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NGI Implementation Plan
Section 2.2.2: Specifics/NIST |
 
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2. Goal 1
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Goal 1: Experimental Research for Advanced Network Technologies (continued) |
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2.2 Agency Specifics
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Agency Specifics (continued) |
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2.2.2 NIST
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National Institute of Standards and Technology |
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2.2.2.1 Introduction
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Introduction NIST is refocusing part of its on-going research program in advanced networking technologies, computer security, and conformance testing to better support NGI goals. The NGI initiative provides an exceptional opportunity for NIST to coordinate its on-going research with other Federal agencies, to build on the investments of those agencies, and to refine its research focus based on the results of their programs of work. NIST's programs focus on measurement, standards, and test methods to expedite the development of, improve the quality of, and enhance the interoperability of next generation networking technologies and supporting systems. NIST's unique mission in these activities is to support the U.S. information technology industry by fostering the rapid commercialization and deployment of enabling and infrastructural networking technologies developed as part of the NGI effort. NIST's traditional focus on measurement, standards, and test methods in support of the IT industry will take on new importance as the research efforts of Goal 1 evolve toward standardized/commercial technologies. The complexities of, and interdependencies among, future network control systems and services (for example, multilayer QoS signaling, routing, flow control, security) will defy analysis by simple means. Likewise, the cost of building testbeds of the extent necessary to test many critical design and deployment issues (for example, global scaling, highly layered control systems) will be prohibitive in the early stages of technology R&D. The old credo of "rough consensus and running code" being the only quality assurances needed to guide the development of new Internet technology will not be sufficient in the future. NIST's goals are to research and develop new techniques and tools to test and evaluate new networking technology at all stages of its development and deployment. Test and instrumentation technology should become a common part of the protocol design and specification process, and should be integrated into, and evolve with, the implementation and deployment of the network itself. Advances in measurement and testing technology will enable the rapid evaluation of research designs and prototypes and will facilitate the transfer of new technology to the communications industry and the NGI Goal 2 network infrastructures. NIST has initially identified and refocused as necessary the following on-going research activities that support Goal 1. It is expected that future NGI activities will evolve from these efforts and general goals. Participating in the NGI initiative will give NIST a broader basis for evaluating the effect of its research and the direction that future research should take. Future research objectives will be refined through collaboration and cooperative efforts with the NGI programs of other agencies and with the needs of the IT industry in adopting and commercializing NGI technology. |
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2.2.2.2 Next Generation Internetwork Technology
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Next Generation Internetwork Technology NIST activities in support of fostering commercialization of next generation networking technologies include developing a reference implementation and a remotely accessible interoperability testbed for IPv6; developing an Integrated Services Packet Switched network testbed and instrumentation tools for QoS in IP-based networks; simulating and analyzing protocols for advanced ATM networks; doing research in high speed residential access; and testing and measurement methods for evaluating next generation, intelligent collaborative tools. IPv6 Technology Development NIST is actively participating in the design, development, and testing of the NGI protocol, IP version 6 (IPv6). NIST's activities include (1) pilot deployment of a multivendor IPv6 testbed focusing on evaluating IPv6 security mechanisms and technical migration strategies for existing IP networking infrastructures; and (2) the development of publicly available reference implementations of IPv6 focusing on security features and ATM integration issues. Integrated Services for NGI NIST is participating in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) community effort to develop technology to support real time network services in the Internet Protocol Suite. NIST's activities include (1) pilot deployment of a multivendor testbed focusing on evaluating the interoperability of early prototype implementations of resource reservation protocols and real time transport protocols, and (2) the development of instrumentation and emulation tools that enable application experimentation with emerging QoS controlled network services. ATM Protocol Simulation and Analysis NIST has built the ATM protocol simulator that is widely used within the ATM Forum to analyze proposed ATM protocols. NIST uses the simulator to analyze a wide range of ATM protocols. Current examples of this work are the proposed traffic management and ATM network routing protocols. This simulation and analysis capability can be used for modeling and evaluating technical proposals for mapping IP reservations to ATM QoS or for analyzing various proposals for IP switching on an ATM fabric. Research in High speed Residential Access NIST is performing the media access layer analysis for the proposed Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) standard for the IEEE 802.14 committee. HFC allows high speed two-way communication through a home's cable TV connection. Handling the aggregate demands of large numbers of high speed residential customers may be a bigger challenge for the NGI infrastructures of Goal 2 than handling individual very high speed applications. Traffic characterization models of residential customers and others, and models of the effect of aggregate demand are important test and measurement tools for network planning. Testing Technology for Collaborative Systems NIST is developing method, metrics, and testing tools to evaluate generation-after-next collaboration systems and supporting infrastructure technologies. NIST's efforts focus on developing testing and instrumentation technology that will enable collaboration systems developed through the DARPA Intelligent Collaboration and Visualization (IC&V) program to be evaluated in terms of objectives for task performance, scalability, heterogeneity, and interoperability. |
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2.2.2.3 Security
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Security NIST activities in support of secure systems and networks include the development of criteria, tests, and test methods for Internet/internetwork security, cryptographic technology, advanced authentication technology, and public key and key management infrastructure. Cryptographic Technology and Applications This activity involves the developing and testing cryptographic algorithms and interfaces for use in protecting office and electronic commerce applications and data. This is one of the most important areas of IT security, since several critical security services (authentication, data integrity, data confidentiality, and non-repudiation) depend on cryptographic technology. Advanced Authentication Technology Reusable passwords remain the primary means of user authentication in the Internet, despite the fact that it has been demonstrated that their use is completely unsuitable for the global, open Internet where such passwords are passed in the clear and can be picked up and reused almost at will. NIST has led in the development of technology and standards to provide effective authentication alternatives to passwords, and is working to promote the use of such methods throughout the Internet and other network environments. Public Key and Key Management Infrastructure The use of cryptographic services across the global Internet requires the use of "certificates" that bind cryptographic keys and other security information to specific users or entities in the network. Comprehensive certificate management mechanisms and underlying support infrastructure are required for all of this to work. NIST is actively involved in developing critical components of that public key infrastructure (PKI). Internet/Internetwork Security The viability and success of the NGI will depend on the existence of new, more secure protocols. Current protocols have limited and demonstrably weak security mechanisms. NIST is participating with the Internet community to develop new protocols that will include advanced methods to authenticate communications, nodes, and users, as well as provide other security services such as confidentiality protection, extended audit trails, and threat monitoring. NIST activities include the research and development of IP security (IPSec) technology for IPv4 and IPv6 including: prototype reference IPSec implementations, integration with key management and certificate protocols, advanced testing tools and test methods. Security Criteria, Test Methods, and Testing Unlike other types of standards and open specifications, security standards have an implicit requirement for special testing. In addition to traditional functionality and interoperability tests, security products and services need to be tested to ensure that they cannot be subverted by intentional acts or attacks and that they do not contain functionality beyond that specified (for example, "trap doors"). NIST has helped lead an international effort to develop a common set of security product/system evaluation and testing criteria to meet this need. This is central to NIST's strategy of developing (1) a comprehensive testing competency, (2) research, and (3) accreditation capability for use by product developers and users in both government and industry. |
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2.2.2.4 Milestones |
Milestones
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