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The National Research and Education Network Program
A Report to Congress
December 1992
Submitted by the Director
Office of Science and Technology Policy
in response to a requirement of
The High Performance Computing Act of 1991
(P.L. 102-194)
Table of Contents
Section Page
Executive Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.1. Purpose of the NREN Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2. Conceptual Architecture of NREN . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.3. Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.4. Current Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2. Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.1. Federal Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2. Communications Service Vendors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.3. Information Service Vendors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.4. Network Service Providers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.5. Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3. Transition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.1. A Model for Evolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.2. Implementation of NREN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.2.1. NSF's Interagency Interim NREN
implementation plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.2.2. DOE's/NASA's Interagency Interim NREN
implementation plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.3. Commercial Use of the NREN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.3.1. Information products and services. . . . . . . . 20
4. Protection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.1. Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.2. Protection of Copyrights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.3. Security and Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.4. Security of the NREN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5. Constituencies and Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5.1. Broadening the Availability of Network Information
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.2. Computer Industry Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.3. Expanding the Vision for Education . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5.4. Plans and Mechanisms to Address Significant
Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5.4.1. Ownership. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.4.2. Operation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.4.3. Acceptable use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.4.4. Fair competition for network services. . . . . . 28
5.4.5. Interoperability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5.4.6. Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.4.7. Copyright protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.4.8. User base. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Appendix A. Management/ Coordination of the HPCC Program . . . . . 32
A.1. Management/Coordination of the NREN Program. . . . . . . 33
A.2. Federal Networking Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
A.3. FNC Working and Ad Hoc Task Groups . . . . . . . . . . . 36
A.4. Agency NREN Program Management Responsibilities . . . . 37
A.5. Interagency Interim NREN Requirements and
Implementation: Coordination Process. . . . . . . . . . 42
A.6. Public Interaction and Advisory Bodies . . . . . . . . . 44
Appendix B. Current NREN Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
B.1. Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
B.2. Scope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
B.3. Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
B.4. Current NREN Program Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Appendix C. Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
List of References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Executive Summary
This is a report on the National Research and Education Network
(NREN) Program required by the High Performance Computing Act of
1991 (P.L. 102-194). Six specific issues are to be addressed:
~ effective mechanisms for providing operating funds for the
maintenance and use of the Network, including user fees,
industry support, and continued Federal investment;
~ the future operation and evolution of the Network;
~ how commercial information service providers could be
charged for access to the Network, and how Network users
could be charged for such commercial information services;
~ the technological feasibility of allowing commercial
information service providers to use the Network and other
federally funded research networks;
~ how to protect copyrights of material distributed over the
Network; and
~ appropriate policies to ensure the security of resources
available on the Network and to protect the privacy of users
of networks.
It is useful to group these questions according to three themes:
funding, transition and protection, and the report is organized
along these lines. However, before these questions can be
addressed, the purpose and nature of NREN need to be explained
with clarity.
Purpose of the NREN Program
The NREN Program is one of the four principal components of the
interagency program on High Performance Computing and
Communications (HPCC). The primary purpose of the NREN Program
is to establish a gigabit communications infrastructure that will
dramatically enhance the ability to collaborate among members of
the research and education community. In order to establish such
an infrastructure, networking technologies have to be developed
and services from common carriers and other communications
service providers must be made available in this development
effort. Furthermore, the process of establishing the NREN Program
will provide an unprecedented opportunity to catalyze the
development of a general purpose high speed communications
infrastructure for the nation. Ultimately, the NREN Program
1
cannot be cost effective or realize its full potential without
such a development. Thus, the NREN Program has a series of
synergistic goals:
~ establishing a gigabit network for
the research and education
community and fostering its use;
~ developing advanced networking
technologies and accelerating their
deployment;
~ stimulating the availability, at a
reasonable cost, of the required
services from the private sector;
and
~ catalyzing the rapid deployment of
a high speed general purpose
digital communications
infrastructure for the nation.
To achieve these goals, the NREN Program is divided into two
parts:
~ the Gigabit Research and Development component;
and
~ the Interagency Interim NREN component.
As its name implies, the former is an R&D program designed to
develop needed technologies. The latter is a coordinated program
to support an operational network that will, in stages, realize
the primary goal of the NREN Program, viz., to establish a
gigabit network for the research and education community. Since
the questions that we are to address all pertain to the
operational network, we shall henceforth in this document use the
term NREN, when not followed by the word "program," as an
abbreviation for the Interagency Interim NREN.
Nature of NREN
To address the issues required of this report, it is necessary to
understand two important characteristics of NREN. First, it is a
logical, not physical, entity. It is best understood as a
collection of interlinked nodes operating under specific rules
for moving information along the links. The logical network is
realized by purchasing transport services from network service
vendors. How the vendors implement the services through hardware
using cable and switches or bulk purchase of transport services
2
>from other vendors, should be transparent to the users and the
administrators of NREN. Thus, for example, whether non-NREN
traffic uses the same physical medium as NREN traffic is not an
NREN issue, unless such traffic affects the operational
characteristics of NREN as a logical entity.
A second important characteristic of NREN is that it is a
hierarchy of networks. At the top of the hierarchy, NREN's
components are backbone networks, each of which is itself a
network of networks (called midlevels and regionals) connected to
a common communications trunk (backbone). The major components of
NREN are national agency backbone networks: NSFnet of NSF; ESnet
of DOE; NSI of NASA; and TWBnet of DOD. The agencies' NREN
backbones are high speed networks that will eventually attain
gigabit speed. The backbones in NREN will be interconnected
through a set of nodes known as the network access points (NAPs).
Any backbone, whether or not serving research and education
purposes, can be connected to the NAPs. The backbone networks
have a high degree of autonomy and each can impose its own local
rules and restrictions. It is the policy of NREN, however, that
restrictions should be based on traffic characteristics and not
on the source or destination of such traffic. With this
formulation, we can define "NREN proper" as composed of a
collection of agency backbone networks plus a set of associated
NAPs. NREN-in-the-large will also include any backbone network
connected to one of the NAPs.
The architecture of NREN described above is designed to create a
synergy between the twin purposes of NREN: to establish a high
speed network for research and education while catalyzing and
accelerating the development and deployment of a national
communications infrastructure.
Funding
Establishing and maintaining a composite gigabit backbone made up
of the Federal agency backbones, including NAPs, are currently
the responsibility of the Federal Government. It does not mean,
however, that the Federal Government should bear the "full
freight" for either the initial backbone implementation or
ongoing backbone maintenance and operation. It is expected that
pricing of the initial establishment will reflect some shared
investment with industry and the ongoing operation will require a
charge for transport and connectivity services to the network
providers, who may then pass charges to the end-users.
Federal funds will pay for the operations of the agency networks
that make up NREN. These funds will also support users that serve
Federal missions whether or not they access NREN through the
agency networks.
3
Both common carriers and other service providers have provided
direct support for the development of network technologies, and
are expected to share the cost of the initial establishment of
the high speed backbone by providing services at a rate lower
than supporting NREN as the sole customer. Such cost-sharing
would represent an early investment by the communications
industry in the networking market.
Information service vendors will contribute to bearing the cost
of operating NREN through connectivity and transport fees mainly
through network providers, and in turn will charge the users
directly for the information services provided. The architecture
of NREN is intended to facilitate such funding arrangements.
End users of NREN must go through some network service provider,
either under contract with an agency or as a commercial service.
The network service vendor will charge a connectivity fee and a
subscription fee and possibly traffic dependent fees which will
then be used to pay connectivity (NAP and backbone) and transport
charges.
Transition
The architecture of NREN is designed to foster flexible
evolution. NREN is a federation of networks at different levels
of a hierarchy. At the top level of this hierarchy are the
backbone networks which will be interconnected through the NAPs.
Adding new backbone networks to NREN is readily accommodated,
subject only to the capacity of the NAPs and the cost of
connecting to them. Each backbone network is a network of
networks connected to a common backbone. A backbone network is
semi-autonomous and can impose its own restrictions. However,
such restrictions will be based on traffic characteristics, not
source or destination of network traffic.
NREN can grow indefinitely by adding new backbone networks and
additional NAPs. Furthermore, if the same architecture is adopted
for a national general purpose network, then NREN can be readily
integrated without change. What constitutes "NREN proper" will
then be a small sub-collection of the backbone networks plus a
subset of the NAPs which it shares with other backbone networks
or other "federations" of networks.
NREN, being a federation of networks, will have segments that
restrict use. Agency backbones are restricted to uses related to
agency missions. The NSFnet backbone is restricted to uses
related to research and education. Some regionals also have
similar restrictions. NREN restrictions only require that the
traffic support research and education. Commercial traffic,
whether for profit or not, that meets this condition is
unrestricted. Furthermore, even commercial traffic unrelated to
4
research and education could use the NREN NAPs to access backbone
networks of any variety that wish to connect to these NAPs.
Thus, NREN in its largest sense can indeed carry commercial
traffic, and the establishment of NREN will play a major role in
fostering the development of general purpose high speed networks.
Protection
Most of the protection issues concerning NREN are not new. They
exist for communications systems that are accessible to the
public in general. It is important that protection policies and
mechanisms developed for NREN be consistent with those that
already exist. Wherever possible, it is useful to seek models
that apply to NREN, or can be generalized to apply to NREN. For
example, the "common carriage" model fits the role of network
providers in many ways. The time tested rules and
responsibilities applied to common carriers may well be
appropriate to network providers.
With the exception of performance capabilities, high speed
digital networks are not inherently different from telephone
networks, or any other point-to-point switched communications
system. It may be a sound principle to adhere to the rules
applicable to such systems, unless it can be demonstrated that
the change in speed renders a particular rule ineffective or
inappropriate.
The technical mechanism appropriate to protect copyright of
material distributed over the Network is as yet unclear.
Electronic information is much easier to copy and transmit than
paper. Fewer identifying markings which show the source of the
information exist or are retained in electronic copies. In
addition, legal issues arise. For example, is the government, as
a supporter of the Network, liable for the improper use of
copyrighted material received via or transmitted over the
Network? Current legal precedent for access to and protection of
copyrights of material accessed via modems over telephone lines
does not assign legal responsibility to enforce copyrights to the
common carriers whose lines are used. The fair use of
copyrighted materials, a feature of the Copyright Act and
essential to scientific research, is an example of a concern that
combines technical and legal issues. So too, technical means to
ensure copyright protection on the NREN must provide for fair
use, as must any legal arrangement.
Appropriate policies to ensure the security of resources and the
privacy of users are addressed via four policy areas. First, the
Federal Networking Council (FNC) has coordinated the development
of a draft NREN security policy. A second aspect of security is
the responsible and proper use of Network resources. Thus, the
FNC also has been developing, in consultation with the non-
5
Federal communities, an Appropriate Use Policy. In addition,
P.L. 102-476 broadens the NSF's organic act and authorizes the
NSF to foster and support access by the research and education
communities to computer networks, which may be used substantially
for purposes in addition to research and education in the
sciences and engineering, if the additional uses will tend to
increase the overall capabilities of the networks to support such
research and education activities.
The Computer Security Act specifies a third policy requirement to
ensure security of resources and protection of privacy. That Act
requires each agency to create computer security plans for
Federal computer and telecommunications systems which process or
transmit sensitive, unclassified information. It also requires
security and awareness training of Federal employees and
contractors who use sensitive Federal computer and
telecommunications systems. These activities, while not presented
in this document, are separately reported by each agency through
its Information Resources Management activity.
Finally, protection of users' privacy is provided for, to some
extent, by the Privacy Act. That Act governs access to
information about individuals maintained by Federal agencies that
is contained in "systems of records," as defined by the Act. In
addition, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act protects
Network communications from unlawful interception.
Encryption is an effective means for providing basic data
security. As such, it is relevant to all the protection problems
related to NREN.
Management and Status
The NREN Program is one of the four principal components of the
interagency program on High Performance Computing and
Communications (HPCC). All eight participating agencies of HPCC
(DOC, DOD, DOE, ED, EPA, HHS, NASA, NSF) also participate in
NREN. USDA and DOI are also participants in NREN. Management of
NREN is distributed, with each agency implementing its own
portion of the overall program. Coordination of HPCC is through
the High Performance Computing, Communications, and Information
Technology (HPCCIT) Subcommittee of the Federal Coordinating
Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (FCCSET) and the
recently established National Coordination Office (NCO) for the
HPCC Program. Donald A. B. Lindberg, M.D., the Director of the
National Library of Medicine, is currently the Director of the
NCO and the Chairman of the HPCCIT subcommittee.
In addition to the coordination and management structure that
exists for HPCC as a whole, the operational aspects of NREN have
required special interagency coordination. This is done through
the Federal Networking Council (FNC) which was established by NSF
6
in its capacity as leader of the working group on networking
within HPCCIT.
A detailed description of the management and coordination
structure for NREN is given in Appendix A.
NREN is an evolving system that combines operational capabilities
with technology development in a dynamic environment. A detailed
description of its current operational status is given in
Appendix B.
7
1. Introduction
This report responds to the High Performance Computing (HPC) Act
of 1991 (P.L. 102-194) which, in Title I, Section 102, requires
that the Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy
(OSTP), within one year after enactment of the HPC Act of 1991,
report to Congress on the National Research and Education Network
(NREN, also referred to as the Network) regarding:
(1) effective mechanisms for providing operating funds for the
maintenance and use of the Network, including user fees,
industry support, and continued Federal investment;
(2) the future operation and evolution of the Network;
(3) how commercial information service providers could be
charged for access to the Network, and how Network users
could be charged for such commercial information services;
(4) the technological feasibility of allowing commercial
information service providers to use the Network and other
federally funded research networks;
(5) how to protect copyrights of material distributed over the
Network; and
(6) appropriate policies to ensure the security of resources
available on the Network and to protect the privacy of users
of networks.
It is useful to group these questions according to three themes:
funding, transition and protection, and our report will be
organized along these lines. However, before these questions can
be addressed, the purpose and nature of NREN need to be explained
with clarity. Therefore, we begin with a statement on the
purpose of the NREN and an explanation of its conceptual
architecture.
1.1. Purpose of the NREN Program
The NREN Program is one of the four principal components of the
interagency program on High Performance Computing and
Communications (HPCC). The primary purpose of the NREN Program
is to establish a gigabit communications infrastructure that will
dramatically enhance the ability to collaborate among members of
the research and education community.[1] In order to establish such
an infrastructure, networking technologies have to be developed
and services from common carriers and other communications
service providers must be made available in this development
effort. Furthermore, the process of establishing the NREN Program
will provide an unprecedented opportunity to catalyze the
8
development of a general purpose high speed communications
infrastructure for the nation.[2] Ultimately, the NREN Program
cannot be cost effective or realize its full potential without
being a part of a national infrastructure. Thus, the NREN Program
has a series of synergistic goals:
~ establishing a gigabit network for
the research and education
community and fostering its use;
~ developing advanced networking
technologies and accelerating their
deployment;
~ stimulating the availability, at a
reasonable cost, of the required
services from the private sector;
and
~ catalyzing the rapid deployment of
a high speed general purpose
digital communications
infrastructure for the nation.
To achieve these goals, the NREN project is divided into two
parts:
~ the Gigabit Research and
Development component, and
~ the Interagency Interim NREN
component.
As its name implies, the former is a research and development
program designed to develop needed technologies. Examples of
broad research problems that may be addressed in gigabit
networking include network stability (i.e. the behavior of
message traffic flow), network response, and network management.[3]
The latter goal is a coordinated program to support an
operational network that will, in stages, realize the primary
goal of the NREN Program, viz., to establish a gigabit network
for the research and education community. Since the questions
that we are to address all pertain to the operational network, we
shall henceforth in this document use the term NREN, when not
followed by the word "program," as an abbreviation for the
Interagency Interim NREN.
1.2. Conceptual Architecture of NREN
To address the issues required of this report, it is necessary to
understand two important characteristics of NREN. First, it is a
logical, not physical, entity. It is best understood as a
collection of interlinked nodes operating under specific rules
9
for moving information along the links. The logical network is
realized by purchasing transport services from network service
vendors. How the vendors implement the services through hardware
using cable and switches or bulk purchase of transport services
>from other vendors, should be transparent to the users and the
administrators of NREN. Thus, for example, whether non-NREN
traffic uses the same physical medium as NREN traffic is not an
NREN issue, unless such traffic affects the operational
characteristics of NREN as a logical entity.
A second important characteristic of NREN is that it is a
hierarchy of networks. At the top of the hierarchy, NREN's
components are backbone networks, each of which is itself a
network of networks (called midlevels and regionals) connected to
a common communications trunk (backbone). The major components of
NREN are national agency backbone networks: NSFnet of the
National Science Foundation (NSF); ESnet of the Department of
Energy (DOE); NSI of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA); and TWBnet of the Department of Defense
(DOD). The agency backbones are high speed networks that will
eventually attain gigabit speed. The backbones in NREN will be
interconnected through a set of nodes known as the network access
points (NAPs). Any backbone, whether or not serving research and
education purposes, can be connected to the NAPs. The backbone
networks have a high degree of autonomy and each can impose its
own local rules and restrictions. It is the policy of NREN,
however, that restrictions should be based on particular traffic
characteristics and not on the source or destination of such
traffic.
In contrast, subnets that connect strategically secure sites
and/or provide classified, agency mandated services will not be
connected to NAPs. Rather they will be connected only via a
Federal information interchange node.
1.3. Management
The NREN Program is one of the four principal components of the
interagency program on High Performance Computing and
Communications (HPCC). All eight participating agencies of HPCC
(Department of Commerce, DOD, DOE, Department of Education,
Environmental Protection Agency, Health and Human Services, NASA,
and NSF) also participate in NREN as agreed upon within the High
Performance Computing, Communications, and Information Technology
(HPCCIT) Subcommittee of the Federal Coordinating Council for
Science, Engineering and Technology (FCCSET) Committee on
Physical, Mathematical, and Engineering Sciences (PMES). In
addition to these agencies, the Department of Agriculture and the
Department of the Interior are also participants in NREN.
Coordination of the HPCC Program is provided through the chairman
10
of the HPCCIT Subcommittee and the staff of the recently
established National Coordination Office (NCO). Management of
NREN is distributed, with each agency implementing its own
portion of the overall program.
As cited in "A Report to Congress on Computer Networks to Support
Research in the United States," the various government networking
activities touch a significant segment of the U.S. academic
research community.[4] In addition to the coordination and
management structure that exists for HPCC as a whole, the
operational aspects of NREN have required special interagency
attention. This is done through the Federal Networking Council
(FNC) which was established by NSF in its capacity as leader of
the working group on networking within HPCCIT. These elements,
along with industry, are members of an Advisory Committee to the
FNC.
A detailed description of the management and coordination
structure for NREN is given in Appendix A.
1.4. Current Status
NREN is an evolving system that combines operational capabilities
with technology development in a dynamic environment. A detailed
description of its current operational status is given in
Appendix B.
11
2. Funding
2.1. Federal Role
As cited in the proceedings of the EDUCOM Workshop on the NREN by
the EDUCOM Networking and Telecommunications Task Force, "a
continued high level of Federal investment in the development and
pre-commercial use of advanced network facilities and services is
absolutely essential to a national strategy for
competitiveness."[5] Establishing and maintaining a composite
gigabit backbone, including NAPs, are currently the
responsibility of the Federal Government. It does not mean,
however, that the Federal Government should bear the "full
freight" for either the initial backbone implementation or
ongoing backbone maintenance and operation. It is expected that
pricing of the initial establishment will reflect some shared
investment with industry and the ongoing operation will require a
charge for transport and connectivity services to the network
providers, who may then pass charges on to the end-users.
Federal funds will pay for the operations of the agency networks
that make up "NREN-proper." Federal funds will also support
users that serve federal missions whether or not they directly
access NREN through the agency networks.
2.2. Communications Service Vendors
Both common carriers and service providers have provided direct
support for the development of network technologies, and are
expected to share the cost of the initial establishment of the
high speed backbone by providing services at a rate lower than
that which would be required if NREN were the sole customer. Such
cost-sharing would represent an early investment by the
communications industry in the networking market.
2.3. Information Service Vendors
Information service vendors will contribute to bearing the cost
of operating NREN through connectivity and transport fees charged
network providers, and in turn will charge the users directly for
the information services provided. The architecture of NREN is
intended to facilitate such funding arrangements.
2.4. Network Service Providers
End users of NREN must go through some network service provider,
either under contract with an agency or as a commercial service.
The network service vendor will charge a connectivity fee and a
subscription fee and possibly traffic-dependent fees which will
then be used to pay connectivity (NAP and backbone) and transport
charges.
12
2.5. Summary
Funding sources for the operation of NREN can be summarized as
follows:
Interagency: fund advanced network research
fund collaborative and shared
NREN operational activities
Individual Agencies: fund agency backbone networks
and their evolution to
gigabit speeds
fund NREN user serving agency
missions
Communications Industry: invest in underlying physical
plant
develop transport services
support technology development
invest in initial deployment
Information Service Vendors: develop information service
pay fee for connectivity and
transport
Users: pay network subscription
pay connectivity charge
pay user charge for
information service
13
3. Transition
3.1. A Model for Evolution
The architecture of NREN is designed to foster its flexible
evolution. NREN is a federation of networks at different levels
of a hierarchy. At the top level of this hierarchy are the
backbone networks which will be interconnected through the NAPs.
Adding new backbone networks to NREN is readily accommodated,
subject only to the capacity of the NAPs and the cost of
connecting to them. Each backbone network is a network of
networks connected to a common backbone. A backbone network is
semi-autonomous and can impose its own restrictions. However,
such restrictions will be based on traffic characteristics and
not the source or destination of such traffic.
NREN can grow indefinitely by adding new backbone networks and
additional NAPs. Furthermore, if the same architecture is
adopted for a national general purpose network, then NREN can be
readily integrated without change. What constitutes NREN will
then be a sub-collection of the backbone networks plus a subset
of the NAPs which it shares with other backbone networks or other
clusters of networks.
NREN, being a federation of networks, will have segments that
restrict use. Agency backbones are restricted to uses related to
agency missions. The NSFnet backbone is restricted to uses
related to research and education. Some regionals also have
similar restrictions. NREN restrictions only require that the
traffic support research and education. Commercial traffic,
whether for profit or not, that meets this condition is
unrestricted. Furthermore, even commercial traffic unrelated to
research and education could use the NAPs to traverse those
networks that are unrestricted. Thus, NREN in its largest sense
can indeed carry commercial traffic, and the establishment of
NREN will play a major role in fostering the development of
general purpose high speed networks.
3.2. Implementation of NREN
The CSPP Report, "Expanding the Vision of High Performance
Computing and Communications: Linking America for the Future,"
underscores the importance that government policies and programs
have on the protocols used in future networks, and that these
efforts must be coordinated to meet the goal of network
interoperability.[6] The Interagency Interim NREN Program is an
integrated program that combines the separate Federal agency
networks and related technology developments into a consolidated
multi-faceted national network system that builds on each
agency's strengths. The Interagency Interim NREN provides
14
interoperability between the agencies' separate networking
services in a seamless manner (e.g., via Federal Internet
eXchanges - "FIXes") in order to achieve end-to-end connectivity
for the Nation's researchers and educators. A joint DOE/NASA
project is aimed at accelerating the commercial availability of
high performance "cornerstone" technologies and services for more
focused applications, while a related NSF effort emphasizes the
scope of applicability of such services and infrastructure. It
is the coordinated integration of these two complementary
endeavors that will best serve the research and education
communities as a holistic program. Indeed these efforts were
endorsed by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and
Technology.[7] As such, major Interagency Interim NREN activities
and plans - the NSF's and the joint DOE/NASA's projects - are
outlined below.
3.2.1. NSF's Interagency Interim NREN implementation plans
The NSF implementation approach separates (1) the provision of
Network Access Points (NAPs); (2) the operation of the Routing
Arbiter (RA); and (3) organizations to provide very high speed
Backbone Network Services (vBNS). The NSF has made public a
draft version of its proposed solicitation and has requested and
received numerous comments on this document.[8] The NSF
architecture also takes into account major existing network
components such as regional networks and network service
providers for which NSF solicitations are not required. The two
NSF solicitations are due to be awarded in mid-1993.
The NSF has explicitly designed the next generation Interagency
Interim NREN architecture to allow increased access, greater
interoperability, and adherence to standards for all subscribers
to the NREN--requirements established by the HPCC Program and
recommended by the CSPP.[9] Service providers will have the
ability and experience to provide value-added services for both
the original TCP/IP protocol and the CLNP protocol as described
in the Government Open Systems Interconnection Profile (GOSIP),
which the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
has specified for government acquisitions in a Federal
Information Processing Standard (FIPS).
Network Access Point and Routing Arbiter
The "Network Access Point" (NAP) is a key feature of NSF's
Iagencies and commercial service providers to interconnect and
interoperate with networks of their choice, as well as the
NSFNET, ESNet and NSI. This enables commercial service providers
to offer competitively priced services to both commercial and R&E
customers and will engender a larger set of capable and
competitive service providers than could be developed under
Federal funding alone. The NAPs will also provide the capability
15
for interconnecting networks of dissimilar services (e.g. SMDS,
ATM, DS3, DS1), and dissimilar speeds (1.5 Mb/s, 45 Mb/s, 155
Mb/s, 622 Mb/s, etc.). This feature is crucial for addressing
the needs of scalable and evolutionary network architectures and
for providing the mechanism for smooth transition to a national
research and education gigabit network by 1996. These are timely
concerns as gigabit class technology will begin to be deployed in
prototype lower speed versions in 1993, with continuing
escalation of performance and qualitative services as it moves
towards production status. The NAPs, in conjunction with network
customers, will incorporate a minimal set of standard routing
protocols and use a standardized methodology for routing and
transit of packets in the NREN.
The stability of the network is ensured by the prudent and
careful maintenance and upkeep of the network-wide routing
databases. This function is currently performed by MERIT for the
NSFNET and in the new architecture will be the responsibility of
the Routing Arbiter. The Routing Arbiter, who is excluded from
serving as a network service provider, will initially be
centralized to ensure the stability of the network during its
transition phase. However, the Routing Arbiter function needs to
evolve into a distributed and delegated system as soon as
possible in order to realistically address the expected growth
and complexity of networks, and to enhance the opportunities for
commercial service providers to interoperate among themselves and
with the research and education community. The separation of the
administration and implementation of the routing database from
the actual switching of packets will make the introduction of
differing services easier while maintaining the stability of the
routing database.
Backbone Service Provider
The third element of the architecture of the next generation
NSFNET Backbone Services is a very high speed Backbone Network
Services (vBNS) Provider to establish and maintain a vBNS which
will be connected to all NAPs and all of whose NSFNET vBNS
traffic must be in compliance with the NSF Acceptable Use Policy
(AUP). In the tradition of NSFNET, the vBNS Provider will be
expected to demonstrate leadership in the development and
deployment of high performance data communications networks.
Initially (Spring, 1994), it is expected that the vBNS will
operate at a speed of 155 Mb/s (OC-3). The vBNS provider will be
expected to raise the speed during the lifetime of the agreement
with the NSF to 622 Mb/s (OC-12) or higher as technology permits
and demand warrants. This component of the architecture will:
provide for high speed interregional connectivity; enable
distributed computing applications; enable multimedia
applications such as visualization, collaboration, and distant
16
learning; and, promote the development and deployment of advanced
routing technologies.
For reliability, all networks involved in NREN service
provisioning must adhere to and support a basic set of
operational and administrative capabilities. The NAPs will be
required to be as fault tolerant as possible and all networks
assisted by the NSF, including the R&E regional networks, will
need to enhance and extend their operational capabilities in
order to realize this goal.
3.2.2. DOE's/NASA's Interagency Interim NREN implementation plans
The joint DOE/NASA project is designed to address the HPCC/NREN
and other leading edge science requirements of both agencies.
The mission agencies have HPCC goals and objectives that require
high performance access to powerful supercomputers, huge data
repositories, and geographically distributed communities of
science investigators. Thus DOE and NASA focussed on an
Interagency Interim NREN architecture which will use commercial
cell-relay services to increase transmission speeds from the
current 1.5 Mb/s to 45 Mb/s, with initial deployment early in
1993. Transitions to higher speeds including 622 Mb/s second
will be made when such services become commercially available,
agency budgets permitting. Deployments of these high performance
technologies will be systematically engineered by DOE and NASA
networking experts in close collaboration with industry and the
research community. Through such collaborations with router
vendors and communications carriers, DOE and NASA can evaluate
cell relay technologies on an early availability basis and can
stimulate development and deployment of cell-relay products and
services, thereby providing strategic advantages for the U.S.
telecommunications industry in the world marketplace.
DOE and NASA will be spearheading the technology evaluation and
deployment of cell relay services and protocols at the Open
Systems Interconnect (OSI) Layer 2. These Layer 2 services and
virtual private networks (VPNs) allow for greater resource
management, accounting, and control than typically provided by
traditional Layer 3 networks. In addition, DOE and NASA's choice
of Layer 2 services is based on the Broadband ISDN standards
advocated by the telecommunications industry as establishing the
future direction for communications systems. Therefore, DOE and
NASA will be in full accord with the evolving worldwide
telecommunications infrastructure and will be able to
interoperate with the general research and education community as
new telecommunications products and services emerge and become
commercially available.
17
The DOE and NASA networks will initially interconnect at FIXes,
along with the next generation of the NSFNET backbone - which is
itself targeting advances in routing and peering technologies at
OSI Layer 3. These parallel advanced network deployments by NSF
and DOE/NASA are fully complementary, with each approach playing
a vital role in energizing the U.S. telecommunications and
networking industries and creating a seamless interoperable and
interconnected Interagency Interim NREN.
By choosing early availability service offerings and adopting
industry standards, DOE and NASA will satisfy their high speed
HPCC Grand Challenge requirements and also promote the deployment
of marketable products and services for nation-wide consumption.
3.3. Commercial Use of the NREN
Industry involvement in NREN use and development occurs in
several ways. Many U.S. industrial firms have contributed
significant resources to the NREN research program activities.
Some of these firms and others have also provided grants and/or
subsidies to various universities or other research and
educational institutions to support Interagency Interim NREN
connectivity. In addition, many commercial firms now also
participate in the Interagency Interim NREN and thus provide some
funding for NREN connectivity as participants.
There are no NREN restrictions on traffic whose purpose is to
engage in or support R&E consonant with NREN Program goals,
irrespective of whether the source or target of that traffic is
public or private, for-profit or not-for-profit, a commercial or
noncommercial enterprise. Many vendors routinely use the network
to support their R&E customers, and the number of commercial
(for-fee) information providers offering their services over the
network is increasing. On the other hand, use for purposes not
in support of R&E is in general prohibited. Federal NREN funds
are for the support of R&E, not to provide a network for traffic
in support of unrestricted commercial purposes, whether the
source or target of that traffic is public or private, for-profit
or not-for-profit, a commercial or noncommercial enterprise.
There is, however, an administrative issue since commercial
traffic is not entirely excluded from the Internet. In contrast
with Federal agency networks (such as ESnet, NSI, and the NSFNET
Backbone), many regional networks such as NEARNET, SURANET,
WESTNET and others - which collectively provide the vital second
tier (or mid-level) infrastructure to the NREN Program - allow
unrestricted commercial traffic. They offer these unrestricted
commercial services because NSF funding, together with the fees
collected from their R&E clients, is insufficient to support
their service offering to the R&E community. Their commercial
customers allow them to serve economically the R&E community. In
fact, although some regional networks have fee structures that do
not distinguish between commercial and R&E customers, others
deliberately subsidize R&E customers with their commercial
revenues.
18
Although connectivity between the regional networks for
unrestricted commercial purposes is prohibited over the NREN
backbone network components of the Federal agencies, this
connectivity is already provided for the private sector -
primarily by members of the Commercial Internet Exchange, (CIX),
a 501c(6) trade association of private providers of Internet
access and carriage. Fair and equal access of private providers
to regional networks and their customers is offered today at
NSFNET Backbone nodes. In the upcoming competitive solicitation
for NSFNET Backbone facilities, the Backbone architecture has
been specifically designed to achieve full symmetry and equal
access among all backbone networks through "Network Access
Points" (NAPs) open to all.
Private network providers (e.g., CIX members) have an
expectation, which currently is largely realized, of being able
to reach non-R&E customers at low cost using the facilities of
the regional networks via NSFNET Backbone nodes (now) or NAPs
(later). However, some regional networks (e.g., CONCERT, the
network serving the State of North Carolina) are prohibited by
their primary funding agencies (for CONCERT, the state
government) from carrying non-R&E traffic. Reaching non-R&E
customers in regions such as North Carolina where the regional
network prohibits non-R&E traffic is thus more expensive for the
private providers, since they must duplicate at their own expense
existing facilities of the regional network.
The NREN Program policy position on this issue is that such
issues must be worked out between the affected private providers
and those regional networks that prohibit non-R&E traffic.
Federal agencies that provide partial funding for regional
networks (primarily the NSF, but also DARPA and indirectly DOE
and NASA through institution and Principle Investigator funding)
do not interfere in local decisions, and specifically do not
mandate that the regional network restrict traffic.
A basic problem is that the determination as to whether network
traffic is "commercial" or not depends not on the network user,
nor the user's employer, nor on the user's employer's tax exempt
status, but rather on the particular and instantaneous use in
progress. "Labeling" traffic to allow the traffic to be routed
in accord with criteria of acceptable use is one feature of
so-called "Type of Service" (ToS) routing which is not available
in current off the shelf technology, although it is under
vigorous development within the vendor community. Labeling will
also make cost accounting easier. Several proposals offering
different ways to label traffic are currently being considered by
the Federal Engineering Planning Group (FEPG) and the Internet
Architecture Board (IAB - the relevant standards setting body),
but a solution may not be generally deployable in the network for
a year or more.
19
The FNC and its Advisory Committee have deliberated on the issue
of commercialization of the NREN and have agreed to a policy in
this area. The intent is to promote the creation of new,
commercially viable data communications products and services, to
promote the growth of private sector sources, and to encourage
the acquisition of services, as they become generally available,
>from private sector sources.
3.3.1. Information products and services
Among the network's constituents, there are a variety of views
about what information products and services should be accessible
over the Internet. Private providers, naturally, wish for no
restrictions on traffic. The NREN Program policy has been that
at least certain federally funded segments should be restricted:
the NSFNET Backbone should be limited to R&E traffic and the
mission agency networks should be limited to traffic in support
of their respective missions. It is important to understand that
these restrictions are neither on content nor on source, but
rather relate to the intent of the agency mission. Although such
restrictions may be difficult to enforce, it has the salutary
implication that from the point of view of those who desire
broader access to information products and services, that no
information provider (public or private, for free or for fee)
should be denied a connection to the net a priori unless it can
be demonstrated that the information and/or service to be
provided cannot possibly be used for mission support or in
support of R&E. There is the further implication that, in
accessing such providers, the onus is on the end user to use the
information/service only for appropriate purposes.
There is a potential conflict between "carrier" constituents
(e.g., FARNET, CIX) who wish neither responsibility nor liability
for the content of the information on the network and wish to be
treated in this regard as common carriers, and the "provider"
constituents, such as the library and database communities, who
are concerned about preventing copyright violation and the
protection of intellectual property generally. These issues and
views are not unique to the NREN Program. The agencies plan to
participate in and support workshops in this area during FY 1992
and 1993. Technical work will continue as well, primarily as
part of work to ensure the security of Network information.
20
4. Protection
4.1. Principles
Most of the protection issues concerning the NREN are not new.
They exist for communications systems that are accessible to the
public in general. It is important that protection policies and
mechanisms developed for the NREN be consistent with those that
already exist. Wherever possible, it is useful to seek models
that apply to the NREN, or can be generalized to apply to the
NREN. For example, the "common carriage" model fits the role of
NREN network providers in many ways. The time tested rules and
responsibilities applied to common carriers may well be
appropriate to network providers.
With the exception of performance capabilities, high speed
digital networks are not inherently different from digital
telephone networks, or any other point-to-point switched
communications system. It may be a sound principle to adhere to
the rules applicable to such systems, unless it can be
demonstrated that the change in speed renders a particular rule
ineffective or inappropriate.
4.2. Protection of Copyrights
The technical mechanism appropriate to protect copyright of
material distributed over the Network is as yet unclear.
Electronic information is much easier to copy and transmit than
that recorded on paper. Fewer identifying markings that show the
source of the information exist or are retained in electronic
copies. As cited in an Office of Technology Assessment (OTA)
report, "Finding a Balance: Computer Software, Intellectual
Property, and the Challenge of Technological Change," the rapid
pace of technological change in computer hardware and software
contributes to the complexity of this topic.[10] Further, another
OTA report, "Intellectual Property Rights in an Age of
Electronics and Information" states that this technological
paradigm is "outpacing the legal structure that governs the
system, and is creating pressures on Congress to modify the law
to accommodate these changes."[11]
For example, the current legal precedent for access to and
protection of copyrights of material accessed via modems over
telephone lines does not assign legal responsibility to enforce
copyright to the common carriers whose lines are used. The fair
use of copyrighted materials, a feature of the Copyright Act and
essential to scientific research, is an example of a concern that
combines technical and legal issues. There must be a balance
between the rights of copyright proprietors and the rights of the
public. The courts or other legal proceedings will hopefully
recognize that "arguments that equate copyright with royalty
21
income run counter to this principle and might be inconsistent
with the intent of the framers of the Constitution."[12] Any
technical means to assure copyright protection on the NREN must
provide for fair use, as must any legal arrangement.
The agencies plan to participate in and support workshops in this
area during FY 1993. Technical work will continue as well,
primarily as part of work to ensure the security of Network
information. Because consensus has not been reached in this
complex area, implementation of technical measures on the Network
has not yet been scheduled.
4.3. Security and Privacy
A report, "Mathematical Foundations of High Performance Computing
and Communications" to the National Research Council, clearly
recognizes that the security of any national network is of major
concern. Issues of valid user access to the Network and the
information resources, authentication, and integrity of network
connections among collaborating users all require a high level of
security.[13]
Appropriate policies to ensure the security of resources and the
privacy of users are addressed via four policy areas. First, the
FNC has coordinated the development of a draft NREN security
policy. A second aspect of security is the responsible and
proper use of Network resources. Thus, the FNC also has been
developing, in consultation with the non-Federal communities, an
Appropriate Use Policy. In addition, P.L. 102-476 broadens the
NSF's organic act and authorizes the NSF to foster and support
access by the research and education communities to computer
networks, which may be used substantially for purposes in
addition to research and education in the sciences and
engineering, if the additional uses will tend to increase the
overall capabilities of the networks to support such research and
education activities.
The Computer Security Act specifies a third policy requirement to
ensure security of resources and protection of privacy. That Act
requires each agency to create computer security plans for
Federal computer and telecommunications systems which process or
transmit sensitive, unclassified information. It also requires
security and awareness training of Federal employees and
contractors who use sensitive Federal computer and
telecommunications systems. These activities, while not presented
in this document, are separately reported by each agency through
its Information Resources Management activity.
Finally, the privacy protection of users is provided for, to some
extent, by the Privacy Act. That Act governs access to
information about individuals maintained by Federal agencies that
22
is contained in "systems of records," as defined by the Act. In
addition, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act protects
Network communications from unlawful interception. Both these
Acts may need to be updated given the rapid advances in and
proliferation of networking technology.
Information and system security and user privacy can be enhanced
by technical security measures. Tools are available today that
can protect information travelling across the Network.
Encryption may be one approach to securing information that is
transmitted via the NREN and other public networks.
4.4. Security of the NREN
The Federal Networking Council (FNC) is actively investigating
methods for enhancing the security of the NREN. The NSF, in
conjunction with NIST, has sponsored a security workshop on
methods for enhancing the network access and site security for
the NSF supercomputer centers. The results of this workshop are
expected to be applicable to all supercomputer centers and the
sites, scientists, and educators accessing them via the NREN.
These results and techniques are expected to provide a "proof of
concept" and act as a basis for enhancing security for the NREN
and the Internet at large. Other workshops on network security
were held during 1992 by the Department of Energy and by DARPA's
Software Engineering Institute in its role as coordinator for
Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) nationwide. NIST
coordinates and contributes to the development of security
technology, guidelines, and standards that are related to the
NREN component of the HPCC Program. NSA, in its capacity as an
advisor on national security systems, participates in identifying
potential security issues that may arise due to the development
of the NREN Program and conducts research and develops
information security products used to secure and protect national
security systems.
The Federal Networking Council has chartered the Security Working
Group to develop a Security Policy for NREN sponsored networks.
Its charge is to develop a high level policy which; establishes
a common foundation for the development and use of security
services and mechanisms to be used in the NREN Program; defines
the responsibility for security among the users, managers,
administrators, vendors, service providers and overseers of the
NREN; and provides the basis for refining the high level policy
as experience is gained in NREN operation. Public input will be
sought prior to adoption by the FNC and final publication. As
recommended by the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), the
full suite of laws, policies, memorandum of agreements, and
current schema, etc., will be reviewed and evaluated for
potential applicability to implementing an effective NREN
security program.[14]
23
5. Constituencies and Concerns
The ARPANET, the ancestor of the current Internet system and of
NREN, was a continental U.S. network operated on DARPA funding
for a small and relatively homogeneous group of academic and
industrial researchers in the area of information processing
technology. In little more than two decades, the network has
spread beyond the borders of the United States to 39 or more
countries worldwide with usage by - and financial support from -
national governments (including several U.S. Federal Agencies),
supranational entities such as the European Commission and the
United Nations, regional and local governments; small, medium,
large and multinational commercial and industrial businesses;
educational institutions at every level; and private citizens.
Internet's suppliers of network access and carriage have
increased from DARPA's single contractor for the ARPANET, to a
variegated collection of private businesses, both for-profit and
not-for-profit, large (e.g., US Sprint) and small (e.g.,
Performance Systems International), and even the post, telephone,
and telegraph agencies of some foreign governments.
Although the amount of network traffic has grown phenomenally,
even more astonishing is the growth in type and variety of the
traffic. Segments of the Internet with substantial support from
the U.S. Federal Government are subject to restrictions,
typically to usage consistent with the mission of the funding
agency (e.g., "Research and Education", in the case of the NSF).
As noted in section 3.3, some state networks have similar
restrictions, but others recognize the network as a potentially
vital adjunct to commercial activity and industrial development,
and not only allow but encourage network use by business,
commerce, and industry. In Europe, restrictions on the use of
even government funded networks are the exception, rather than
the rule, and use by the commercial sector is substantial.
With the growth in number and type of suppliers, number of users,
and variety of usage, it is not surprising that the unity of
intent and custom that characterized the early and homogeneous
ARPANET has to a degree dissipated, leading to the emergence of a
number of distinct constituencies. Below are discussed several
of the concerns they frequently express with the federally funded
part of the network - particularly the NSFNET Backbone.
Section 5.4 will briefly describe how the newly adopted NSFNET
architecture provides a framework for dealing with the concerns
of these various constituencies in a constructive and equitable
manner.
These concerns cut across the three issue categories introduced
in Section 1 of this report -- Funding, Transition, and
24
Protection -- and the six HPC Act topics. As such they give a
flavor of the complexity of the issues that the evolution of the
Network raises.
5.1. Broadening the Availability of Network Information Sources
The library community is concerned that the libraries function as
channels for users to access information service vendors and
individual agencies providing information from diverse sources at
predictable, economical, and equitable costs.[15] Nearly all
research libraries and some college, public, school, special, and
state libraries are already connected, but no NREN funding has
been targeted specifically for library connectivity. However,
the Department of Education has targeted the nation's public
libraries as access points to its network, SMARTLINE. This is an
example of opportunities that exist to enhance library
connectivity through research and education objectives.
The number and diversity of network accessible information
resources continues to grow rapidly. Many are available without
charge but most undoubtedly will not be. An intermediate
position is that the offerors of for-fee resources make indices
and possibly summaries accessible without fee; this would allow
such automatic search programs as WAIS and others to find the
resources, which should result in increased volume and lowered
cost for all. Other concerns expressed by the information
services industry and specifically by the Information Industry
Association (IIA) include: a) stable pricing mechanisms to access
the network; b) network reliability; c) comprehensive user
directory services; and d) clear mechanisms for settling policy
disagreements.[16]
5.2. Computer Industry Concerns
The Computer Systems Policy Project (CSPP) and other industry
groups cite the need to address interoperability, privacy and
security, standards, the need for an industry voice in policy
setting, and the desirability of wide access. Privacy and
security are being vigorously developed in both the private and
public sectors. Examples include: federally sponsored workshops;
a workshop at Carnegie Mellon University entitled, ~The Fourth
Workshop on Computer Security Incident Handling~; and an industry
led initiative on privacy enhanced electronic mail sanctioned by
the Internet Architecture Board. Internet standards are adopted
by a formal procedure after community comment and demonstrated
interworking among independent implementations. The standards
setting process is the most open in the telecommunications
industry. The resulting standards are open and nonproprietary,
and they are in widespread use, insuring interoperability the
world over. The NREN will acquire, as appropriate and when
viable, the ISO protocol standards as identified by the GOSIP
25
Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS), and provisions
for interworking the GOSIP and TCP/IP protocol suites are being
made.
The Federal Networking Council Advisory Committee (FNCAC),
provides a channel for industry inputs into NREN policy.
Representatives of the telecommunications and computer industries
are members of the FNCAC. All meetings of the FNCAC have been
open to the public, and special interest groups (including
industry representatives) have participated.
5.3. Expanding the Vision for Education
EDUCOM members and others wish assurances that the higher
education community have a voice in policy, advocating that the
network support services for higher education and research. They
are concerned about the lack of apparent incentives for the
participating Federal Agencies to invest in common network
infrastructure rather than mission specific facilities. They
feel there is also a need to examine a vision of the NREN beyond
HPCC. Just as in the case of the CSPP, the formal channel for
EDUCOM's influence on policy is the FNCAC. Currently, higher
education is represented on the FNCAC both institutionally by
EDUCOM staff and other members. The NSF supported a September
1992 workshop in Monterey on NREN Policy sponsored by the
Computer Research Association, EDUCOM, and the IEEE to help
develop a consensus on major NREN policy issues.
In addition, the FNC has created an Ad Hoc Task Group (see
Appendix A.3 (5)) to develop a report on the issues and to
prepare a plan to support educational requirements within the
constraints of the HPCC budgets and capabilities.
5.4. Plans and Mechanisms to Address Significant Issues
This section summarizes plans and mechanisms for addressing
several significant issues related to the NREN Program. These
policy issues cut across many constituencies and are discussed
here as separate topics. Many of these topics have no final
solution yet, but progress is being made on all of them. The FNC
invites public comment on many of these through its FNCAC as well
as through public forums such as the NREN Policy workshop in
Monterey sponsored by EDUCOM, Computing Research Association
(CRA), and the IEEE-USA Committee on Communications and
Information Policy. In many instances, the Federal networking
coordination has proven to be an effective means to advance
experimental services while progressing towards a fairer
resolution of various policy issues. This section illustrates
the policy issues and details the progress being made. In
addition, public meetings and workshops will continue to be held
to clarify these issues and to build consensus for approach or
coordination.
26
5.4.1. Ownership
All networks in the NREN Program are value-added overlays on the
nation's privately owned telephone network's fabric of switches,
fibre optic and copper lines, and microwave links. Mission
agency participants in NREN such as DOE and NASA own a small
amount of networking hardware, such as routers and network
monitoring workstations. The NSF does not own any network
hardware or systems as it obtains network services through
assistance grants. The grant holder or their subcontractors, if
any, hold title to any equipment. DoD operates TWBnet and
DARTnet through subcontractors. that are part of the NREN
Program. These ownership and operational relationships allow the
mission agencies to maintain access to advanced network services
in order to satisfy critical mission requirements. The FNC is
developing a policy statement regarding "Transition to Commercial
Services" which deals with the ongoing evolution of the
networking infrastructure and ownership.
5.4.2. Operation
There is important ongoing cooperation between several agency
members of the Federal Internet community in the FNC Engineering
and Operations Working Group. The ESNET (DOE) and NSI (NASA)
networks are operated by government and contractor staffs at DOE
and NASA facilities, respectively, with policy and programmatic
oversight provided by agency headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The NSF, in Washington, provides overall policy and guidance for
the NSFNET (Backbone + regionals) project, but does not operate
any networks. The regional networks are operated by independent
business entities, some of which receive assistance grants for
their purposes from the Foundation. The NSFNET Backbone network
is provisioned by Merit, Inc., through a Cooperative Agreement
with the NSF. Merit subcontracts operations to Advanced Network
and Services, Inc. (ANS) a nonprofit corporation. The five year
Cooperative Agreement was awarded in November, 1987 after
competitive solicitation and panel review. Under this Agreement,
Merit deployed 1.5 megabit per second (T1) services and is in the
process of deploying 45 megabit per second (T3) services which
will be accessible to all NSFNET Backbone clients by the end of
1993. The T3 development entails design, implementation and
experimentation with hardware and software for storing, routing
and dispatching traffic. In 1991, the National Science Board
authorized the Foundation to seek an extension of the Cooperative
Agreement for a period not to exceed eighteen months, in order to
allow time for another competitive solicitation for a follow-on
Agreement, and for "overlap" time to allow an orderly transition
if needed. This subsequent NSF solicitation involves a process
that includes a period of months for public comment on a draft
solicitation; approval of a final solicitation by the National
Science Board of NSF; issuance of the solicitation in early 1993;
27
competitive peer review of an award by the Summer of 1993; and
start of operations of a new Backbone by Spring 1994.
5.4.3. Acceptable use
An NREN services Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) policy is now in
draft for comment from Federal and external parties. It is
anticipated that an NREN AUP will be finalized within a year.
Each Federal agency will also implement an AUP policy on their
own networks that is in line with their mission and objectives.
There is also P.L. 102-476 that broadens the NSF's organic act
and authorizes the NSF to foster and support access by the
research and education communities to computer networks which may
be used substantially for purposes in addition to research and
education in the sciences and engineering, if the additional uses
will tend to increase the overall capabilities of the networks to
support such research and education activities.
Apart from such a legal broadening of the NSF charter, the NSF
solicitation for the next phase in network technology development
and deployment ("Request for Public Comment: Solicitation
Concept", NSF, June, 1992) calls for an industrial partner to
provide Network Access Points (NAPs) which will be AUP-free. The
existing backbones, ESNet, NSI and NSFNET, will have no
privileged access to the NAPs, but they are expected to continue
interconnecting via the FIXes. Each interested vendor (network
service provider or regional network) may connect to one or more
NAPs (for a fee) and provide whatever network services are deemed
profitable and useful. However, as before, commercial traffic on
the new incarnation of the NSFNET backbone will be limited to
services that enhance R&E.
5.4.4. Fair competition for network services
The Backbone Network System of the Interagency Interim NREN is
emerging as a set of technology driving and precompetitive
service offerings including the advanced ATM services being
acquired by DOE for use of ESnet and the NSI, and the OC-3
service that is the subject of the NSF solicitation. Although
mission agencies may for a time continue directly to operate
critical portions of the Interagency Interim NREN, direct Federal
funding of commodity services is minimized. As such the
marketplace for competitive offerings by the private sector will
not be distorted by Federal involvement. In particular, future
NSF funding of mid-level networks will not in general be for the
purpose of subsidizing the provision of commodity services in
competition with private businesses.Such funding will be for
enhanced services such as white and yellow pages directories, and
outreach to K-12 schools and other nontraditional communities
(e.g., Public Health Service clinics on reservations). In the
solicitation for NSFNET Backbone Services, the proposed
28
restriction that the Routing Arbiter and NAP Operator may not
also be a network service provider ensures that the NAPs provide
a "level playing field" for the private sector.
Moreover, in the new competitive solicitation for the NSFNET
Backbone, the NSF will centrally fund only a precompetitive 155
(or greater) Mb/s national Backbone. The Backbone will be
accessible through several "Network Access Points" (NAPs) which
will be implemented as Acceptable Use policy-free facilities to
which regional networks and private network providers may, for a
fee, attach and exchange both routing information and packet
traffic. Regional networks will be given grants to attach by
acquiring NAP-connectivity competitively from private network
providers, or by leasing circuits and equipment (and paying the
NAP attachment fee) to manage NAP connectivity themselves.
The NAP-based architecture guarantees equal access to all
"retail" providers of network service (i.e., private providers
and regional networks) to each provider's customers in full
competition for unrestricted traffic exchanges. Equal access to
the high speed NSFNET Backbone for R&E traffic is available to
all networks attached to the NAPs. The NAPs provide a consistent
and symmetric view of the networking world to both the high speed
backbone and to a private provider who attaches to all the NAPs.
5.4.5. Interoperability
The FNC Engineering and Operations Working Group has proven to be
an effective mechanism to insure interoperability. The agencies
have worked together following DARPA~s introduction of important
standards for network protocols and routing procedures. The NSF
and other Federal Agencies have followed this lead and have
aggressively promoted the use of these methods as de facto
standards. The de facto standards originally developed by DARPA
(embodied in documents known as "Requests for Comment", or
"RFCs") are openly accessible at no charge electronically over
the Internet or on paper for the cost of reproduction and
postage. This policy of ready availability has encouraged small
and medium sized businesses in the U.S. and abroad to enter the
networking business. The effort has been largely successful in
this respect and has had a major impact not only domestically,
but also internationally.
In those cases where different protocols are used by networks
that must meet and exchange traffic, "application layer gateways"
are used to perform the necessary conversions. The benefits and
limitations of this technology are well understood and the
necessary hardware and software are available from commercial
vendors. For example, gateways between the two open standards
based electronic mail systems (CCITT's X.400 and the Internet
standard RFC822) are maintained at the Universities of Michigan
29
and Wisconsin, and in several countries in Europe, and the high
energy physics laboratory CERN in Geneva maintains gateways
between the file transfer protocols of the Internet (ftp), the
International Standards Organization (ftam), and the German
national research network (dfn file transfer).
The Interagency Interim NREN must provide seamless
interoperability to a diverse research and education community
while evolving continuously to achieve its infrastructure
enhancement and technology development goals. In planning NREN's
evolution, the FNC Engineering and Operations Working Group
(EOWG) will need to strike a balance between common carrier
developed telecommunications technologies documented in voluntary
industry standards and more experimental computer network
technologies that may be documented in de facto NREN standards.
Use of voluntary standards is mandated in the FNC's NREN
Transition Policy and in OMB Circular No. A-119, and is a
powerful means of accelerating the deployment of advanced
technologies, such as SONET and ATM, in public networks.
Selective implementation of more experimental technologies is
required to achieve NREN research objectives, and the
documentation of such technologies in de facto standards can
expedite their commercialization and acceptance in public
standards forums.
Aggressive liaison between the EOWG and voluntary
telecommunications standards forums will be required to balance
common carrier and computer network perspectives in shaping the
NREN and its public network counterparts. Liaison with Committee
T1 and CCITT is particularly important because of the strong role
these organizations play in public telecommunications planning.
The EOWG should integrate public network technologies specified
in emerging T1 standards and CCITT Recommendations in NREN when
such initiatives will accelerate their deployment in public
networks or substantially enhance the services provided to NREN
users. The EOWG should provide NREN research results to
voluntary standards organizations whenever such contributions
will substantially benefit public network providers and their
users.
5.4.6. Availability
Network access at 1.5 Mb/s per second or greater is currently
available to all National Laboratories, major DOE academic
contractors, NASA centers and contractors/grantees, and (through
the NSFNET infrastructure) to nearly all universities in the top
four categories of the Carnegie classification. Availability is
being extended both in depth as well as breadth. Service over
the NSFNET Backbone and that specified in the recent DOE award is
increasing to 45 Mb/s per second with planned upgrades to higher
speeds only if funding permits. The NSF Connections Program, and
30
similar programs sponsored by other Federal Agencies, are
extending basic network service to an additional hundred or more
institutions each year. Institutions being connected in the
latter category include medical school campuses (under NIH
sponsorship), and agricultural extension services.
5.4.7. Copyright protection
The problems in protecting and granting fair usage of information
in electronic form are not unique to the NREN. These problems
exist in all forms of electronic exchange of information. The
rights of the creators of information, and the rights of the
library and users of this information need to be balanced. The
FNC will be looking to the legal community to aid in developing
appropriate guidelines.
The fair use of copyrighted materials, a feature of the Copyright
Act essential to scientific research, is an example of a concern
that combines technical and legal issues. Any technical means to
ensure copyright protection must provide for fair use, as must
any legal arrangement.
The agencies plan to participate in and support workshops in this
area during FY 1993. Technical work will continue as well,
primarily as part of work to ensure the security of Network
information. Because consensus has not been reached in this
complex area, implementation of technical measures on the Network
has not yet been scheduled.
5.4.8. User base
The user base, although intended to be limited to the R&E
communities, is extensive and rapidly growing. U.S. efforts also
play an important role in developing network technology world
wide. The Internet can reach a user community estimated to be
between 5 and 10 million, using more than 1 million computers on
7,500 interconnected networks worldwide. The U.S. user community
is easily 1 to 2 million, and has 80% of the host computers. It
should be noted that the R&E communities include commercial and
industrial users and information suppliers, not just users from
the academic and government sectors. Moreover, the Internet's
commercial sector, which includes many U.S. corporations, both
large and small, represents the most rapidly growing segment of
the Internet.
Traffic on the NSFNET Backbone network, in addition to DOE's
ESnet and NASA's NSI network, which together form the principal
large-scale structure of the domestic Internet, is growing at an
exponential rate of 10% per month. The number of accessible
networks is also growing, though not quite as rapidly. Thus,
both the number of users per network and the traffic per user are
growing dramatically.
31
Appendix A. Management/ Coordination of the HPCC Program
This section summarizes the HPCC management and coordination
processes that help implement the NREN activities. Section A.4
and A.5 were developed by the participating agencies and
represent their agreed upon roles and responsibilities in
implementing the NREN Program.
The principal management mechanism of the overall HPCC Program is
coordination. The NREN Program is implemented in the model of
the HPCC Program as a partnership among Federal Agencies and
other organizations. Major portions of the HPCC Program are
cost-shared and leveraged by the participation of industry and
universities. Leadership for the HPCC Program is provided by the
Office of Science and Technology Policy, through the Federal
Coordinating Council on Science, Engineering, and Technology
(FCCSET) Committee on Physical, Mathematical, and Engineering
Sciences (PMES). The membership of PMES includes senior
executives of many Federal Agencies. Planning for the HPCC
Program is coordinated by the PMES High Performance Computing,
Communications, and Information Technology (HPCCIT) Subcommittee.
This process provides for agency participation through agency
proposal development and review, budget crosscut development and
review, and interagency program coordination. Agency programs
are reviewed against a set of evaluation criteria for merit,
contribution, readiness, linkages to industry, and other factors.
The schedules, roles, and responsibilities of the agencies
participating in the U.S. HPCC Program for the planning and
budget process for each fiscal year are outlined in Section A.4.
In accordance with the Federal Budget Process for the HPCC
Program and other crosscut budget activities, member agencies of
PMES must submit to OMB their HPCC budget requests and
supporting documentation, as reviewed by senior agency officials
and the PMES committee. These requests must be described and
justified relative to the goals, objectives, and research
priorities of the HPCC Program. The PMES then develops and
submits to the OMB and PMES member agencies a combined,
integrated, multi-agency budget recommendation that reflects the
goals, objectives, and integrating priorities of the HPCC. PMES
members then submit to OMB their resulting HPCC Program requests
as part of their total fiscal year budget submission.
Under the HPCCIT there are currently four special groups which
coordinate activities in specific areas including; Applications,
Networking, Research, and Education. From time to time,
individual agencies are assigned responsibility to lead the
coordination of the HPCCIT and these groups.
32
The coordinating methods that evolved among the agencies
participating in the HPCC Program produced a consistent and
effective set of managerial mechanisms. In addition, HPCCIT
explored and considered several options for strengthening the
interagency coordination while retaining the strengths of the
current management structure, namely:
~ effective multi-agency budget advocacy;
~ tight coupling with agency programs and missions; and
~ diverse applications, requirements, and technical approaches
to ensure accomplishment of HPCC objectives and technology
transfer.
In response to these needs, HPCCIT has established a permanent
National Coordination Office for the HPCC Program that will
combine the functions of the current HPCCIT Chairman with the
necessary supporting functions of a permanent staff office.
A.1. Management/Coordination of the NREN Program
During 1990, in order to provide for broader and more inclusive
coordination of research and education communities, the NSF, as
part of its HPCCIT network task group activities, created the
Federal Networking Council (FNC) and initiated the creation of an
FNC Advisory Committee (FNCAC) consisting of non-Federal
scientists and network users to serve as an NSF advisory
committee. The FNC is based on the successful model of the
Federal Research Internet Coordinating Committee (FRICC) - an
informal body established by core Federal Agencies in 1987 to
coordinate their networking activities and expenditures. The FNC
consists of representatives from Federal Agencies that have
requirements for operating and using networking facilities,
mainly in support of research and education, and for advancing
the evolution of the Federal portion of the Internet.
First level management of the NREN Program is accomplished
through normal agency structures. Multi-agency NREN coordination
is achieved through the PMES and its HPCCIT subcommittee. The
HPCCIT Networking group, currently led by the NSF, coordinates
network integration activities and works closely with the FNC,
wHPCC participants and other Interagency Interim NREN governmental
constituents, in addition to providing a liaison to non-Federal
communities interested in the Federal program. The FNC and its
Executive Committee set policy and address operational and
management issues through its working groups and ad hoc task
forces. Currently, the chair of the HPCCIT Networking group also
serves as the chair of the FNC, thereby providing the liaison and
coordination necessary between the HPCCIT and the FNC.
Each of the participating agencies has enhanced their HPCC and
NREN management functions. DOE's NREN management is located
33
within the Energy Research (ER) Program's Scientific Computing
Staff, to which the ESnet network manager reports directly on
issues relating to the ESnet and its role in the NREN Program.
NASA's NREN Program management structure is derived from a matrix
organization, in which the Network manager for both NASA's
Scientific and HPCC networks, reports directly to both NASA's
HPCC (Code R) and Science Board (Code S) programs. The NSF has
instituted an HPCC coordinating committee with budget, planning,
and oversight responsibilities. The NSF's NREN Program works
with the NSF HPCC coordinating committee and the NSFNET Executive
Committee on NSFNET and NREN issues. The NSF has created a NREN
Program Director position to handle NREN and interagency issues.
DARPA has created a High Performance Computing Joint Program
Office to coordinate advanced technology development within the
DoD and cooperatively with other agencies. Efforts are clustered
together for more effective administration. For example, the
DARPA/NSF testbeds are jointly overseen by DARPA and NSF, with a
coordinating committee to insure inter-testbed exchanges, annual
jamborees, and the like. As gigabit technology becomes more
widely available and used by multiple agencies, Federal efforts
will be coordinated by working groups under the Research Working
Group of the FNC.
A.2. Federal Networking Council
The Federal Networking Council (FNC) consists of representatives
>from Federal Agencies that have requirements for operating and
using networking facilities, mainly in support of research and
education, and for advancing the evolution of the federally
funded portion of the Internet. The FNC works closely with the
appropriate FCCSET committees to provide a broader forum for
discussion and resolution of networking plans, operations, and
issues.
Specifically, the FNC is responsible for establishing policies
and guidelines to promote coordination among its various
committees and agency program managers. The FNC also guides the
evolution of NREN services to promote U.S. competitiveness as
well as to broaden the community, including commercial
availability.
The FNC chairperson is appointed by the HPCCIT networking task
group chairperson. The duration of the term is normally 18
months. The FNC will operate through an Executive Committee that
will be responsible for decision making and implementation
(generally on a consensus basis), through working groups that
will address ongoing areas of interest or activity, and ad hoc
task groups established to work on specific tasks with set
deadlines.
34
(1) FNC Management and Committee Structure
The FNC structure is explained below.
(2) Federal Networking Council Advisory Committee (FNCAC)
The Federal Networking Council Advisory Committee shall provide
the FNC with technical, tactical, and strategic advice from the
constituencies involved in the NREN Program. Constituencies
include the following: the research and scholarly communities
who are the end users of the networks; organizations that need
connectivity to the NREN; transmission and other facilities
providers; industrial organizations that develop and provide
relevant technology and services; and experts in networking and
computer science who provide technical guidance.
The FNCAC is advisory in nature and shall work on areas of policy
and technical direction and user/program needs and requirements,
excluding budgets and funding. Membership is limited and
meetings of the FNCAC occur at least two times per year. The
FNCAC must draft a charter to be approved by the FNC. FNCAC
members are appointed by the FNC chairperson in response to
recommendations by the FNC. The FNCAC can, with FNC approval,
create subcommittees with open membership to provide assistance
to the FNC on appropriate issues.
(3) FNC Executive Committee
The FNC's Executive Committee comprises representatives of the
participating HPCC agencies with major network initiatives and
others as designated by the FNC chairperson. The Executive
Committee provides support to the FNC chairperson and serves as
primary decision making and implementing body of the FNC to
coordinate with the FCCSET HPCCIT Subcommittee on HPCC crosscut
budgets, plans, and activities. It will also perform annual
reviews of FNC working groups and task groups with regard to
membership, purpose, and continuing need in order to make changes
as appropriate.
The FNC Executive Committee may charge any of the working groups
to perform specific tasks or studies, or create a focused ad hoc
task group with a specific deadline and lifetime to do so, as
deemed necessary to accomplish FNC goals. The FNC Executive
Committee may also request working groups or task groups to
produce or to present reports on specific topics to the FNC
Executive Committee or to the FNC within two weeks of such
requests.
35
A.3. FNC Working and Ad Hoc Task Groups
Working and ad hoc task groups of the FNC address issues that
require interagency coordination or have policy implications.
The working groups are: (1) Engineering and Operations; (2)
Security; (3) Research; and (4) Policy. One ad hoc task group
currently exists for Education. These groups meet as appropriate
to carry out their responsibilities and report regularly to the
FNC. Group membership may include non-Federal employees as
appropriate to provide technical expertise or other required
consultation or coordination. By January 1 of each year, each
working or task group will submit to the FNC a summary document
outlining the accomplishments during the previous year and the
goals for the coming year for activities within their purview.
(1) Engineering and Operations Working Group (EOWG)
The Engineering and Operations Working Group is responsible for
integrating new network technologies into the Interagency Interim
NREN and providing support to the Federal HPCC Program. The EOWG
oversees the ongoing operation of the Federal research and
education portion of the Internet and has overall responsibility
for coordinating the requirements, engineering, and operational
activities, for both domestic and international research and
education requirements, for implementing the Interagency Interim
NREN.
(2) Security Working Group (SWG)
The Security Working Group is responsible for addressing network
security technology, management, and administration issues
related to maintaining and improving the availability, integrity,
and confidentiality of Interagency Interim NREN resources. The
SWG will develop, coordinate, and propose to the FNC a security
policy for use of the Interagency Interim NREN. It will also
review security requirements of the evolving NREN and propose
technical developments, operational guidelines, and
administrative procedures needed to meet them. It will prepare
input to the FNC, as needed, on security related matters. The
SWG will work closely with other organizations developing or
defining security policies, standards, services, and mechanisms
in fulfilling these duties.
(3) Research Working Group (RWG)
The Research Working Group is responsible for coordinating
research and development activities in network technologies. The
Research Working Group will coordinate federally sponsored
research required for the development of the NREN. The RWG
defines and prioritizes gigabit research areas, develops research
plans, and coordinates these plans with the FCCSET task group on
High Performance Communications.
36
(4) Policy Working Group (PWG)
The Policy Working Group is responsible, in conjunction with the
other FNC working groups and the FNC at large, for identifying,
documenting, and reviewing policy issues affecting the
development of the NREN. The PWG develops plans and proposals
for managing the NREN and for the operation of the FNC, and
identifies policy issues associated with the operation and
evolution of the NREN and develops policies and plans to address
these issues. The PWG responds similarly to issues referred to
it by other FNC Working Groups. The PWG is then responsible for
presenting its results as recommendations to the FNC.
(5) Education Ad Hoc Task Group
The FNC ad hoc Education Task Group will prepare a report on
issues, requirements, and recommended FNC activities with regard
to educational networking support needs and benefits.
A.4. Agency NREN Program Management Responsibilities
The agencies participating in the FNC have established a Charter
and worked to define their respective roles. The FNC has approved
the following set of agency responsibilities:
(1) Agencies participating in the FNC who have requirements for
the use or development of NREN facilities (i.e., federally
funded equipment, software, services, etc., which are part
of the Interagency Interim NREN or NREN funded testbeds) or
who have approved budgets for the HPCC, should, as
appropriate, in coordination with the HPCCIT Subcommittee:
~ provide representation to and actively participate in
the FNC;
~ use the NREN Program facilities;
~ coordinate their NREN Program development as part of
the interagency NREN Program;
~ coordinate their research and education data network
installations, upgrades, modifications, and activities,
both national and international, through the FNC and as
part of the coordinated interagency NREN Program;
~ coordinate the development of plans and budgets for
NREN activities through the FCCSET crosscut budget
process for each fiscal year budget submission;
37
~ coordinate their network research activities through
the FNC and as part of the interagency NREN Program;
~ submit an implementation plan for NREN activities for
FNC interagency coordination prior to the start of each
fiscal year; and
~ participate in the development of annual NREN
implementation and gigabit research plans.
(See Section A.5 for an explanation of the process for
coordination of requirements and implementation.)
(2) The Department of Defense through:
(2.1) Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) shall
~ be the lead agency for gigabit technology development
and coordination for research on gigabit networks;
~ carry out a gigabit technology research program;
~ provide for basic and applied research in gigabit and
other advanced communications technologies; and
~ for NREN budgets and activities, develop a gigabit
network research plan as part of the interagency NREN
Program for coordination by the FCCSET/PMES and the
FNC. The plan shall include all proposed gigabit
research activities of participating agencies and is
submitted to the FNC for review and approval.
(2.2) National Security Agency (NSA) shall
~ in its capacity as an advisor on national security
systems, participate in identifying potential security
issues that may arise due to the development of the
NREN Program and assist the FNC in identifying the
appropriate bodies to resolve such issue; and
~ conduct research and develop information security
products used to secure and protect national security
systems.
(2.3) Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) shall
~ be the lead agency in planning and providing the
Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and
Intelligence (C4I) mission requirements for the DoD
Military Departments and Agencies in the NREN Program;
38
~ conduct research for the development of applications of
high speed networking for the DoD C4I community;
~ support and contribute to the development of open
architecture and standards that affect the DoD C4I
networks as impacted by the NREN; and
~ upgrade and enhance The Wide Band network (TWBnet) and
the Defense Information System Network (DISN) testbeds
networking infrastructure for the DoD C4I related
mission activities.
(3) National Science Foundation (NSF) shall
~ coordinate the Interagency Interim NREN activities,
including coordinating the development, deployment, and
operations of the Interagency Interim NREN facilities
and services;
~ upgrade the NSF funded network as part of the
coordinated Interagency Interim NREN Program;
~ assist regional networks to upgrade their capabilities
as appropriate and as part of the coordinated
Interagency Interim NREN Program;
~ serve as the primary source for information or access
to and use of the Interagency Interim NREN;
~ assist colleges, universities, and libraries, where
appropriate, to connect to the Interagency Interim
NREN;
~ provide for basic research and development in gigabit
and other network technologies; and
~ develop an Interagency Interim NREN implementation
plan, for review and approval of the FNC, as part of
the interagency NREN Program, for coordination of the
broad deployment of the Interagency Interim NREN
working with universities, industry, and agencies
having mission specific requirements. The plan shall
be the basis for coordination of all participating
agency NREN activities subsequent to FNC approval.
(4) Department of Energy (DOE) shall
~ provide for applications based gigabit research;
~ provide for energy related mission Interagency Interim
NREN facilities deployment;
39
~ upgrade and enhance the DOE Energy Sciences Network as
part of the coordinated Interagency Interim NREN
Program to provide quality networking infrastructure
support for energy related mission activities; and
~ participate in basic and applied research and
development of gigabit technology.
(5) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shall
~ provide for applications based gigabit research;
~ provide for Interagency Interim NREN facilities
deployment for aeronautics and earth and space science
missions;
~ participate in Interagency Interim NREN architecture
development;
~ participate in the research and development of gigabit
technology; and
~ upgrade the NASA Science Internet and AEROnet as part
of the coordinated Interagency Interim NREN Program.
(6) The Department of Commerce through
(6.1) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
shall
~ coordinate, research, and develop instrumentation and
methodology for performance measurement of high
performance networks and computer systems;
~ conduct research and development on new high
performance communications protocols;
~ promote "Open Systems" standards to aid industry to
commercialize the products of research and development,
with the aid of other agencies;
~ support, coordinate, and promote the development of
standards within the Federal Government to provide
interoperability, common user interfaces to systems,
and enhanced security for the Interagency Interim NREN;
and
~ coordinate and contribute to the development of
security technology, guidelines and standards for
unclassified systems.
40
(6.2) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
shall
~ provide access to oceanic and atmospheric research and
education facilities to meet mission needs in keeping
with the coordinated Interagency Interim NREN Program.
(6.3) National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA) shall
~ in its capacity as Executive Branch adviser on
telecommunications policy issues, participate in
identifying potential legal and regulatory policy
issues affecting the national telecommunications
infrastructure that may arise due to the development of
the NREN Program and assist the FNC in identifying the
appropriate bodies to resolve such issues;
~ contribute to the planning and conduct of research and
development of quality of service measurements on the
NREN in support of network optimization and management
for the public switched network; and
~ support, promote, and contribute to the development of
commercial communications standards that affect the
public switched network, as impacted by NREN related
research and development, and with the aid of other
agencies.
(7) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shall
~ provide for states environmental mission assimilation
into the Interagency Interim NREN;
~ develop a facility and campus-wide environmental
modeling research capability and network based on
Interagency Interim NREN-compatible technologies,
including ethernet, FDDI, and ATM/SONET, and to include
in these activities cooperative efforts with local
"telephone company" communications service providers
for planning and installing local and metro-area high
speed interconnects compatible with the NREN; and
~ begin planning with state environmental agency research
and education groups for assimilation into the
Interagency Interim NREN. Initial contacts and
specific plans will be developed for at least five
states. Relationships will be established to begin the
process of technology transfer from the EPA research
network to the states' environmental research and
education environments.
41
(8) Health and Human Services (HHS) through the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) shall
~ provide for medical mission NREN facilities deployment
as part of the coordinated Interagency Interim NREN
Program; and
~ provide for applications based gigabit research.
(9) Department of Education shall
~ support, coordinate, and promote where appropriate, the
use of the Interagency Interim NREN in the K-12
community; and
~ conduct research on the applications of networking with
an emphasis on the coordination of activities with
libraries, school facilities, educational research
groups and the general education community with respect
to the advancement and dissemination of educational
information to improve teaching and learning.
(10) Department of Agriculture, through its Science and Education
Agencies (the Agricultural Research Service, Cooperative
Extension Service, National Agricultural Library, and
Cooperative State Research Service), shall
~ provide for agricultural research and education mission
assimilation into the Interagency Interim NREN
involving the agencies named in this section and the
land grant university community including local
Extension and research offices.
(11) Department of Interior, through its U.S. Geological Survey,
shall
~ participate in the gigabit technology research program
through the EROS (Earth Resources Observatory System)
Data Center; and
~ provide for earth science mission assimilation into the
Interagency Interim NREN Program.
A.5. Interagency Interim NREN Requirements and Implementation:
Coordination Process
The coordination of the multi-agency HPCC networking requirements
and of their implementation is a critical activity for the
Interagency Interim NREN Program. This is so because the
Interagency Interim NREN is an evolving, operating system of
networks that is broad both in technological scope and in
42
communities served, yet also serves as a proving ground for
innovative networking technologies whose introduction pose
certain elements of risk. This risk, however, is offset by the
demanding network requirements of leading edge grand challenge
research endeavors.
Coordination involves three formal activities which must be
synchronized with normal agency budget processes: requirements
definition, requirements analysis, and implementation and
execution. Coordination is also a continuing process for the
Executive Committee and the EOWG, since the treatment of de novo
and ad hoc situations should not be deferred.
(1) Requirements Definition
The initial definition of networking requirements for the
federally funded portion of the Interagency Interim NREN will be
done separately by the participating FNC agencies, and should be
submitted to the Executive Committee by the fourth quarter of the
fiscal year. This requirements definition will include planned
activities for the next fiscal year as well as identified
requirements for the following budget year. Requirements will be
identified as to type (e.g., information services, connectivity
to locations and institutions, network capabilities, etc.), and
will be described in enough detail to support a technical and
administrative interagency coordination.
(2) Requirements Analysis
The EOWG, under the auspices of the FNC, will perform a technical
analysis of the agency requirements documents and present a
written summary of technically feasible solutions, including cost
estimates, to the Executive Committee who will present it to the
FNC. This process will be completed prior to the submission of
the President's budget for the following budget year, and will
allow the FNC to ensure that Federal Interagency Interim NREN
requirements are coordinated and well planned.
(3) Implementation and Execution
Based upon the requirements analysis, cost estimates, and balance
of infrastructural and mission specific impact, the Executive
Committee will prepare a plan of action for the next fiscal year
and an implementation plan, as part of the Federal Budget Process
for the HPCC Program, for the following budget year. The final
plan will be reviewed by the FNC and submitted as an
informational item by the FNC Chairperson to the FCCSET HPCCIT
Subcommittee.
43
A.6. Public Interaction and Advisory Bodies
All HPCC agencies receive advisory input from their sister
agencies via the FNC in addition to the FNC Advisory Council
(FNCAC), which is a formally chartered Federal advisory committee
comprised of computer vendors, telecommunications providers,
representatives of the library community, and researchers and
senior managers from universities, supercomputer centers, and
national laboratories. In addition, each agency maintains
various mechanisms for incorporating advice and information from
interested parties. Involvement by the communication and
computer industries is always a goal. Every gigabit testbed
involves at least one common carrier, a computer manufacturer,
and a university. Mutual interest guarantees technology
transfer. Gigabit testbeds are always in the service of gigabit
applications, so systems are evaluated both by its authors and by
its users.
In order to increase end user input into the planning of NREN
services, the NSF is planning to establish and charter a Users
Advisory Group made up of scientists, engineers, and educators
who use NSFNET and NREN services.
In the planning and conduct of its NSFNET and NREN activities,
the NSF regularly consults a variety of private sector R&E
networking entities, such as:
~ The Federation of American Research Networks (FARNET) that
includes private sector IP service providers (e.g. PSI,
Sprint), State networks, and both independent and NSF
subsidized regional R&E networks;
~ EDUCOM, a nonprofit educational consortium;
~ The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), a nonprofit
education and library consortium; and
~ The Internet Architecture Board (IAB), an informal association
of technical experts who have guided the technical evolution
of R&E networking since the early 1980's.
44
Appendix B. Current NREN Program
B.1. Background
No single agency has hierarchical authority to direct and manage
the HPCC Program, however, the HPCC Program and, in particular,
the NREN activity is characterized by close coordination between
the participating Federal agencies. The NREN Program is an
integral component of the HPCC Program and is executed through
the activities of several independent agencies coordinating their
efforts and plans developed through the HPCC budget planning and
other related program planning processes described in Appendix A.
In 1985 the Federal Coordinating Council on Science, Engineering
and Technology (FCCSET) established a Network Working Group
comprised of Federal agency representatives from the National
Science Foundation (NSF), Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA), Department of Energy (DOE), National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA), to coordinate Federal agency
research networking activities. The Network Working Group
generated a FCCSET report, "Interagency Networking for Research
Programs," which was published in February 1986, recommending the
interconnection of existing federally supported data
communications networks for research programs and the formation
of an Interagency Research Internet Organization.
Subsequently, network managers from NSF, DARPA, DOE, NIST, NASA,
and other agencies worked together to oversee, coordinate, and
manage the evolution of the Federal portion of the Internet. The
results of this collaboration are stable operational
relationships that now serve as the basis for interagency
oversight, management, and focus for the federally funded portion
of the Internet. In addition, this collaboration led to
large-scale interconnectivity between the mission agencies'
research data networks, the NSFNET (NSF Computer Network), and
the remainder of the Internet, primarily based on the Federal
Internet eXchanges (FIXs), as well as coordinated multi-agency
international links.
As participation in the Federal research networking program grew,
agencies recognized the need to more closely coordinate Federal
research networking activities with those of industry, academia,
and, in general, with other interested groups. Accordingly, the
original vision of this interagency activity was extended to
include additional Federal and non-Federal components.
The National Research and Education Network (NREN) Program is a
multi-agency activity that will provide for the evolution from
the current federally funded research and education (R&E)
networks, to a gigabit network system that allows for both the
interconnectivity and interoperability of federally funded R&E
45
networks with each other and with private sector networks by the
mid-1990~s to support the increasing demands in R&E. As its name
indicates, the NREN activity is primarily for research and
education, not general purpose communication. Nonetheless, the
NREN Program incorporates vital connections to industrial and
governmental sectors and develops general testbeds for new
communications technologies.
The principal goals of the NREN Program are to;
~ advance the leading edge of networking technology and
services,
~ widen network access within the research and education
community to high performance computing systems and other
research facilities, and to electronic information resources
and libraries, and
~ accelerate the development and deployment of networking
technology by the telecommunications industry and by the
private sector generally.
The program has two principal components: the Interagency Interim
NREN, and Gigabit Research and Development. The Interagency
Interim NREN activity is an evolving operating network system.
Near term (1992-1996) communications and networking research and
development activities will provide for the smooth evolution of
this networking infrastructure into the future gigabit network
supporting research and education. The Gigabit Research and
Development is a comprehensive program of gigabit-per-second
network hardware and software technology that embodies the goal
of the NREN Program evolution by the mid-1990~s. This activity
also develops technologies and demonstrates applications.
B.2. Scope
The Interagency Interim NREN is an evolving operational system of
networks. Near term (1992-1996) research and development
activities will provide for the smooth evolution of this
networking infrastructure into the future gigabit NREN.
Interagency Interim NREN activities will achieve this goal by
expanding the connectivity and enhancing the capabilities of the
federally funded portion of today's research and education
networks, and by deploying advanced technologies and services as
they mature. The Interagency Interim NREN, which is primarily
based on DARPA's Internet technology, builds on the NSF's NSFNET,
DOE's Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), NASA's Science Internet
(NSI) and other networks supporting research and education.
Today's Interagency Interim NREN is used to support collaboration
among people through electronic mail and bulletin boards, access
46
to information sources through file transfer, and access to
remote computers and other laboratory facilities through remote
log-in. It is anticipated that the next generation of
applications will require a radical extension of not just the
speed of the network, but of the capabilities. For example,
collaboration among people through real-time digital multimedia
conferencing or remote access to visualize supercomputer
experimental results requires new capabilities, not just a faster
version of today's capabilities. The NREN Program for the
federally funded portion of the NREN is intended to provide a
radical extension beyond existing capabilities of current
hardware and software. The goal is to spur the deployment of the
most advanced networking services that support the ever-
increasing networking demands of high performance computing to
the extent feasible, while assuring a stable and consistent level
of services for the advanced HPCC R&E community.
The underlying strategy of the HPCC Program has been to support
the solution of important scientific and technical problems of
broad national significance in collaboration with all interested
sectors in government, industry and universities. In the
networking area this strategy has led to a unique collaboration
in both the research and operational aspects of the NREN
activity.
At each stage of its evolution, the Interagency Interim NREN
activity consists of an infrastructure of multi-protocol
value-added services carried on the nation's existing underlying
telecommunications fabric. Both components of the NREN Program
are designed for participation of the private sector to maximize
the leverage of Federal funds. It is intended that Federal
operation and ownership of network facilities and services,
already minimal, be continuously reduced even further as the
program develops.
Although the NREN is an R&E network program, a deliberate
consequence of including substantial private sector activity is
that the technology and services developed, and even the
facilities themselves, may be the model for a more ubiquitous
network offering developed under private, or other public
efforts. In fact, many industrial research organizations and
commercial establishments that support the nation's scholarly
enterprise are connected. The commercial networks are the
fastest growing segment. Nevertheless, HPCC Program priorities
remain the central focus of the NREN Program. While other
Federal and private sector participants are encouraged, the
degree of their participation must be contingent on several
factors, such as, program focus, cost sharing, and technology
leverage.
47
DARPA has the HPCC lead role for developing gigabit class
technology for the NREN activity. This work is complementary to
Interagency Interim NREN work done elsewhere and DARPA's own
defense related research in network technology.
The NSF coordinates the broad deployment of the Interagency
Interim NREN Programs and systems, and supports the HPCC Program
by: coordinating interagency network activities; providing
backbone services to the general R&E community; providing
information services on access and use of the network; assisting
regional R&E networks to upgrade and enhance their own services;
and supporting the development and deployment of gigabit
technologies.
Currently, and at the end stage of this development, the
Interagency Interim NREN Program activity will result in a
comprehensive service offering to the nation's community of
researchers and scholars at all levels. It will interconnect
them to one another and to the facilities and other resources
they use in their scholarly endeavor, such as, databases and
libraries, laboratories, scientific instruments, and computation
centers. As a facilitator and enabler of intellectual activity,
the Interagency Interim NREN system will include connectivity to
supporting organizations, such as, publishers and hardware and
software vendors. International connections that serve the
national interest are also included.
Important features of the NREN Program are:
~ use of existing telephone company facilities, and not the
laying of fiber or building a physical network; and
~ driving technology and broadly seeding the market, while
avoiding competition with the private sector.
Because of this latter aspect, success of this part of the
program inevitably leads to tension and concerns that government
services not remain in place once a technology offering has been
demonstrated and seeded. It is the policy of the NREN Program to
seek to accelerate this transition to the private sector, while
not compromising the need for stable and consistent services by
the R&E community.
B.3. Vision
The NREN is both a goal of the HPCC Program and a key enabling
technology for success in the other components. As used in this
report, the NREN is the future realization of an interconnected
gigabit computer network system supporting HPCC. The NREN is
intended to revolutionize the ability of U.S. researchers and
educators to carry out collaborative research and education
activities, regardless of the physical location of the
48
participants or the computational resources to be used. As its
name implies, NREN is a network for research and education, not
general purpose communication. Nonetheless, its use as a testbed
for new communications technologies is vital. A fundamental goal
of the HPCC Program is to develop and transfer advanced computing
and communications technologies to the private sector of the U.S.
as rapidly as possible, and to enhance the nation's research and
education enterprise. The development and deployment of advanced
applications, such as image visualization and distributed
computing, will be applied to problems such as medical diagnosis,
aerodynamics, advanced materials, and global change, and will
provide the impetus necessary for transferring the supporting
technologies and capabilities throughout the U.S. science,
technology, and education infrastructure. These capabilities and
technologies will be developed through the cooperative effort of
U.S. industry, the Federal Government, and the educational
community.
The interagency High Performance Computing and Communications
(HPCC) Program has undertaken the Interagency Interim NREN
activity, not solely as support for the HPCC Program including
the solution of Grand Challenge problems, but also as an
infrastructure for community wide connectivity for broad support
of the Nation's intellectual activity. In doing this, the focus
remains on providing advanced, leading edge, and in some cases,
prototype network services to the Nation's R&E community, rather
than attempting to serve as a general public computer network.
For the long term, DARPA is developing technology today which
will be the foundation of the NREN from 1995-2000. It is not
simply a matter of more of today's technology; this will not do
the job. The NREN research program, under DARPA coordination,
includes a broad effort to develop a set of complementary gigabit
networks based on common carrier standards (e.g. ATM), satellite,
wireless, optical and others. New internetwork architectures use
these as building blocks for new sets of coherent services such
as global file systems, multicast delivery, and other services.
There are issues involving: smooth scaling to multi-gigabit
speeds, universal access, multimedia, real time, policy controls,
and other services which do not exist in today's Interagency
Interim NREN that need to be addressed. This technology
development will track Interagency Interim NREN developments, and
early use of new commercial technologies, to insure that there is
a clear technical and policy roadmap to smooth transition from
today's systems to those of the future.
In summary, the NREN Program comprises a spectrum of coordinated
networking activities by the several Federal Agencies that ranges
>from providing a framework for commodity offerings by the private
sector, through the funding of an infrastructure of
precompetitive networking technologies. The program is designed
49
to serve the most advanced scientific and educational demands,
and foster an aggressive collaboration with private industry in
the development of next generation network systems that will
operate in the gigabit-per-second, and beyond, range of speeds by
the mid-1990~s.
B.4. Current NREN Program Status
As mentioned above, the NREN component of the HPCC Program is
comprised of two related and complementary subprograms, the
Interagency Interim NREN subcomponent, and the Gigabit Research
and Development subcomponent.
The Gigabit Research and Development subcomponent is aimed at
providing the research and technology base needed to achieve, at
a minimum, gigabit speeds and advanced capabilities in the NREN
Program. Gigabit network development already underway includes
the joint DARPA/NSF gigabit testbed program and gigabit network
exploitation of the ACTS satellite with National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA), and programs to foster development
of low cost gigabit LANs for workstation environments. These
development efforts are complemented by research efforts in less
developed areas, such as, all optical networks. Advanced
Internet technology will tie these networks together. The DARPA
Advanced Research Testbed Network (DARTNET) is the testing ground
for new capabilities developed at over a dozen research sites.
Multimedia, and resource allocation work is nearing the maturity
necessary for wide use, while multicast and policy routing are
already transitioning into the Interagency interim NREN. Future
efforts will develop gigabit LAN interoperability agreements.
The Interagency Interim NREN Program is an evolving operational
network system that supports early deployment of networking
technologies and systems for the high performance computing R&E
community. It is this part of the NREN Program that is
attracting the widest interest from various constituencies as
they become aware of the potential use of this developing
technology base. This in turn has led to serious concerns
regarding various issues such as, ownership, funding, operation,
commercialization, etc. The main purpose of this report is to
present the context for the discussion of these issues and the
Federal agency plans for dealing with them.
50
Appendix C. Glossary
ANS
Advanced Network and Services, Inc., a nonprofit corporation
ANSI
American National Standards Institute
ARPANET
primarily a continental U.S. computer network that preceded
the Internet and was operated by DARPA
ATM
Asynchronous Transfer Mode, a new telecommunications
technology, also known as cell switching, which is based on 53
byte cells
AUP
Acceptable Use Policy
Backbone Network
a high capacity electronic trunk connecting lower capacity
networks, e.g., NSFNET backbone
CCITT
International Consultative Committee for Telegraphy and
Telephony
CERTs
Computer Emergency Response Teams
CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
CIX
Commercial Internet eXchange
CLNP
ConnectionLess Network Protocol
CNI
Coalition for Networked Information, a nonprofit education and
library consortium
CONCERT
regional network serving the State of North Carolina
CRA
Computing Research Association
51
CSPP
Computer Systems Policy Project
C4I
Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence
DARPA
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
DARTNET
DARPA Advanced Research Testbed Network
DISA
Defense Information Systems Agency, formerly the Defense
Communications Agency
DISN
Defense Information Systems Network
DOC
Department of Commerce
DOD
Department of Defense
DOE
Department of Energy
DS1
a multiplexed channel of 24 DS0 channels (i.e., one DS0
channel carries one voice grade channel equivalent of data at
64 Kb/s)
DS3
a multiplexed channel of 28 DS1 channels
ED
Department of Education
EDUCOM
a non-profit, primarily academic consortium for information
technology
EOWG
Engineering and Operations Working Group of the Federal
Networking Council
EPA
Environmental Protection Agency
52
ESnet
Energy Sciences Network
FARNET
Federation of American Research Networks
FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
FCCSET
Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and
Technology
FEPG
Federal Engineering Planning Group, operational arm of the
Federal Networking Council's Engineering and Operations
Working Group
FIPS
Federal Information Processing Standard
FIX
Federal Internet eXchange
FNC
Federal Networking Council
FNCAC
Federal Networking Council Advisory Committee
GOSIP
Government Open Systems Interconnection Profile
HHS
Health and Human Services
HPC
High Performance Computing
HPCC
High Performance Computing and Communications
HPCCIT
High Performance Computing, Communications, and Information
Technology subcommittee
IAB
Internet Architecture Board, an Internet group originally
chartered by DARPA for the ARPANET
53
IEEE
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Internet
the global set of interconnected computer networks of which
NSFNET, ESnet, and NSI are components
IP
Internet Protocol
ISDN
Integrated Services Digital Network
ISO
International Standards Organization
Mb/s
Megabits per second or millions of bits per second
NAP
Network Access Point, a set of nodes interconnecting NREN
backbone networks
NASA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NCO
National Coordination Office for the High Performance
Computing and Communications Program
NEARNET, SURANET, WESTNET
regional computer networks in New England, the Southeast, and
Western parts of the U.S.
NIH
National Institutes of Health
NIST
National Institute of Standards and Technology
NOAA
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NREN
National Research and Education Network, consisting of the
Interagency Interim NREN component and the Gigabit Research
and Development component
NSA
National Security Agency
54
NSF
National Science Foundation
NSFNET
NSF Computer Network
NSI
NASA Science Internet
NTIA
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
OC-3
network transmission speed of 155 Mb/s
OC-12
network transmission speed of 622 Mb/s
OMB
Office of Management and Budget
OSI
Open Systems Interconnection, a protocol suite of the ISO
OSTP
Office of Science and Technology Policy
PMES
FCCSET Committee on Physical, Mathematical, and Engineering
Sciences of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
PWG
Policy Working Group of the Federal Networking Council
RA
Routing Arbiter, entity that will be selected under new NSF
Backbone cooperative agreements to stabilize the network
R&E
Research and Education
RFCs
Requests for Comments
RWG
Research Working Group of the Federal Networking Council
SMDS
Switched Multimegabit Data Service, a new networking
technology being deployed by the telephone companies
55
SWG
Security Working Group of the Federal Networking Council
T1
network transmission of a DS1 formatted digital signal at a
rate of 1.5 Mb/s
T3
network transmission of a DS3 formatted digital signal at a
rate of 45 Mb/s
TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, the
communications protocols currently being used on the Internet
ToS
Type of Service
TWBnet
DARPA's Terrestrial Wideband Network
vBNS
very high speed Backbone Network Services
VPNs
Virtual Private Networks
WAIS
Wide Area Information Service
56
List of References
1. The summary of findings identified network technology as
essential to support scientific collaboration and access to
scientific resources. Executive Office of the President (U.S),
Office of Science and Technology Policy. "A Research and
Development Strategy for High Performance Computing."
Washington: 1987 Nov 20, p. 1.
2. Executive Office of the President (U.S.), Office of Science
and Technology Policy. "The Federal High Performance Computing
Program." Washington: 1989 Sep 8, p. 32.
3. A brief discussion of gigabit network research problems is
provided on pp. 102-103. Harmanis, Juris, and Herbert Lin,
editors. "Computing the Future: A Broader Agenda for Computer
Science and Engineering." Washington: National Academy Press;
1992.
4. Federal Coordinating Council on Science, Engineering and
Technology (U.S.). "A Report to the Congress on Computer
Networks to Support Research in the United States: A Study of
Critical Problems and Future Options." Vol. 2, "Reports from the
Workshop on Computer Networks; 1987 Feb 17-19; San Diego, CA."
Los Alamos (NM): Los Alamos National Laboratory, Computing and
Communications Division; 1987 Jun, p. 34.
5. EDUCOM; IEEE. "Proceedings of the NREN Workshop; 1992 Sep 16-
18; Monterey, CA." Washington: EDUCOM; 1992, Tab 9, p. 3.
6. Computer Systems Policy Project. "Expanding the Vision of
High Performance Computing and Communications: Linking America
for the Future." Washington: 1991 Dec 3, p. 12.
7. President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
(U.S.) "High Performance Computing and Communications Panel
Report." Washington: 1992, p. 2.
8. "Federal Register," 1992 Jun 15; 57 (15): 26692. "Request
for Public Comment: Solicitation Concept. National Science
Foundation (U.S.), Division of Networking and Communications
Research and Infrastructure." "Responses to NSF's Request for
Public Comment on the Draft Solicitation Network Access Point
Manager/Routing Authority and Very High Speed Backbone Network
Services Provider for NSFnet and the NREN Program." Washington:
1992.
9. Computer Systems Policy Project. "The Federal HPCCI Budget
for FY '92: Achieving Better Balance." Washington: 1991 Dec 3,
p. 12.
57
10. Congress of the United States, Office of Technology
Assessment, Congressional Board of the 102d Congress. "Finding a
Balance: Computer Software, Intellectual Property, and the
Challenge of Technological Change." Washington: 1992 May. OTA-
TCT-527, p. 4. Available from U.S. Government Printing Office,
Washington, D.C.
11. Congress of the United States, Office of Technology
Assessment. "Intellectual Property Rights in an Age of
Electronics and Information." Washington: 1986 Apr. OTA-CIT-
302, p. 3. Available from U.S. Government Printing Office,
Washington, D.C.
12. Congress of the United States, Office of Technology
Assessment. "Copyright and Home Copying: Technology Challenges
the Law." Washington: 1989 Oct. OTA-CIT-422, p. 5. Available
>from U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
13. National Research Council (U.S.), Panel on the Mathematical
Sciences in High-Performance Computing and Communications, Board
on Mathematical Sciences, Commission on Physical Sciences,
Mathematics, and Applications. "Mathematical Foundations of High
Performance Computing and Communications." Washington: National
Academy Press; 1991, p. 13.
14. EDUCOM; IEEE. "Proceedings of the NREN Workshop; 1992 Sep 16-
18; Monterey, CA." Washington: EDUCOM; 1992, p. A-69.
15. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science
(U.S.). "Report to the Office of Science and Technology Policy
on Library and Information Services' Roles in the National
Research and Education Network." Washington: 1992, pp. 13, 15.
16. Ibid., p. A-207
58