ESnet Opens National Dark Fiber Testbed for GreenTouch Testing

The U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) will be made available to GreenTouch members to conduct energy efficiency network research.


ESnet is a national dark fiber testbed network linking thousands of DOE scientists to each other and to international collaborators. The testbed is a key component of Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Networking Initiative (ANI), a program created through a $62 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investment to develop the next generation scientific network in the U.S.


The GreenTouch Consortium is a global research initiative dedicated to dramatically improving network energy efficiency. The group has set a long-term goal of a 1000-fold improvement in network energy efficiency.


"For GreenTouch members to achieve our goal of drastically improving network energy efficiency by 2015, we will have to rapidly develop, test, and demonstrate new technologies," said Gee Rittenhouse, chairman of the GreenTouch Consortium and newly named COO of Alcatel-Lucent Software, Services and Solutions. "The dark fiber and testbed that ESnet is making available to our member organizations can significantly accelerate the cycles of network research and innovation."

“ESnet’s national dark fiber testbed, we believe, represents the first large-scale resource for energy efficiency research for networks, and we hope will provide a platform for other forthcoming initiatives,�? said Inder Monga, Area lead, Research and Services at ESnet. “We are excited by the possibilities this resource can bring to accelerating work in this important research field. We welcome proposals from the community to leverage the dark fiber that we hope will lead to new technologies that can fulfill the goals GreenTouch is driving towards.�?http://www.greentouch.org