News for and about the Internet2 community

["Greg Wood" <>]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Alan Blatecky
  NCNI
  (919) 248-1149
  


Contact: Greg Wood
  Internet2
  (202) 872-9119
  




NCNI SELECTED AS NATIONAL INTERNET2 TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION CENTER

A glimpse into the future of networking

Research Triangle Park, N.C. - December 9, 1999 - The North Carolina
Networking Initiative (NCNI) has been selected by Internet2 to be one of two
national Internet2 Technology Evaluation Centers (ITEC). Internet2 is a
consortium led by over 160 universities, working with industry and
government to develop and deploy advanced Internet applications and
technologies. As part of the ITEC, NCNI will conduct testing and evaluation
of leading-edge technologies for Internet2 networks.

Specifically, the North Carolina ITEC is focused on three areas. The first
is that the NC ITEC will work with the Abilene Project Team and the Network
Operations Center in Indiana, to help resolve problems that arise in network
operations. The second area of focus is testing new hardware, network
components, new software codes or updates before they are installed into
Abilene to eliminate network problems and interruption of service. The third
focus area is that the NC ITEC will assist the Internet2 community to
understand the next-generation network architectures, designs and
technologies which might be deployed into the Abilene Research Network.

Areas of research at the NC ITEC include multi-cast, IPv6, TCIP, IP directly
on DWDM and Optical Media Access control. Advanced applications in these and
other areas are expected to be deployed on a regular basis.

"NCNI is proud to be selected as an ITEC for Internet2 community" said Alan
Blatecky, VP Information Technology at MCNC and NCNI Executive Director.
"NCNI has established leadership in network infrastructure, high-performance
network operations and in testing and evaluation, and it is great that our
facilities, institutions, expertise and corporate partners can be leveraged
to help the entire higher education and research community."

Part of the goal of NCNI is to foster network research activities that will
benefit the region with advanced technology applications in addition to
promoting economic growth and diversity within the state. Being selected as
the ITEC brings NCNI one step closer to accomplishing these goals and
drawing attention to the human as well as technology resources within North
Carolina, particularly within RTP.

The ITEC was awarded officially in October 1999, and some initial testing
began in mid-October.

About NCNI
The North Carolina Networking Initiative (NCNI) is a collaborative effort of
the Triangle Universities and high technology industries to explore and
develop leading edge network technologies, engineering and applications.
NCNI operates the NC GigaPoP to provide advanced network services and early
deployment of technologies to meet the needs of the North Carolina education
and research community. NCNI is located on the campus of MCNC is Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina, and its web site can be found at
http://www.ncni.net.


About Internet2
Internet2, a project of the University Corporation for Advanced Internet
Development provides leadership and direction for advanced networking
development within the U.S. university community. Its programs are devoted
to network research, technology transfer, and collaborative activities in
related fields such as distance learning and educational
technology. Internet2 is a collaborative project by over 160 U.S. research
universities, in partnership with industry leaders and U.S. federal
agencies, to develop a new family of advanced applications to meet emerging
academic requirements in research, teaching and learning.
http://www.internet2.edu.

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