Dear Tech Talk--

 I've been hearing talk of something called Internet 2 or Internet: The Next Generation. What's going on here? Now that I've gotten the hang of using the Internet, is the government or some other agency going to radically change this resource I've grown to appreciate?

--Internet2 Inquirer

Dear I.I.--

 There's no need to panic. No one is doing away with the Internet as you currently know it . . . at least not for a while. However, there is at least one movement underway to move the Internet to its next level, especially regarding the needs of major research universities.

This movement is taking place primarily because, with the privatization of the Internet, the development of applications that would specifically benefit research universities is no longer taking place as it has in the

past. In addition, the increased use of the Internet by all aspects of society continues to place a high level of stress on the "pipelines" used to disseminate information on the Internet. So, in October 1996, a group of 34 universities decided to join together to develop and support a new network that they have named Internet2. Almost simultaneously, the Clinton administration announced the Next Generation Internet (NGI) Initiative. These two projects are closely intertwined because the Internet2 Project has responsibility for Goal 1(a) of the NGI Initiative; additionally, the Internet2 members are key participants in achieving the other NGI goals:

Goal 1: High-performance Network Fabric

1. The networks developed under the NGI Initiative will connect at least 100 NGI sites -- universities, federal research institutions, and other research partners -- at speeds 100 times faster than today's Internet.
2. The NGI networks will connect approximately ten NGI sites at speeds 1,000 times faster than the current Internet.

The NGI initiative should develop and demonstrate all the advanced network service technologies needed to support next-generation applications.

Goal 3: Revolutionary Applications

A fundamental objective for the NGI is to demonstrate a wide variety of nationally important applications that cannot be achieved over today's Internet. (Hanss, Summer 1997)

At this time, Internet2 is not slated to replace the Internet. Instead, it will use existing high-speed networks, such as the National Science Foundation's very high speed Backbone Network Service (vBNS), and ultimately all Internet2 members will be connected using other high speed networks. However, Internet2 will only be accessible by Internet2 member institutions. The main focus of Internet2 will be on the development of a new generation of network applications for interactive and collaborative scientific research, and for distributed instruction (instruction delivered beyond the traditional classroom). Some specific projects might be environmental monitoring, health care, and digital libraries. Details on the proposed specifics of these applications can be found at the Internet2 web site.

There are some issues of concern now being raised about the Internet2 Project:

1. The number of Internet2 members has grown from 34 institutions to over 100, along with more than 10 affiliates (public and private companies and organizations that share interests with the research universities). Some participants fear that the group has become too ungainly for the effective development of applications and effective use of the high speed networks needed to support these applications.
2. In spite of the rapid increase in the number of Internet2 members, others view it as an elitist movement. To become a member or affiliate requires both a financial commitment and a technical commitment to participate in the development of the new applications.
3. Currently, any data that travels across the Internet is given the same priority as any other piece of data. With proposed Internet2 protocols, some data would have a higher priority and would be sent before other data, thus ensuring a high quality of service for high priority data.

 

 

So, if it appears that Internet2 is an elitist project that will have little impact on libraries other than those at Internet2 institutions, why should librarians be concerned? The original ARPANet consisted of only 4 major research universities and the company Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc. The commitment to research and development of this small, "elitist" group ultimately resulted in the ubiquitous network that we now know as the Internet. Similarly, Internet2 institutions are developing and will test the applications and fast network solutions of the future. Ultimately, because the Internet2 is using open standards, these network tools and solutions can be adopted by others. If libraries, colleges, schools, businesses, and organizations wish to take advantage of these advances in the future (3+ years), they will need to upgrade their hardware and networks substantially.

Therefore, it behooves librarians to follow the progress made by Internet2 and the NGI Initiative, so that they can learn about the new applications as they are developed, think about how these applications might be used in the delivery of instruction or in support of the needs of their clientele in some other way, and build a rationale and support for upgrading equipment to provide access to Internet2 applications.

Additional Information --

Dr. Graham Spanier of Pennsylvania State University testifies before the U.S. House of Representatives Basic Research Committee, URL: http://www.internet2.edu/html/9_april_1997.html, April 9,1997 in Washington, D.C.

Graves, William H. "Why We Need Internet II". Educom Review (September/October 1996): 28-31.

Hanss, Ted. "Internet2: Building and Deploying Advanced, Networked Applications". Cause/Effect (Summer 1997): 4-7. URL: http://www.cause.org/information-resources/ir-library/html/cem9722.html

Internet2 Affliates URL: http://www.internet2.edu/html/affiliates.html

Internet2 Home Page URL: http://www.internet2.edu/

Internet2 Members URL: http://www.internet2.edu/html/members.html

Next Generation Internet URL: http://www.ngi.gov/

Saunders-McMaster, Laverna. " Internet2: An Overview of the Next Generation of the Internet". Computers in Libraries (March 1997):57-59.

Schneider, Karen. "Internet Librarian -- Internet 2: A Clean, Well-Lighted Network". American Libraries (April 1997): 84.

Shapley, Deborah. "Now Playing in Limited Release: Internet, the Next Generation". New York Times (January 27, 1997): D1.

Wilson, David L. "Planners of a Faster Internet Hope to Learn from the Original". Chronicle of Higher Education (March 28, 1997): A29-30

Young, Jeffrey R. "Backers of Internet 2 Take Their Case to Congress". Chronicle of Higher Education (April 18, 1997): A23.

Young, Jeffrey R. "Some Participants in Internet 2 Fear It Is Becoming Too Large". Chronicle of Higher Education (June 27, 1997): A23-24.

As always, send questions and comments to:
 
 

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Tech Talk
Billie Peterson
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E-mail: petersonb@baylor.edu