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ESnet and its constituents participate in every conceivable aspect
of networking. This activity involves working with many entities
outside the DOE sphere. Such external activities involve the full
spectrum of ESnet participants, from DOE and ESnet management personnel
to ER researchers and computer professionals at national laboratories
and universities. ESnet also provides forums for sharing the information
gained from these liaisons. Access to this information is one of
the major benefits to be derived from voluntary participation in
ESnet. The major non-ESnet participants in these collaborations
and liaisons are described below.
The Office of Scientific Computing participates in numerous federal
and interagency initiatives and committees by providing technical
and administrative support for these efforts, which include the
following agencies and ad hoc groups:
- The National Science & Technology Council (NSTC)
(formerly FCCSET). The NSTC is charged with developing a national
R&D strategy to coordinate federal R&D expenditures.
Of the NSTC's nine subcommittees, the OSC participates in one,
namely, the Committee on Information and Communication (CIC).
- The Committee on Applications and Technology of the Information
Infrastructure Task Force (IITF). The IITF was created by
the president to propose the policies and initiatives needed
to accelerate the deployment of the National Information Infrastructure
and assist in the implementation of those policies. The OSC
participates in the IITF's Applications and Technology committee
as well as its Government Information Task Services Working
Group, its Technology Policy Working Group, and its Government
Information and Technology Services (GITS) subcommittee. The
OSC is also a member of the GITS Electronic Mail Subgroup (GEMS),
whose purpose is to ensure interoperability between Government
agencies and the research, development, and educational programs
that use e-mail directory services.
- The High Performance Computing and Communications Information
Technology (HPCCIT) subcommittee of the NSTC Committee on Information
and Communication. This subcommittee addresses issues that
relate to the retention of U.S. leadership in the application
of computing communications technologies. The HPCCIT subcommittee
is particularly concerned with government policies that affect
advanced segments of industry and national security agencies.
It is composed of several working groups, including the Science
and Engineering Computing Working Group, the Education Working
Group, and the Network Working Group.
- The Federal Network Council (FNC). The FNC is chartered
to establish a long-term strategy for the operation and evolution
of the Internet and other national computer networks. The Council
is particularly concerned with the support of research and education.
- The National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The OSC participates
in NAS's board on Mathematical Science and its Computer Science
Technology Board.
- The Coordinating Committee for Informatics Research, Development,
and Application (CCIRDA). CCIRDA functions as the chief
planning and coordinating body for informational, computational,
and communications requirements throughout ER.
- The Federal Interconnectivity Requirements Panel (FIRP).
The OSC played a key role in establishing and funding this
panel. One of its first actions was to review Standard 146 of
the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS), which contained
provisions that would have prohibited the use of TCP/IP protocols
by federal agencies. As a result of the FIRP's review, the networking
provisions of the FIPS were modified to permit the use of TCP/IP
protocols.
ESnet management generally provides the technical and administrative
liaisons necessary for ESnet to participate in national and international
Internet activities. These liaisons are essential to maintain many
important elements of an internationally distributed network. Some
of the current liaison bodies are:
- The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The IETF
is an open forum whose purpose is to engineer solutions to problems
that affect network operations in the short-to-medium term.
Working groups are formed to deal with specific aspects of such
problems.
- The Federal Engineering and Planning Group (FEPG).
The FEPG provides a forum within which federal network providers
can share information and address networking issues of common
concern.
- The North American Network Operations Group (NANOG). This
group meets 3-4 times yearly and provides a forum in which managers
of U.S. Internet networks can interact and respond to issues
of common concern.
The national laboratories and many universities maintain numerous
liaisons with industrial contacts and independent links to regional
networks. Many of these links intersect with the interests of ESnet
in ways that benefit not only ER but the wider DOE community and
the nation as a whole. Included among these liaisons are:
- Industrial Contacts. Historically, the national laboratories
and universities have used networking as a means to facilitate
the geographical dispersion of collaborative science. The sciences
have become dependent on high-performance networking, which
many consider an essential medium for the conduct of modern
science. This dependence has led laboratories and universities
to work directly with industry in developing and testing new
network products and capabilities.
- Regional Networking Contacts. Several ESnet-related
laboratories and universities connect directly to regional and
state networks. These connections provide ESnet with independent
pathways to all of the systems within the regional networks
in question. These independent pathways will play an important
role in the transition from an NSF-provided Internet to commercial
service.
- Standards Development. Laboratory and university personnel
participate in the standards committees that provide the foundations
for the development of new communications technologies.
ESnet and its participating sites have assisted in establishing
initial international connectivity for a number of countries, including
Italy, Germany, Japan, Brazil, and, most recently, China. ESnet
and its constituents actively participate in several international
organizations and activities including:
- The Coordinating Committee for International Research
Networking (CCIRN). The mission of CCIRN is to stimulate
cooperative international research by promoting enhanced, interoperable
networking services. CCIRN also seeks to: (1) coordinate international
connections between the networks represented on the committee,
(2) promote the evolution of an open international research
network, (3) coordinate the development of international network
management techniques, and (4) disseminate the results of networking
research and development.
- The International Engineering and Planning Group (IEPG).
ESnet also participates in the forums provided by the IEPG.
Go to the next section, ESnet Today
Go to the preceding section, Networking
Committees
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