Xnet Mission:  Provide a venue to showcase bleeding-edge, developmental networking technologies and experimental networking applications.

Xnet (eXtreme Net) is the leading edge, network technology development showcase at SC - the International Conference for High Performance Computing and Communications. Every year, the SCinet staff meets the challenge to design and implement the world's leading state-of-the-art production network. The SCinet exhibit floor network has evolved into a robust, high-performance, production-quality network that Exhibitors, users and attendees depend on for reliable local area, wide area, and commodity network service. Consequently, it has become increasingly difficult for SCinet to showcase bleeding edge, potentially fragile technology. In this environment, OEMs have been reticent about showcasing bleeding-edge hardware in SCinet, as it became a mission critical, production network.

Xnet provides the solution to this dichotomy by providing a venue which is by definition bleeding-edge, pre-standard, and in which fragility is understood. Xnet provides OEMs and researcher exhibitors an opportunity to showcase emerging network equipment or capabilities, prior to their general commercial availability.

Xnet debuted in Portland, OR at SC'99, where Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology was used in the implementation of OC-48 SONET rings on the conference show floor. At SC2000, Xnet demonstrated pre-production and early delivery 10-Gigabit Ethernet equipment connecting several exhibit floor booths. The SC2001 Xnet expanded the impact of 10 Gigabit Ethernet using equipment from several vendors and using 10 Gigabit Ethernet in several Bandwidth Challenge Applications. In Baltimore at SC2002, with 10-Gigabit Ethernet a commodity and the telecom industry focusing on survival, Xnet took a sabbatical. In 2003, Xnet returned with a focus on adaptive switching technologies. In 2004, Xnet will focus on GMPLS protocol demonstrations and the next step in the SONET hierarchy, OC-768. There will also be a panel discussion entitled "Beyond 10 Gigabit Ethernet" held in conjunction with Xnet.

SCinet and Xnet are actively seeking OEMs and Exhibitor partners who are positioned to display their research networking technologies and applications in Phoenix this November. Candidate technologies being sought for SC2004 include synchronous interface technologies, all optical switching, GMPLS protocol implementations, and OC-768.

For those OEMs and Exhibitors with technologies that are candidates for Xnet participation, we will work with you to integrate your network research applications so that you can demonstrate your technology and gather test data. Interested parties should contact SCinet representatives at xnet@scinet.supercomp.org.