2nd
Generation Internet
By
Will Pepper
Over
the past decade the world has grown smaller.
The Internet has brought a collection of ideas, programs, and people
together that would never have had such an open forum.
The
Internet began as a series of memos from by MIT by J.C.R. Licklider (1915-1990)
discussing a “Galactic Network” that would allow people to connect to computers
and share data from anywhere in the world.
Licklider went on to write The
Computer Communications Drive (1968).
Though another colleague at MIT Leonard Kleinrock wrote the first book
regarding the subject it was Lawrence Roberts that worked for DARPA (Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency) that developed ARPANET (Advanced Research
Projects Agency Net), the first form of the Internet.
Since
then the Internet has gone through many facelifts and now has between 30
million and 200 million (according to online polls) but that number is constantly
increasing. With most business becoming
“e-commerce” aware and the world becoming more digital makes people wonder
“What is next for the Internet?”
Internet2 is a program using by over
190 universities working with the government and leaders in the technology
industry working toward the next phase of the world online.
While
this Initiative has been said to be for the enhancing of the teaching and
learning aspects and exploring the ways that network the K-12 graders it also
works with K-20. The K-20 section, the
Varsity Group as I will call it, not just deals with the funding but has
sections working on it.
One
of the components that works with Internet2 is Abilene. Abilene is the backbone for new applications
for Internet2. Much like Sunset is main
backbone that leads to our regional server called SURANET for the Ole
Miss accounts, Abilene connects “regional network aggregation points” or
gigaPoPs to align the Internet2 universities. Ole Miss is an Internet2 member and what Abilene will do
for our university is provide an advanced backbone that will let research
applications work faster, allow for a separate network for advanced testing of
network capabilities, and make alternate network designs for future
advancement.
Abilene
will deal only with the traffic routed from gigaPops and Primary Participants (http://www.internet2.edu/html/members.html)
and Collaboration Sites of Affiliate and Corporate
Members (http://www.internet2.edu/html/collabsite.html).
Another
set of federal agencies working together toward the future of the Internet is Next Generation Internet (NGI). They travel worldwide showing off
presentations in major cities, getting grants and endorsements, and even
raising over $100 million for R&D in 1998 to support their research.
Along
with Universities and government agencies certain corporations are lending
assistance. MCI’s High Speed Network
Services (site requires login and search at http://www.vbns.net)
Sun
Microsystems (article at http://www.cenic.org/PR_MY499.html),
and
Microsoft
Research (article http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/1999/04-28i2c.asp)
are some of the big companies that are
helping fund/research the program.
Some
individuals have even joined together to create a better society. The Internet Engineering Task force (http://www.ietf.org/) are technicians working
in groups through mailing lists. They
work on issues such as security, routing, and transporting.
With
this many people working toward a faster, more efficient Internet it shows that
the invention of so few can lead to the collaboration of so many.
For
more information on the purpose of Abilene and their connection to Internet2
go to http://www.internet2.edu/abilene/html/cou.html
History
of the Internet’s creator J.C.R. Licklider is at http://memex.org/licklider.html
History
of the Internet at http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml
Data
from people on the Internet at http://www.yourinter.net/helpdesk/people_internet.htm
Data
on Abilene is at http://www.internet2.edu/abilene/
History
of Next Generation Internet is at http://www.ngi.gov/white-house/background.html