IP: part 2 Next Generation Internet

[Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

       Qs and As on Next-Generation Internet Initiative
                        October 10, 1996


Q 1.  Why does the government need to do this, given that the 
commercial Internet industry is growing so explosively?


     The U.S. research community and government agencies have 
requirements that can not be met on today's public Internet or 
with today's technology.  For example, the Department of Defense 
needs the ability to transmit large amounts of real-time imagery 
data to military decision-makers to maintain "information 
dominance."  Scientists and engineers at universities and 
national labs need reliable and secure access to remote 
supercomputers, scientific facilities, and other researchers 
interacting in virtual environments.  The productivity of the 
U.S. research community will be increased if they have access to 
high-speed networks with advanced capabilities.  These new 
technologies will also help meet important national missions in 
defense, energy, health and space.


     An initiative of this nature would not be undertaken by the 
private sector alone because the benefits can not be captured by 
any one firm.  The Administration believes that this initiative 
will generate enormous benefits for the Nation as a whole.  It 
will accelerate the wide-spread availability of networked 
multimedia services to our homes, schools and businesses, with 
applications in areas such as community networking, life-long 
learning, telecommuting, electronic commerce, and health care.


Q 2.  What are some of the capabilities that the "Next Generation 
Internet" will have that today's Internet does not?


     Below are just of the few of the possibilities.  Many new 
applications will be developed by those using the Next Generation 
Internet.


?    An increased ability to handle real-time, multimedia 
     applications such as video-conferencing and "streams" of 
     audio and video -- very important for telemedicine and 
     distance education.  Currently, the Internet can't make any 
     guarantees about the rate at which it will deliver data to a 
     given destination, making many real-time applications 
     difficult or impossible.


?    Sufficient bandwidth to transfer and manipulate huge volumes 
     of data.  Satellites and scientific instruments will soon 
     generate a terabyte (a trillion bytes) of information in a 
     single day.  [The printed collection of the Library of 
     Congress is equivalent to 10 terabytes.]



?    The ability to access remote supercomputers, construct a 
     "virtual" supercomputer from multiple networked 
     workstations, and interact in real-time with simulations of 
     tornadoes, ecosystems, new drugs, etc. 

?    The ability to collaborate with other scientists and 
     engineers in shared, virtual environments, including 
     reliable and secure remote use of scientific facilities.


Q 3.  Does this represent a shift in the Administration's policy 
that the "information superhighway" will be built, owned, and 
operated by the private sector?


     Absolutely not.  The Administration does believe that it is 
appropriate for the government to help fund R&D and research 
networks, however.  


     Partnerships with industry and academia will ensure that the 
results of government-funded research are widely available.


Q 4.  Will this benefit all Americans, or just the research 
community?  


     By being a smart and demanding customer, the federal 
government and leading research universities will accelerate the 
commercial availability of new products, services, and 
technologies.  New technologies have transitioned very rapidly  
from the research community to private sector companies.  For 
example, Mosaic, the first graphical Web browser, was released by 
the National Center for Supercomputing Applications 1993.  By 
1994, Netscape and other companies had formed to develop 
commercial Web browsers.  Today, millions of Americans use the 
Web.


     The public will also benefit from the economic growth and 
job creation that will be generated from these new technologies, 
the new opportunities for life-long learning, and research 
breakthroughs in areas such as health.


Q 5.  What, if anything, will it do about "traffic jams" on the 
Internet, or the ability of the Internet to continue its 
phenomenal rate of growth?


     The lion's share of the responsibility for dealing with this 
problem lies with the private sector.  Internet Service Providers 
will have to invest in higher capacity, more reliable  networks 
to keep up with demand from their customers.


     However, this initiative will help by investing in R&D, 
creating testbeds, and serving as a first customer for many of 
the technologies that will help the Internet grow and flourish.   
One of the goals of the initiative is to identify and deploy 
technologies that will help the Internet continue its exponential 
rate of growth.   Examples include:



?    Ultra-fast, all-optical networks;


?    Faster switches and routers;


?    The ability to "reserve" bandwidth for real-time 
     applications;


?    A new version of the Internet Protocol that will prevent a 
     shortage of Internet addresses;


?    "Multicast" technology that conserves bandwidth by 
     disseminating data to multiple recipients at the same time;


?    Software for replicating information throughout the 
     Internet, thereby reducing bottlenecks;


?    Software for measuring network performance; and


?    Software to assure reliability and security of information 
     transmitted over the Internet.


Q 6.  How does this initiative relate to existing government 
programs, such as the High Performance Computing and 
Communications Initiative?  Will this be a totally new network?


     The initiative represents an increase in the HPCC budget.  
The initiative will include both:  (1) an expansion and 
augmentation of existing research networks supported by NSF, the 
Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and NASA; (2) 
new networks;and  (3) development of applications by agencies 
such as the National Institutes of Health.


Q 7.  Are more technical details on the initiative available?


     The Administration intends to consult broadly with the 
research community, the private sector, and other stakeholders 
before developing the final technical details for this 
initiative.