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Internet 2 Project
Source: Rice Computing News, Vol. XXIX No.1, Spring 1997
Gail Miller, Editor
Rice has joined a
major new initiative to adapt research Internet technology to academic
needs. The Internet 2 project, a collaborative effort by 100 American
research universities to build a next generation Internet 100 times faster
than today's network, will bring focus, energy, and resources to meet
emerging academic requirements in research, teaching, and learning. Tony
Gorry, Vice President for Information Technology Services, will coordinate
Rice's efforts in the Internet II project.
With more than $50
million in committed funding from participating institutions, the Internet
2 project (I2) will help create a family of network-based applications and
supporting infrastructure that reflects state of the art network and
applications functionality.
Since the effort was
announced by 34 research universities in October, 1996,12 has tripled in
size and become a key element of the Clinton administration's $100 million
Next Generation Internet Initiative, as well as a close cousin to the
National Science Foundation's high speed research network, the VBNS (Rice
is a member of a local consortium that won an NSF vBNS grant).
The project will
address three major challenges over the next three to five years:
- the creation of a leading edge network capability for the national
research community. The rapid growth and commercialization of the Internet
has resulted in such a high level of congestion that many faculty are
becoming deprived of the network capability needed to support world class
research.
- the development of a new generation of applications that fully exploit
the capabilities of broadband networks - media integration, interactivity,
real time collaboration, just to name a few. These are essential for the
support of new initiatives, such as distance education, national research
objectives and lifelong learning, within higher education.
- the rapid transfer of new network services and applications into the
commercial marketplace, thereby improving production Internet services to
all members of the academic community.
Membership currently
stands at over 100 member universities, affiliated members (such as NCSA,
NYSERnet), a number of federal agencies, and many of the leading computer
and telecommunications firms, including IBM, Cisco Systems, AT&T, MCI, and
Sun. The first general meeting was held in San Francisco in January, and in
February President Clinton announced his intention to designate Ken
Kennedy, Director of the CRPC at Rice, as Co-Chairman of the Advisory
Committee on High-Performance Computing and Communications, Information
Technology, and the Next Generation Internet.
http://www.internet2.edu/
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