CASE STUDY

LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY HARNESSES THE CLOUD TO CREATE A NEW GENERATION OF NETWORK ENGINEERS
Summary
Company: Loughborough University Industry: Education Challenge(s): Provide students with realistic operational experience on a scale that cannot be matched using a physical laboratory Provide researchers with access to real router code to help them resolve long-term, large-scale problems with routing on the Internet Offer more diverse experience by utilizing technology from both major networking vendors Selection Criteria: Create a physical and virtual lab environment that gives students and researchers access to network infrastructure which is a true reflection of how things work in the real world. Network Solution: Juniper Networks Junosphere Classroom Results: Cost effectively provided students with direct experience using real network equipment that can scale to real-world levels Improved its reputation by becoming the rst computer science faculty in the UK to offer the use of both physical and virtual hardware Delivered graduates better prepared for the workplace Improved realism and accuracy of research ndings

Overcoming Physical Limitations

Loughborough University strives to provide top quality computer science and networking graduate and postgraduate programs. It also conducts cutting-edge research that delivers reliable results and innovative new product opportunities to market that have been tested in the real world. The University had a physical laboratory, with 24 routers, that provided a valuable facility for both education and research, but was limited in its ability to scale to provide authentic experience and analysis. As one of the first universities in the U.K. to establish a computing department, Loughborough has been educating computing and networking engineers for more than 35 years. To maintain its reputation and to continue to provide a high standard of education, the lecturing team wanted a solution that would enable them to be the first computer science department in the UK to give students access to both physical and virtual networking infrastructure.

Offering Unique Experience

Paying their own university fees has made students of English universities more selective, and they are looking for courses that represent the best value for their money. In computer science, this means courses that provide hands-on practical experience, courses that equip them with tools and skills valued by future employers, and courses that prepare them for the workplace and for building and managing the Internet of the future. Loughborough University wanted to offer something unique within its networking curriculum, something that competing universities didnt offer. Other universities offer either physical or virtual environments, but no one else was providing both.

Delivering a Higher Class of Graduate

Learning network operating systems and protocols effectively requires a huge amount of hands-on training and practical application. The networking laboratory at Loughborough University has provided students with real experience on real technology for the last few years, enabling them to reinforce theory with practical experience. A physical laboratory, however, has its limitations as Iain Phillips, senior lecturer at Loughborough University explained. We believe that you need at least three routers to teach anyone about routing, so our 24 routers gave us eight groups, which was still a relatively small number. We wanted our engineers to learn how to build the Internet of the future and we could never have enough physical equipment in one lab to do this. Existing approaches that simulate networks using software models lacked key functionality and could not reliably provide a realistic operational experience. The University also wanted to broaden the experience of its graduates by offering access to technology from the two most prevalent vendors of routing technology.

Real Code: Real Results

From a research perspective, having access to real router code is critical to being able to deliver credible, accurate research ndings that are a true reection of how things will work in the real world. The University conducts many theoretical research projects on behalf of Internet service providers (ISPs), looking at long-term, large-scale problems with routing on the Internet, which the ISPs are unable to resource. Loughborough University also conducts theoretical work to identify future new product opportunities for ISPs. The research teams traditionally relied on simulation tools like ns-2, which can behave differently to the real code and skew the results, or even give false results, said Olaf Maennel, a lecturer at Loughborough University. We needed access to real router code that we could legally use as part of our large-scale research projects without coming up against licensing restrictions.

To create a highly realistic lab experience, Loughborough used the optional Junosphere Connector application to enable the interconnection of existing physical routers (from a different vendor) to the Junos OS routers running within Junosphere Classroom. In this manner, the University was able to pioneer the use of a single, multi-vendor network topology using a mix of physical and virtual elements. Junosphere Classroom provides university researchers with a virtual environment where they can create and run realistic large-scale networks and use these to examine what-if scenarios, conduct network modelling, and solve problemsall using the same Junos that powers Juniper routing, switching and security platforms. By introducing Junosphere Classroom, we are now able to offer our students experience in technology from both market-leading networking vendors, which we see as a very positive step, explained Maennel. The students found Junos much easier to use than the incumbent, and it was so intuitive that they were able to get up and running on Junosphere Classroom quickly with no formal training.

By introducing Junosphere Classroom, we are now able to offer our students experience in technology from both market-leading networking vendors which we see as a very positive step. The students found the Junos OS much easier to use than the incumbent, and it was so intuitive that they were able to get up and running on Junosphere Classroom with no formal training.
- O laf Mannael, Lecturer, Loughborough University

Cost-Effective Scalability
Junosphere Classroom provides Loughborough University with the scalability it was lacking in its physical laboratory without the need to invest in costly networking equipment. Networks in its virtual environment can be quickly scaled up or down, and are capable of scaling to hundreds or thousands of nodes, enabling a level of scale and accuracy not possible with physical or simulation approaches. The virtual, cloud-based approach also means that Loughborough University only pays for the routers when it needs them; physical routers have to be purchased and may only be used for a fraction of the typical course. Being one of the first computer science departments to offer experience in both physical and virtual hardware, Loughborough University is in a unique position to attract more students as well as a higher caliber of graduate for its postgraduate course. In terms of graduate employment, it can supply better prepared graduates with real-world skills and experience in both of the major networking solutions on the market. Junosphere Classroom is also enabling the University to conduct research that benefits the Internet and enables ISPs to implement solutions to problems earlier on. It is the only product that allows researchers to run real router code in a simulated environment and as such is radically improving the credibility and quality of the research findings. Junosphere Classroom provides our students with direct experience with real network equipment in a cost-effective, flexible, and highly scalable manner, and it gives our research findings unparalleled realism and accuracy, said Phillips.

Head in the Cloud

It was at this time that Loughborough University became aware of Juniper Networks Junosphere Classroom, a first of its kind solution that could provide the University with a cloud-based networking environment, one where students and researchers could create and operate elements and networks running the Juniper Networks Junos operating system. Junosphere Classroom allows the University to educate students on routing protocols, networking concepts, and security paradigms by creating virtual networking labs that provide them with hands-on access to additional networking technology, using just an Internet connection, without the expense of expanding the physical lab. Junosphere Classroom has enabled the University to increase the number of routers it has available to students, and the interoperability between the existing physical labs and virtual resources lets them work with both physical and virtual hardware on the same projects. We can now give our students three physical routers and an unlimited number of virtual routers giving us the scale that we were lacking previously. Being an early adopter of Junosphere Classroom put us in a unique position, and we were one of the first computer science faculty in the UK to combine the use of physical and virtual hardware on its education and research programs, said Phillips.

Junosphere Classroom provides our students with direct experience with real vendor systems in a cost effective, flexible, and highly scalable manner, and it gives our research findings scale and accuracy not often found in hardware test labs.
- I ain Phillips, Senior Lecturer, Loughborough University

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3520431-001-EN Feb 2013

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