The VISTAnet Gigabit Network Testbed

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of the VISTAnet gigabit testbed. VISTAnet is one of a number of “gigabit” test beds organized by the Corporation for National Research Initiatives. The initial application of VISTAnet will be interactive 3-dimensional (3-D) rendering of medical images for radiation treatment therapy planning for cancer patients. The testbed will link a Cray Y-MP supercomputer with a specialized, massively parallel, image processing system and a graphical workstation to form what we expect to be the fastest visualization system in the world. One of the goals of VISTAnet is to show that networks based on rapidly emerging public network standards can satisfy the goals of an envisioned National Research and Education Network (NREN). Hence this network is being designed such that it will be substantially compliant with emerging Broadband ISDN standards. Remote computing systems will be interconnected through a broadband network combining broadband Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and circuit switching systems. The network will feature interfaces operating at 622 Mb/s and a backbone fiber link operating at 2.4 Gb/s. Current plans are for the network to begin its operational phase in the middle of 1992.