NETWORK TRANSITIONS
AND SCALABILITY ISSUES
BACKGROUND. The Internet continues to exceed all growth expectations. Issues still
command attention as the transition to the new architecture and structure continues. These
issues arise because the widely varying communities which include higher education and
research, K-12, the federal government, and industry all expect significant growth due to
widened use and new tools.
The FNCAC is constituted to advise the FNC, from the widely different perspectives of its
members, on issues affecting the network growth. It can neither solve issues related to
network growth nor provide more than substantiated evidence as to whether growth is a
smooth curve or a bumpy ride.
What the FNCAC can do is to address the network transitions and scalability by crisply
identifying the issues, defining the questions that should be addressed, and suggesting a timely
and systematic documentation with resulting recommendations on necessary steps. Such a
work product should go beyond short-term operational issues to a strategic look at the evolving
nature of the network itself. The FNCAC's identification of issues and questions might serve
as a basis for a request to an appropriate body--for instance, to the Computer Science and
Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council--to further study and recommend
any necessary steps (following up on their previous work).
Crucial questions the FNCAC might identify include:
1 What are the key assumptions that are being tested by network growth during the
transition?
2. Are there management and systems integration and reliability issues that require attention?
3. What resource allocation decisions will need to be addressed as geometric network growth
continues?
4. Can the growing needs of the constituencies represented by the higher education and
research, K-12, industry, and the public sector be characterized and estimated?
The FNCAC subcommittee on this issue, if it finds this issue useful, will develop a draft
charter for a more detailed study of the issues. The subcommittee will prepare its brief report
for circulation before the April FNCAC meeting. An early draft charter could provide the
basis for discussion and refinement at the proposed transition workshop--as discussed at the
FNCAC October 1995 meeting and being organized by Stu Personick.
SUBCOMMITTEE.
George Brandenburg, co-chair
Stewart Personick, co-chair
Alan Blatecky
Sidney Karin
Kenneth Klingenstein
Stu Loken
Last modified on March 22, 1996
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