Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
i Realizing the Information Future The Internet and Beyond NRENAISSANCE Committee Computer Science and Telecommunications Board Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C. 1994
ii NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sci- ences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. Support for this project was provided by the National Science Foundation (under Grant No. NCR-9223810). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 94-65572 International Standard Book Number 0-309-05044-8 Additional copies of this report are available from: National Academy Press 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW Box 285 Washington, DC 20055 800-624-6242 202-334-3313 (in the Washington Metropolitan Area) B-321 Copyright 1994 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America First Printing, May 1994 Second Printing, March 1995
iii NRENAISSANCE COMMITTEE LEONARD KLEINROCK, University of California at Los Angeles, Chair CYNTHIA H. BRADDON, McGraw-Hill Publishing Company DAVID D. CLARK, Massachusetts Institute of Technology WILLIAM J. EMERY, Colorado Center of Astrodynamics Research, University of Colorado DAVID J. FARBER, University of Pennsylvania A.G. FRASER, AT&T Bell Laboratories RUSSELL D. HENSLEY, Christian Brothers University LAWRENCE H. LANDWEBER, University of Wisconsin at Madison ROBERT W. LUCKY, Bell Communications Research SUSAN K. NUTTER, North Carolina State University RADIA PERLMAN, Novell Corporation SUSANNA SCHWEIZER, Digital Equipment Corporation CONNIE DANNER STOUT, Texas Education Network CHARLES ELLETT TAYLOR, University of California at Los Angeles THOMAS W. WEST, California State University ROBERT E. KAHN, Corporation for National Research Initiatives, Special Advisor Staff MARJORY S. BLUMENTHAL, Director LESLIE WADE, Project Assistant
iv COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD WILLIAM WULF, University of Virginia, Chair RUZENA BAJCSY, University of Pennsylvania JEFF DOZIER, University of California at Santa Barbara DAVID J. FARBER, University of Pennsylvania HENRY FUCHS, University of North Carolina CHARLES GESCHKE, Adobe Systems Inc. JAMES GRAY, Digital Equipment Corporation JOHN L. HENNESSY, Stanford University DEBORAH A. JOSEPH, University of Wisconsin RICHARD M. KARP, University of California at Berkeley KEN KENNEDY, Rice University BUTLER W. LAMPSON, Digital Equipment Corporation BARBARA LISKOV, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ROBERT L. MARTIN, Bell Communications Research DAVID G. MESSERSCHMITT, University of California at Berkeley ABRAHAM PELED, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center (until August 13, 1993) WILLIAM PRESS, Harvard University CHARLES L. SEITZ, California Institute of Technology EDWARD SHORTLIFFE, Stanford University School of Medicine CASMIR S. SKRZYPCZAK, NYNEX Inc. LAWRENCE T. TESLER, Apple Computer Inc. LESLIE L. VADASZ, Intel Corporation MARJORY S. BLUMENTHAL, Director HERBERT S. LIN, Senior Staff Officer JAMES MALLORY, Staff Officer RENEE A. HAWKINS, Staff Associate GLORIA BEMAH, Administrative Assistant LESLIE WADE, Project Assistant
v COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND APPLICATIONS RICHARD N. ZARE, Stanford University, Chair RICHARD S. NICHOLSON, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Vice Chair STEPHEN L. ADLER, Institute for Advanced Study JOHN A. ARMSTRONG, IBM Corporation (retired) SYLVIA T. CEYER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology AVNER FRIEDMAN, University of Minnesota SUSAN L. GRAHAM, University of California at Berkeley ROBERT J. HERMANN, United Technologies Corporation HANS MARK, University of Texas at Austin CLAIRE E. MAX, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory CHRISTOPHER F. McKEE, University of California at Berkeley JAMES W. MITCHELL, AT&T Bell Laboratories JEROME SACKS, National Institute of Statistical Sciences A. RICHARD SEEBASS III, University of Colorado LEON T. SILVER, California Institute of Technology CHARLES P. SLICHTER, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ALVIN W. TRIVELPIECE, Oak Ridge National Laboratory NORMAN METZGER, Executive Director
vi The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academyâs purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council. www.national-academies.org
PREFACE vii Preface In winter 1990â1991, the National Science Foundation (NSF) approached the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) and asked it to consider undertaking a second study of issues relating to networking for the research and education communities. A new study would revisit issues addressed by CSTB in a 1988 report, Toward a National Research Network (National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.), and more importantly it would address the more complex set of issues that has arisen subsequently, including those associated with NSF plans to recast its role and resources in the National Research and Education Network (NREN) program, a component of the High Performance Computing and Communications initiative. Due in part to the controversy triggered by NSF's original ideas for recasting NSFNET and its attentions to revising its plans, it was not until late 1992 that NSF's request became an approved and funded project. The Computer Science and Telecommunications Board convened a study committee for this project that chose to call itself NRENAISSANCE, reflecting the fundamental concern with the NREN program and the challenge of meeting research, education, and library community needs in a context marked by much broader information infrastructure concerns. Many of the authors of the 1988 CSTB report are among the authors of this present report, which benefits from their unique insights into both the Internet and other elements of information infrastructure. The committee met in March, June, September, and October 1993 to frame and deliberate over issues; it met again in January 1994 to develop responses to a large number of reviewer comments and a strategy for revising and enhancing its draft report. Over the course of the project the committee
PREFACE viii received a number of inputs from outside itself, most notably several briefings from and consultations with federal officials and representatives of commercial and nonprofit organizations. The period between the conceptualization and the actual launch of the project in early 1993 saw many changes, most notably a rise in governmental, business, and popular interest in electronic networking and information infrastructure, interest epitomized by the launch of the federal National Information Infrastructure initiative. In the face of these developments, the committee expanded its mission from an examination of issues relating to the NREN program, per se, to an examination of architectural and deployment issues relating to the larger national information infrastructure context in which the NREN program now fits. Consistent with its original charge, the committee paid special attention to the insights, concerns, and needs of the research, education, and library communities. Given the broader focus, however, the recommendations made by the committee are addressed to a broader governmental audience than the National Science Foundation. NRENAISSANCE is grateful to the many individuals that contributed to its deliberations, including individuals who briefed the committee and others who contributed materials and insights, generally over the Internet. These individuals include Prudence Adler and Ann Okerson, Association of Research Libraries; G. Ernest Anderson, University of Massachusetts; Larry Anderson, Mississippi State University; Eric M. Aupperle, Merit Inc.; William Blumenthal, Kelley Drye & Warren; Hans Bolli, Northern Telecom; Panayot Bontchev, University of Sophia; Laura Breeden, (then FARNET) National Telecommunications and Information Administration; David C. Carver and Karen Sollins, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; John Cavallini and Robert Aiken, Department of Energy; Jill Charboneau, Cornell University; Annette B. Church, California school teacher; Richard Civille, Center for Civic Networking Groups; Robert Collet, CIX and Sprint; Janos Csepai, Budapest University of Economic Sciences; Andrzej Dabrowski, Polish PTT; Bruce Daley, Elaine Wynne Elementary School, Las Vegas, Nevada; Linda Delzeit, California school teacher; D'Ann Douglas, Sallie Curtis Elementary School, Beaumont, Texas; Michael Einhorn, Department of Justice; Robert Gosse and Michael Pollak, Federal Communications Commission; Robert R. Gotwals, Jr., Microelectronics Center of North Carolina; John Gravelle, Merrill Senior High School, Merrill, Wisconsin; Daniel Hartl, Harvard University; Dale Hatfield, Hatfield Associates Inc.; Michael Jeffrey, Nova Scotia Department of Education; Ioan Jurka, Technical University of Timisoara, Romania; Stanley Kabala and Simon Pritikin, AT&T; Thomas Kalil, National Economic Council; Donald Lindberg, HPCC National Coordinating Office and National Library of Medicine; Jack McCue and Howard Palmes,
PREFACE ix BellSouth; Steven Metalitz, Information Industries Association; Paul Mockapetris, Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California; Mark Neibert and Janet Dewar, Comsat Corporation; Michael Nelson, Office of Science and Technology Policy; Roger Noll, Stanford University; Antoni Nowakowski, Technical University of Gdansk; Zoltan Pap, Hungarian Telecommunications Company, Budapest; Paul Evan Peters and Joan Lippincott, Coalition for Networked Information; Gary Ragsdale, Federal Express; Michael Roberts, EDUCOM; David Ruth, Cornell University; Steven Ruth, George Mason University; Anthony Rutkowski, Internet Society; Theodore Schell and Ronald Bracewell, Sprint; Richard Snelling, U.S. Olympic Committee; Thomas Spacek, Bellcore; Steve Stephenson, Waiakee Intermediate School, Hilo, Hawaii; Eric Swanson, John Wiley & Sons; Randy Sweeney, Jordan High School, Los Angeles, California; Frank Withrow, Council of Chief State School Officers; Stephen Wolff and Jane Caviness, National Science Foundation; and Anthony Villasenor, NASA. It is also extremely grateful to the anonymous reviewers who challenged it to sharpen and focus its arguments. The committee gratefully acknowledges the truly outstanding contributions to this report by Marjory Blumenthal, director of the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, whose efforts were indispensable to the creation of this report. We also acknowledge the assistance of her staff, notably project assistant Leslie Wade, and of the editor, Susan Maurizi. Responsibility for the report, of course, remains with the committee. Leonard Kleinrock, Chair NRENAISSANCE Committee
PREFACE x
CONTENTS xi Contents SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1 Committee and Its Tasks 2 The Vision of an Open Data Network 3 Developing an Open Data Network Architecture 4 Configuring the Components 4 Defining NII Compliance and Setting Standards 6 Factoring in the International Aspect 7 Deploying the Open Data Network 7 Research and Education Concerns 7 Infrastructure Financing: Investments for Research and 8 Education The Government Role 10 Long-term Strategy, Management, and Wise Investment 10 Leadership in Education 11 Technology Research and Development 12 Recommendations 12 The Vision of an Open Data Network 12 Recommendation 1: Leadership and Guidance 13 Recommendation 2: Technology Deployment 14 Recommendation 3: Transitional Support 14 Recommendation 4: K-12 Education 15 Recommendation 5: Network Research 15 1 U.S. NETWORKING: THE PAST IS PROLOGUE 17 Where We Are Today 18 Existing Communications Networks and Increasing Focus 18 on Infrastructure How We Got Here 22 Today in Transition 27
CONTENTS xii Visions of the Information Future: What Might It Be? 30 The Internet-based Vision 30 The Entertainment-based Vision 31 The Clinton-Gore Administration's Vision 32 Possible Scenarios for Development of a National Informa- 32 tion Infrastructure The Committee's Vision: An Integrated National Informa- 34 tion Infrastructure Converging the Visions of the Future 35 Technology Impetus 35 Benefits to the Nation--Last-mile Economics 36 How Can We Converge the Visions? 38 Structure and Content of This Report 38 Notes 40 2 THE OPEN DATA NETWORK: ACHIEVING THE VISION 43 OF AN INTEGRATED NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE The Open Data Network 44 Criteria for an Open Data Network 44 Technical, Operational, and Organizational Objectives 44 Benefits of an Open Data Network 46 Open Data Network Architecture 47 An Architectural Proposal in Four Layers 47 The Centrality of the Bearer Service 51 Characterizing the Bearer Service 53 Middleware: A New Set of Network Services 55 Defining the Higher-level Services 59 Basic Higher-level Services 59 More Demanding Higher-level Services 60 Quality of Service: Options for the ODN Bearer Service 65 Best-Effort and Reserved Bandwidth Service 65 Assuring the Service 66 NII Compliance 67 Standards 70 Role of Network Standards 70 Factors that Complicate Setting Standards 71 Network Function Has Moved Outside the Network 71 It Is Hard to Set Standards Without a Recognized Man- 72 date A Bottom-up Process Cannot Easily Set Long-term 72 Direction
CONTENTS xiii A Top-down Approach No Longer Appears Workable 73 Commercial Forces May Distort the Standards-Setting 73 Process Setting Standards for the NIIâPlanning for Change Is Dif- 73 ficult But Necessary Issues of Scale in the NII 74 Addressing and Naming 74 Mobility as the Computing Paradigm of the Future 76 Management Systems 77 Measurement and Monitoring 77 Security and the Open Data Network 78 Securing the Network, the Host, and Information 78 Developing a Security Architecture 79 Security Objectives and Current Approaches for Reaching 80 Them Computer System Protection 81 Protection of Information in the Host 81 Protection of Information in the Network 82 Authenticating Users 83 Control of Authorized Users 83 Taking a Comprehensive Approach to Ensuring Security 84 Finding and Balancing Opportunities to Build Toward Con- 84 vergence Development of Standards for TelevisionâAn Example 85 Reengineering of the Nation's Access Circuits 86 Cost and Function in Access Circuits 87 Options for Incorporating the ODN Bearer Service 88 Need for Government Action in Balancing Objectives 89 Acting Now to Realize a Unified NII 90 Recommendation: Technology Deployment 91 Research on the NIIâEnsuring Necessary Technical Devel- 91 opment Research to Develop Network Architecture 92 Defining the Bearer Service 93 Issues for the Lower Levels: Scale, Robustness, and Opera- 94 tions Addressing and Routing 94 Quality of Service 95 New Approaches to Transport Protocols 96 Network Control Functions 96 Mobility as the Computing Paradigm of the Future 97 Management SystemsâMonitoring and Control 98 New Technology for Access Circuits 98 Middleware and Information Services Support 99 Navigation and Filtering Tools 99
CONTENTS xiv Intellectual Property Rights 100 Computer and Communications Security 101 Research in the Development of Software 102 Experimental Network Research 102 Experimental Research in Middleware and Application 103 Services Rights Management Testbed 104 Research to Characterize Effects of Change 105 Recommendation: Network Research 105 3 RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND LIBRARIES 112 Research 113 Higher Education 119 K-12 Education 122 Lifelong Education 133 Libraries and the Broadening of Public Interest Networking 133 Cross-Cutting Observations 142 Notes 143 4 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE 148 Equitable Access 149 Flow of Information 153 Government Information 154 Privacy 156 First Amendment 158 Intellectual Property Protection 160 Broader Consideration of Ethics 165 Notes 166 5 FINANCIAL ISSUES 172 Federal and Other Funding for Networking to Date 172 Cost of Network Infrastructure 176 Paying the Price 183 Imminent Short-term Increases 186 Recommendation: Transitional Support 186 Costs of Local Infrastructure and Access to Services 186 Usage-based Pricing 189 Flat-fee Pricing 191 Covering User Charges (Subsidies and Mechanisms) 193 Deriving Specific Funds 195 Equity 196
CONTENTS xv 6 GOVERNMENT ROLES AND OPPORTUNITIES 204 Leadership and Vision 205 Leadership in Development and Deployment of Infrastruc- 207 ture Leadership in Education 209 Recommendation: K-12 Education 210 Balancing of Interests 211 Diverse and Fragmented Public and Private Interests 211 Coordination and Management 213 Uncertain Technical Expertise 214 Cross-agency and Uncertain Structure 215 Recommendation: Leadership and Guidance 216 Influencing the Shape of the Information Infrastructure 217 Influence on Architecture and Standards 218 Influence Through Procurement 220 Influence on Future Oversight of the Internet 221 Influence on Network Deployment and Technology Devel- 223 opment Support for Experimental Networks 224 Approach to Operational Networks and Intermediate 224 Technologies Research and Development 226 Conclusion 228 Notes 228 APPENDIXES A FEDERAL NETWORKING: THE PATH TO THE INTERNET 237 B SAMPLE PRINCIPLE SETS 254 C USER SUPPORT SERVICES 262 D STATE AND REGIONAL NETWORKS 265 E INTERNATIONAL ISSUES 269 F KEY TERMS 282 INDEX 287
CONTENTS xvi
xvii Realizing the Information Future The Internet and Beyond
xviii