Defense Research and Engineering Network
Encyclopedia
The Defense Research and Engineering Network (DREN) is the United States Department of Defense
’s research and engineering computer network
. It is a major component of the DoD High Performance Computing Modernization Program
. The DREN is a high-speed, high-capacity, low-latency
nation-wide computer network
for computational
scientific research, engineering
, and testing in support of DoD's Science & Technology and Test & Evaluation communities. The DREN connects scientists and engineers at the HPCMP's geographically dispersed High Performance Computing (HPC) user sites, including the four DoD Supercomputing Resource Centers—Army Research Laboratory
, Engineer Research and Development Center, Naval Oceanographic Office
, Air Force Research Lab—along with more than 150 distributed centers like other government laboratories, test centers, universities, and industrial locations . The sites connected by DREN services may be at virtually any location in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.
The DREN Wide Area Network
ing (WAN) capability is provided under a commercial contract, currently awarded to Verizon's Business Network Services. It has been awarded in the past to AT&T
and MCI/WorldCom
. The DREN WAN service provider has built DREN as a virtual private network based on its commercial infrastructure. It currently supports IPv4
and IPv6
at bandwidths from DS-3 (45 Mbit/s) at some user sites up to Optical Carrier
-48c (2.488 Gbit/s) and 10 Gigabit Ethernet LAN drops at selected High Performance Computing Centers. The DREN provides digital, imaging, video, and audio data transfer services between defined service delivery points (SDPs) categorized by WAN bandwidth access; supported network protocols—Multi Protocol Label Switching, Internet Protocol
, or Asynchronous Transfer Mode
(ATM); and local connection interfaces.
Expansions or enhancements to the DREN as a whole are accomplished through the addition of defined service delivery points or modifications to the operating specifications of existing ones.
In 2003, it was designated the Department of Defense's first IPv6
network by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks & Information Integration
.
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
’s research and engineering computer network
Computer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
. It is a major component of the DoD High Performance Computing Modernization Program
High Performance Computing Modernization Program
rightThe High Performance Computing Modernization Program is a program within the United States Department of Defense started in 1993 to modernize the U.S. military's supercomputing infrastructure...
. The DREN is a high-speed, high-capacity, low-latency
Latency (engineering)
Latency is a measure of time delay experienced in a system, the precise definition of which depends on the system and the time being measured. Latencies may have different meaning in different contexts.-Packet-switched networks:...
nation-wide computer network
Computer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
for computational
Computational
Computational may refer to:* Computer* Computational algebra* Computational Aeroacoustics* Computational and Information Systems Laboratory* Computational and Systems Neuroscience* Computational archaeology* Computational auditory scene analysis...
scientific research, engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, and testing in support of DoD's Science & Technology and Test & Evaluation communities. The DREN connects scientists and engineers at the HPCMP's geographically dispersed High Performance Computing (HPC) user sites, including the four DoD Supercomputing Resource Centers—Army Research Laboratory
Army Research Laboratory
The Army Research Laboratory is the U.S. Army's corporate research laboratory. ARL is headquartered at the Adelphi Laboratory Center in Adelphi, Maryland. Its largest single site is at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland...
, Engineer Research and Development Center, Naval Oceanographic Office
Naval Oceanographic Office
The Naval Oceanographic Office , located at John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi, comprises approximately 1,000 civilian, military and contract personnel responsible for providing oceanographic products and services to all elements within the Department of Defense.Valued by maritime...
, Air Force Research Lab—along with more than 150 distributed centers like other government laboratories, test centers, universities, and industrial locations . The sites connected by DREN services may be at virtually any location in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.
The DREN Wide Area Network
Wide area network
A wide area network is a telecommunication network that covers a broad area . Business and government entities utilize WANs to relay data among employees, clients, buyers, and suppliers from various geographical locations...
ing (WAN) capability is provided under a commercial contract, currently awarded to Verizon's Business Network Services. It has been awarded in the past to AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
and MCI/WorldCom
MCI Inc.
MCI, Inc. is an American telecommunications subsidiary of Verizon Communications that is headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia...
. The DREN WAN service provider has built DREN as a virtual private network based on its commercial infrastructure. It currently supports IPv4
IPv4
Internet Protocol version 4 is the fourth revision in the development of the Internet Protocol and the first version of the protocol to be widely deployed. Together with IPv6, it is at the core of standards-based internetworking methods of the Internet...
and IPv6
IPv6
Internet Protocol version 6 is a version of the Internet Protocol . It is designed to succeed the Internet Protocol version 4...
at bandwidths from DS-3 (45 Mbit/s) at some user sites up to Optical Carrier
Optical Carrier
Optical Carrier transmission rates are a standardized set of specifications of transmission bandwidth for digital signals that can be carried on Synchronous Optical Networking fiber optic networks...
-48c (2.488 Gbit/s) and 10 Gigabit Ethernet LAN drops at selected High Performance Computing Centers. The DREN provides digital, imaging, video, and audio data transfer services between defined service delivery points (SDPs) categorized by WAN bandwidth access; supported network protocols—Multi Protocol Label Switching, Internet Protocol
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
, or 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); and local connection interfaces.
Expansions or enhancements to the DREN as a whole are accomplished through the addition of defined service delivery points or modifications to the operating specifications of existing ones.
In 2003, it was designated the Department of Defense's first IPv6
IPv6
Internet Protocol version 6 is a version of the Internet Protocol . It is designed to succeed the Internet Protocol version 4...
network by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks & Information Integration
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks & Information Integration
The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks & Information Integration provides management and oversight of all DoD information technology, including national security systems...
.
See also
- CANARIECANARIECANARIE is a Canadian government-supported non-profit corporation, founded in 1993, which maintains a set of leased wide area network links for the transfer of very large data files. The core network consists of 19000 km of fibre optic cable capable of speeds as high as 100 Gbps but...
- DANTEDANTEDelivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
- Energy Sciences NetworkEnergy Sciences NetworkThe Energy Sciences Network is a high-speed computer network serving United States Department of Energy scientists and their collaborators worldwide. It is managed by staff at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory....
- High Performance Wireless Research and Education NetworkHigh Performance Wireless Research and Education NetworkThe High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network is a network research program, funded by the National Science Foundation. The program includes the creation, demonstration, and evaluation of a non-commercial, prototype, high-performance, wide-area, wireless network in its Southern...
- Internet2 NetworkAbilene NetworkAbilene 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:...
- NASA Research and Engineering NetworkNASA Research and Engineering NetworkThe NASA Research and Engineering Network is a nationwide Wide Area Network which connects selected NASA centers and peers with other high-performance network test-beds. It enables NASA scientists, engineers, and researchers to reach their partners within other federal agencies and academia.The...