NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members were 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 Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
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. Frank Press 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. Samuel O.Thier 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 Academy’s 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. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M.White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Support for this project was provided by the National Science Foundation under Contract No. NCR-8722333.
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NATIONAL RESEARCH NETWORK REVIEW COMMITTEE
LEONARD KLEINROCK,
University of California at Los Angeles,
Chairman
HOWARD M.ANDERSON,
The Yankee Group
RICHARD P.CASE,
IBM Corporation
DAVID D.CLARK,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
T.C.EDRINGTON,
Pacific Bell
WILLIAM J.EMERY,
University of Colorado
DAVID J.FARBER,
University of Pennsylvania
HOWARD FRANK,
Network Management, Inc.
A.G.FRASER,
AT&T Bell Laboratories
HENRY GELLER,
Washington Center for Public Policy Research
BARRY C.GOLDSTEIN,
IBM Corporation
ROBERT E.KAHN,
Corporation for National Research Initiatives
SIDNEY KARIN,
GA Technologies, Inc.
ANTHONY G.LAUCK,
Digital Equipment Corporation
ALAN J.PERLIS,
Yale University
ROBERT D.PHAIR,
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
MARTHA E.WILLIAMS,
University of Illinois
KENNETH G.WILSON,
Cornell University
MARJORY S.BLUMENTHAL, Staff Director
MEG KNEMEYER, Staff Associate
DONNA F.ALLEN, Administrative Secretary
COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BOARD
JOSEPH F.TRAUB,
Columbia University,
Chairman
STEVE CHEN,
Supercomputer Systems, Inc.
MICHAEL L.DERTOUZOS,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
EDWARD A.FEIGENBAUM,
Stanford University
SAMUEL H.FULLER,
Digital Equipment Corporation
RONALD L.GRAHAM,
AT&T Bell Laboratories
ROBERT E.KAHN,
Corporation for National Research Initiatives
LEONARD KLEINROCK,
University of California at Los Angeles
DAVID J.KUCK,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
JOSHUA LEDERBERG,
The Rockefeller University
ROBERT W.LUCKY,
AT&T Bell Laboratories
ROBERT M.METCALFE,
3Com Corporation
RAJ REDDY,
Carnegie-Mellon University
MARY SHAW,
Carnegie-Mellon University
WILLIAM J.SPENCER,
Xerox Corporation
ANDRIES VAN DAM,
Brown University
SHMUEL WINOGRAD,
IBM Corporation
IRVING WLADAWSKY-BERGER,
IBM Corporation
MARJORY S.BLUMENTHAL, Staff Director
MEG KNEMEYER, Staff Associate
DONNA F.ALLEN, Administrative Secretary
COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND RESOURCES
NORMAN HACKERMAN,
Robert A.Welch Foundation,
Chairman
GEORGE F.CARRIER,
Harvard University
DEAN E.EASTMAN, IBM,
T.J.Watson Research Center
MARYE ANNE FOX,
University of Texas
GERHART FRIEDLANDER,
Brookhaven National Laboratory
LAWRENCE W.FUNKHOUSER,
Chevron Corporation (retired)
PHILLIP A.GRIFFITHS,
Duke University
J.ROSS MACDONALD,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
CHARLES J.MANKIN,
Oklahoma Geological Survey
PERRY L.MCCARTY,
Stanford University
JACK E.OLIVER,
Cornell University
JEREMIAH P.OSTRIKER,
Princeton University Observatory
WILLIAM D.PHILLIPS,
Mallinckrodt, Inc.
DENIS J.PRAGER,
MacArthur Foundation
DAVID M.RAUP,
University of Chicago
RICHARD J.REED,
University of Washington
ROBERT E.SIEVERS,
University of Colorado
LARRY L.SMARR,
National Center for Supercomputing Applications
EDWARD C.STONE, JR.,
California Institute of Technology
KARL K.TUREKIAN,
Yale University
GEORGE W.WETHERILL,
Carnegie Institution of Washington
IRVING WLADAWSKY-BERGER,
IBM Data Systems Division
RAPHAEL G.KASPER, Executive Director
LAWRENCE E.MCCRAY, Associate Executive Director
PREFACE
The National Research Network Review Committee (NRNRC) was established under the auspices of the National Research Council’s Computer Science and Technology Board (CSTB) to review proposals developed by the Committee on Computer Research and Applications of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology (FCCSET) for the establishment of a high-performance, national computer network for researchers. Through CSTB, the committee was asked by Gordon Bell (letter dated July 31, 1987), then chairman of the FCCSET Subcommittee on Computer Networking, Infrastructure, and Digital Communications, to consider three sets of issues:
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The technical feasibility of the network proposals,
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The utility of the proposed network to the research community,
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Developments in computer technology that might impinge on the proposed network and the services that might be offered over it.
The committee was subdivided into three subcommittees, each focusing on one of the above sets of issues. Committee members were selected for expertise in computer and network technology, network-based services, and the conduct of scientific research.
The committee was launched with the expectation that FCCSET would deliver to Congress a report dedicated to the national research network proposals. However, the actual FCCSET report, dated November 20, 1987, was released by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) as a combination of the network proposals and other proposals bearing on basic computer science research and computing for science and engineering. This report of the NRNRC primarily addresses the network proposal presented in the final OSTP report (see Appendix A), but it also draws upon background material conveyed in earlier, more detailed drafts from FCCSET (Committee on Computer Research and Applications, FCCSET 1987, Reports from the Workshop on Computer Networks, February 17–19, 1987, San Diego, California, and A Compendium of Supporting Technical Data). One result of the changes leading to the OSTP report was a shift in the committee’s emphasis away from specifics of the network proposals and toward a more general discussion of
the concept of and parameters for a high-performance computer network. This committee believes that far more detailed planning is required, some guidance for which is provided in this review.
The committee began its deliberations with an initial meeting on September 28, 1987, of the committee chairman and the chairmen of the three subcommittees. Subsequently, each subcommittee met and discussed its assigned issues. The full committee met on November 30, 1987, and April 5, 1988. Committee members received briefings from FCCSET representatives and discussed their reactions to the OSTP proposals and their own views on the merits and ideal attributes of a national research network. Because of its concern with the value of the proposed network to the user community, the committee also sought input from representatives of several scientific disciplines both through direct contacts with researchers and through the use of electronic bulletin boards. The committee’s findings as well as a set of issues and recommendations are presented in this report.
