conferencing and distance learning.

ORION signs Internet peering agreements
ORION has signed several peering agreements with a number of Internet providers to provide better connectivity between ORION users and the companies' customers. ORION, which has a one-gigabit Ethernet to the Toronto Internet Exchange (TORIX), has negotiated a number of agreements, which provide for the interconnection of, and exchange of network traffic with other providers. "That's good news for institutions hoping to connect to ORION, and it increases the value proposition for our network," says Randy Neals, Senior Manager of Strategic Partnerships. ORION currently has agreements with up to 20 ISPs.

New incentive to sign-up for Internet
Cogent, one of ORION's Internet suppliers is offering a "first month free" incentive program for ORION-connected institutions that sign up for 100Mb service before Feb 27 2004. Cogent pricing is $1,000 per month for each 100Mb of bandwidth. ORION users with a VLAN connection are able to connect directly to commercial Internet providers of their choice, giving them access to a highly competitive Internet marketplace. Cogent and Telus were selected as the transit providers for the ORION Shared Internet Service, following an RFP for Internet Transit.


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