A History of International Research Networking: The People who Made it Happen

339 Pages·2010·3.671 MB·English

by  Howard Davies, Beatrice Bressan (eds.)

Edited by
Howard Davies and
Beatrice Bressan
A History of International
Research Networking
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Edited by
Howard Davies and Beatrice Bressan
A History of International
Research Networking
The People who Made it Happen
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ISBN:978-3-527-32710-2
VII
Contents
Foreword V
Preface XI
List of Contributors XIII
Color Plates XV
1 EarlyDays 1
1.1 TheStartingPoint 1
1.1.1 TheDataCommunicationsScene 1
1.2 ProtocolsandStandards 2
1.2.1 InterimStandards 3
1.2.2 OpenSystemsInterconnection 3
1.2.3 TheInternetProtocols 4
1.3 EuropeanCoordination 5
1.3.1 IdentifyingtheNeed 5
1.3.2 PreliminarySteps 5
1.3.3 TheFirstEuropeanNetworkshop 6
1.4 RARE:FromProposaltoReality 11
1.4.1 LayingtheFoundations 11
1.4.2 TheFirstStepforCOSINE 12
1.4.3 TheSecondEuropeanNetworkshop 13
1.4.4 TheBirthofRARE 13
1.4.5 TheEndoftheBeginning 14
1.5 EARN,theFirstInternationalServiceinEurope 15
1.5.1 PreparationandConstitutionofEARN 17
1.6 IXI 21
2 TheRoleofFundingBodies 27
2.1 EUREKAandCOSINE 27
2.2 ECandNationalGovernments 31
2.2.1 ImpactontheInternalCOSINEDebates 33
AHistoryofInternationalResearchNetworking.EditedbyHowardDaviesandBeatriceBressan
Copyright(cid:1)2010WILEY-VCHVerlagGmbH&Co.KGaA,Weinheim
ISBN:978-3-527-32710-2
VIII Contents
3 OrganizedCooperation 39
3.1 TheActivitiesofRARE 39
3.2 TheGestationofDANTE 41
3.2.1 TheProcessandtheStructure 43
3.2.2 RelationshipswithOtherBodies 45
3.2.3 ManagementandStaff 50
3.3 RAREandEARN:theMerger 52
3.4 RARE,EARNandTERENA 56
3.5 DANTEandTERENA 60
3.6 TheFutureofTERENA 62
3.7 TheValueofCOSINE 64
3.7.1 TheImportanceoftheAchievements 65
3.7.2 COSINEEpilogue 67
3.8 RIPEandtheRIPENCC 68
4 DifferentApproaches 73
4.1 HEPnet 73
4.2 DECnet 77
4.3 EUnet 78
4.3.1 Precursors 79
4.3.2 TheNetworkGrowsQuickly 83
4.3.3 CooperationwithEmergingEuropeanResearch
andAcademicNetworks 84
4.4 Ebone 86
4.5 EMPB,EuropeanMulti-ProtocolBackbone 93
4.6 EuropaNET 102
5 TheInterviews 111
5.1 DaiDavies 111
5.2 KeesNeggersandBoudewijnNederkoorn 118
5.3 KlausUllmann 126
6 TheBandwidthBreakthrough 135
6.1 TEN-34 135
6.2 TEN-155andQUANTUM 142
6.2.1 TEN-155TakesShape 144
6.2.2 IntercontinentalandExternalConnectivity 150
6.2.3 TheQUANTUMTestProgram 151
6.3 RelationswithTelecomOperators 152
6.4 RelationswithEquipmentSuppliers 154
6.4.1 ResearchandEducationNetworksasaMarket 154
6.4.2 TheResearchandEducationCommunityasaTechnology
Incubator 155
6.4.3 ResearchandEducationNetworksNeedforInteroperability 158
Contents IX
7 SupportforApplications 163
7.1 SecurityandCERTs 163
7.1.1 EstablishingaRegionalIdentity 165
7.1.2 Today’sActivities 168
7.1.3 TheTrustedIntroducerService 169
7.2 COSINESub-Projects 170
7.3 Grids 175
8 RegionalPerspectives 179
8.1 NORDUnet 179
8.1.1 EARN,FirstStepsinEuropeanCollaboration 180
8.1.2 RARE,HarmonizingEuropeanDevelopment 181
8.1.3 Ebone,theFirstPan-EuropeanIPBackbone 182
8.1.4 NSF,theAmericanConnection 183
8.1.5 DANTE,CoordinatingEuropeanNetworking 184
8.1.6 Internet2,towardsNewApplications 185
8.1.7 The6NETProject,TestingIPv6 186
8.1.8 GLIFandLambdaNetworking,theNewLight 187
8.2 CEEC 189
8.2.1 ExternalSupport 189
8.2.2 TheEC’sPHAREProgram 190
8.2.3 NationalInfrastructures 191
8.2.4 Pan-EuropeanConnectivityoftheCEEC 192
8.2.5 EuropeanProjects 193
8.2.6 TheSignificanceofGÉANT 194
8.3 AsiaandPacific 194
8.3.1 LeasedLineConnections 195
8.3.2 Trans-EurasiaInformationNetwork 196
8.3.3 Trans-SiberiaLinkinthe2000s 197
8.3.4 NetworkDevelopment 197
8.4 SouthEastEuropeandtheMediterranean 199
8.4.1 GRNET/GreeceandSEEREN 199
8.4.2 ILAN/Israel 201
8.4.3 EUMEDCONNECT 203
8.5 LatinAmerica 204
8.5.1 AVeryBriefHistoryofAcademicNetworkingin
LatinAmerica 206
8.5.2 TheALICEProjectandtheRedCLARANetwork 207
8.5.3 NewandGreatlyImprovedResearchNetworksin
LatinAmerica 211
8.5.4 CollaborativeNetworkedApplicationsinLatinAmerica 213
8.5.5 TheFutureoftheLatinAmericanRegionalNetwork 214
8.6 Russia 215
8.6.1 TheOriginsoftheMainRussianResearchNetworks 215
X Contents
9 TransatlanticConnections 221
9.1 The‘‘WelcomeGuest’’Period 221
9.2 ThePartnershipPeriod 228
9.2.1 Euro-Link 228
9.2.2 GLIF-GlobalLambdaIntegratedFacility 229
9.2.3 TransLight/StarLight 230
9.2.4 GLIF,GridsandtheFuture 231
10 AEuropeanAchievement 235
10.1 GÉANT 235
10.2 GÉANT2,CreationoftheFirstInternationalHybridNetwork 242
10.2.1 TheGestationPeriod 242
10.2.2 ComplexProcurement 243
10.2.3 Roll-OutandMigration 245
10.2.4 SwitchedPoint-to-Point(p2p)Connections 245
10.2.5 CostSharing 247
10.2.6 CrossBorderInitiatives 248
10.2.7 GlobalConnectivity 249
10.2.8 Conclusion 249
10.3 TheImpactofResearchNetworking 250
10.3.1 TheImpactonIndividuals 250
10.3.2 TheImpactonCommerce 251
10.3.3 TheImpactonEntertainment 251
10.3.4 TheImpactontheTelecommunicationsIndustry 252
10.3.5 TheImpactonEducationandResearch 253
10.3.6 TheImpactontheEnvironment 254
10.3.7 ThePoliticalImpact 254
10.3.8 TheImpactonStandardDevelopmentMethod 255
10.3.9 Conclusion 257
FurtherReading 259
AppendixA:ThePeoplewhoMadeitHappen 261
AppendixB:ListofNRENManagers 273
AppendixC:ListofNetworkNames 279
AppendixD:ListofAcronyms 283
AppendixE:ListofTerms 293
AppendixF:ListofUnits 303
IndexofNames 305
SubjectIndex 307
PictureCredits 317
V
Foreword
The20th anniversary ofthe TransEuropean Research and Education Networking
Association, TERENA, took place in the summer of 2006. At this event, the idea
arosethatitwouldbeinterestingtowritea‘‘HistoryBook’’abouthowEuropegotits
acttogetherandmanagedtocreatethegloballymostadvancedfacilitiesforresearch
networkingintheworld–inspiteof,originally,beingfarbehindtheUnitedStates.
Thetimealsoseemedtoberipe,sincemanyoftheoriginalplayersinthefield
althoughnowretiringwerestillaround,sothattheeditorsofsucha‘‘HistoryBook’’
couldstillgetinputandfeedbackfrommanyofthepeoplewhohadbeeninvolvedin
thisexcitingdevelopment.
So it was decided to try to collect contributions from a fairly large number of
peopleintheEuropeanresearchnetworkingcommunity,andhavethesecontribu-
tions edited and put together by an editorial team consisting of Howard Davies –
himselfoneoftheoriginal‘‘networkers’’inEurope–andBeatriceBressan,ascience
writer from CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) with long
experienceinsciencedissemination.
As TERENA’s President I was asked to provide the liaison with the editors,
togetherwiththeSecretaryGeneral,KarelVietsch,andweaddedasmalleditorial
committeeconsistingoftwonetworkingpioneers,LajosBálintfromHungaryand
ClaudioAllocchiofromItaly.
Sothisisanattemptatwritingahistoryofhowtheworkofmanybrilliantpeople
joined together and in the end produced a remarkable result – really put the
European research area on the map as the first and foremost in high speed
networking.
Itisalsoastoryabouthowcomplicateditcanbetoreachagreementontechnical
andorganisationalissuesbetweensomanydifferentcountries–howmuchwork
goesintogettingtheacttogether,whenyouaremanydifferentnations,eachwith
expertsandopinions;andastoryaboutwhatitmeanttoEuropethatliberalization
cametothetelecommunicationsmarket.
Butapartfromthetelecommunicationsliberalization,itisnotreallyastoryabout
politics but, above all, a story about how engineers and scientists all over Europe
joinedforcestocollaborateonthepromotionofscienceandeducation,bothintheir
homeuniversitiesorresearchcentersandintheremotestpartsoftheworld.
AHistoryofInternationalResearchNetworking.EditedbyHowardDaviesandBeatriceBressan
Copyright(cid:1)2010WILEY-VCHVerlagGmbH&Co.KGaA,Weinheim
ISBN:978-3-527-32710-2
VI Foreword
The book is not the work of one person, and the styles of different parts bear
witnesstothat,however,Ibelievetheeditorsalsogottheiracttogetherandjoined
thesedifferent contributions intoavery interesting whole.Thereisnoattempt at
completeness – a selection of topics had to be made, and also not all of the
prospective contributors were able to provide contributions to the text – however,
most main events are described here, and most invited contributors did agree to
deliver.
One clear omission is that the intimate interplay in this development between
highperformancecomputingandhighperformancenetworkingisnottrulyeluci-
dated. Over the past decades, there is no doubt that this interplay has, at certain
periodsoftime,beenverystrongandhasplayedacrucialroleinthedevelopmentof
theproject.IpersonallysawhowmuchitmeantattheEuropeanlevelintheearly90s
that the Director General of CERN, Carlo Rubbia, when chairing a high-level
Advisory Committee for the EC (European Commission), made it an important
issuetolinkhighperformancecomputingwithhighspeednetworking.Iknowthat,
atthenationallevel,thishasbeendecisiveinmanycountriesatcertainperiodsof
time.
On behalf of the TERENA Executive Committee I am happy to express our
heartfelt thanks to all the people who took time out to write some pages of this
historyandIalsothinkitappropriatetothankallthepeopleinvolvedinthisprocess
overtheyears –theheadsof NationalResearch and Education Networking Orga-
nisations, and their dedicated staff members. Without the ‘‘backbone’’ of all the
research networks, the European connections would not be of any real value to
anyone,andwithoutthejointeffortofthenationalorganisations,therewouldnotbe
aEuropeanassociation.
So this is not the story of a single individual who made an astonishing step
forward–albeitthereisalsointhesequenceofeventsatleastonesuchstory,the
inventionoftheWebbyTimBerners-Lee–butitisthestoryofmanyindividuals,all
overEurope,makingacollaborativeeffortthatreallyhasmeantabigleapforward.
DorteOlesen
PresidentofTERENAandDirectorGeneralofUNI(cid:1)C,
theDanishITCentreforEducationandResearch