Middleware Announcements

["Lee Perlis" <>]

***Internet2(R) Members Update***
       March 2003

<> Abilene Network Upgrade Progress
<> Spring 2003 Internet2 Member Meeting
<> National Science Foundation Solicitation
<> Virtual Briefings
<> February 2003 Joint Techs Workshop Recap
<> Applications Update
<> International Update
<> Middleware Update
<> End-to-End Performance Initiative (E2Epi)
<> Internet2 K20 Initiative Update
<> Member-to-Member Announcements
<> Future Internet2 Events
<> New Members
<> Internet2 Days
<> Showcase Opportunities
<> Internet2 Related Events

Member updates are now archived at:
http://members.internet2.edu/memberupdates/index.html

<> Abilene Network Upgrade Progress
+ Abilene Backbone Network Upgrade Passes Transcontinental Milestone
The first transcontinental path in the Abilene network's nationwide upgrade
is now in service. When completed later this year, the upgrade will
quadruple the capacity of more than 13,000 miles of network to 10 gigabits
per second, more than 15,000 times faster than a typical home broadband
connection.  Qwest Communications International, Juniper Networks and
Indiana University are providing equipment and services to implement the
network upgrade. The Abilene upgrade will provide scientists, teachers and
students at the more than 225 Internet2 member universities and research
centers access to advanced networking capabilities, such as line-speed
native IPv6 and scalable multicasting, required by advanced network
applications that do not work well or at all on the commercial Internet. The
upgraded network includes significantly expanded network measurement
capabilities and an enhanced capacity to support experiments by the computer
science research community. For more information see:
http://archives.internet2.edu/guest/archives/I2-NEWS/log200302/msg00004.html

+ First Cross-Country Performance Tests over 10 GBPS Abilene Network
The North Carolina Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (NC-ITEC), Juniper
Networks, Spirent Communications and Qwest Communications International,
Inc. recently announced the successful completion of the first cross-country
performance tests on the completed first phase of the next-generation 10
Gbps Internet2 Abilene backbone. As part of the network upgrade, engineers
at the NC-ITEC were able to introduce test traffic in excess of 8 Gbps to
stress the newly installed network components. Engineers were able to
successfully generate greater than 8 Gbps of test traffic coast-to-coast
using both IPv4 and the new IPv6 protocols. With the addition of normal
production traffic, some backbone links saw an aggregate traffic load of
greater than 9 Gbps during the test. For more information see:
http://archives.internet2.edu/guest/archives/i2-news/log200302/msg00005.html

<> Spring 2003 Internet2 Member Meeting
+ Member Meeting Program Available
The final program for the Spring 2003 Internet2 Member Meeting in Arlington,
Virginia, April 9-11, is now available.  Online early registration ends
March 14.  Rooms for registrants will be held at Crystal Gateway Marriott
through March 28. For more information about, or to register for, the Spring
2003 Internet2 Member Meeting, see:
http://events.internet2.edu/2003/spring-mm/

+ Spring Meeting Plenary Speakers Named
Peter A. Freeman, assistant director of the NSF for Computer & Information
Science & Engineering (CISE), National Science Foundation (NSF) in
Washington, D.C. will deliver the opening plenary at the Spring 2003
Internet2 Member Meeting in April.   David B. Nelson, director of the
National Coordination Office (NCO) for Information Technology (IT) Research
and Development (R&D) and a member of the Senior Executive Service will
deliver the closing plenary.  Nelson is responsible for the coordination of
planning, budget, and assessment activities for the federal Networking and
Information Technology R&D Program (NITRD) that conducts the long-term
fundamental research leading to technological breakthroughs that advance the
science of IT.

<> National Science Foundation Solicitation "Strategic Technologies for the
Internet"
The National Science Foundation has announced a new round of grants under a
revised program called "Strategic Technologies for the Internet."  The
Strategic Technologies for the Internet program is designed to stimulate the
development of critical infrastructure that advances the conduct of science
using commodity and/or advanced research networks.  The focus areas for the
program are advanced applications, collaboration tools, network security,
and end-to-end performance.  The program expects to have $6 million and the
deadline for proposals is April 24, 2003. For more information see:
http://www.nsf.gov/pubsys/ods/getpub.cfm?ods_key=nsf03533

<> Virtual Briefings
+ Missouri Life Sciences Week and March Internet2 Virtual Briefing
The Virtual Briefing and the events during Missouri Life Sciences Week can
be viewed live over the Internet via streaming video. For more information
see: http://lifesciencesweek.missouri.edu/Program.html

+ Science Education the Focus of March Virtual Briefing
“Science Education for the 21st Century,” a discussion panel during Missouri
Live Sciences Week, is the featured topic for the March Internet2 Virtual
Briefing. The discussion will be netcast live from Missouri, Friday, March
7, 2:00 pm-4:00 pm EST (19.00-21.00 UTC). Moderator will be Mel George,
President Emeritus, University of Missouri. Panelists include: Sandra Abell,
Southwestern Bell Science Education Center, University of Missouri-Columbia;
Rodger Bybee, Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), Colorado Springs,
Colorado; and Joe Driskill, Missouri Department of Economic Development. For
information about the March Internet2 Virtual Briefing, see:
http://events.internet2.edu/briefings/index.html

+ Briefing Archive
“End-to-End Performance Measurement Systems" was the topic for the Internet2
Virtual Briefing on Wednesday, February 19, 2003. The Briefing focused on
current activities to determine performance capabilities in E2E environments
and research in new measurement systems. The areas of focus for the Briefing
included, Using NetLogger and Web100 for TCP analysis, E2E measurement
performance and testing approached from a commercial point-of-view, and the
research angle to E2E measurement performance, network measurements, and
Surveyor. For more information see:
http://events.internet2.edu/briefings/date/200302.html

<> February 2003 Joint Techs Workshop Recap
The 11th Joint Techs Workshop took place February 2-5 at Florida
International University. Foci included optical networking, security,
maximizing the performance of advanced networks, issues in IPv6 deployment,
and scientific applications.
Summary: http://eng.internet2.edu/joint-techs-feb-2003.html
Presentations: http://www.ncne.org/training/techs/2003/0202/agenda.html

<> Applications Update
+ Internet2 Commons Site Coordinator Training in Atlanta
Internet2 Commons Site Coordinator Training will be offered on March 26 and
27, in conjunction with the SURA/ViDe Digital Video Workshop. Registration
for the training is separate from the workshop. This is an excellent
opportunity to learn all aspects of H.323 videoconferencing, networking,
configuration, and troubleshooting from recognized leaders and to become
certified for Commons videoconferencing services. Support videoconferencing
for your group or campus and register before March 3 to take advantage of
ViDe workshop hotel rates. Find out more about the March 26-27 2003 Site
Coordinator Training at:
http://commons.internet2.edu/train/Mar03.html

<> International Update
+ Hong Kong Now Connected to Internet2 Networks
On February 20, 2003, Hong Kong's Secretary for Commerce, Industry and
Technology, Mr. Henry Tang, officiated at the Internet2 Launching Ceremony
cum Symposium, marking the establishment of the connection between the Joint
Universities Computer Centre's (JUCC) HARNET (Hong Kong Academic and
Research Network) to the U.S. Internet2. HARNET is managed by JUCC, founded
in 1970 and a consortium made up of the computer centers of eight
government-funded tertiary institutions in Hong Kong and an Internet2
International MoU Partner since 2000. The connection to the Abilene Network
is 45 Mbps via STAR TAP. HARNET also connects to CERNET, China's National
Research and Education Networking organization via a 2 Mbps link and also to
Academia Sinica, in Taiwan, with a 155 Mbps connection. The launching
ceremony and symposium featured speakers from Internet2 and the China
Education and Research Network (CERNET), China's National Research and
Education Networking organization. More information on the event is at:
http://www.hkiiexpo.com/conf_sym/internet2.htm

JUCC
http://www.jucc.edu.hk/
http://www.jucc.edu.hk/internet2/

+ International Web Site Feedback Requested
We are in the process of revising our international pages and would
appreciate your feedback. If you are interested in sharing your thoughts on
changes and improvements that you would like to see, please send an email to
Ana Preston 
<>.
 Thanks in advance for your help. For
more information see:
http://international.internet2.edu/

<> Middleware Update
+ Shibboleth
Shibboleth development team is still on schedule, version 0.8 is scheduled
for release in March with version 1.0 to follow in April. For the latest
information about Shibboleth, see:
http://shibboleth.internet2.edu/

+ NSF Middleware Initiative (NMI) Workshop on Middleware Deployment &
Integration
The first NMI Integration Test bed results workshop will be held from 9 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday, April 8, 2003, preceding the Internet2 Members'
meeting. Campuses participating in the NMI Integration Test bed will speak
in-depth on their experiences and the lessons learned while working to
implement campus grids, research grids, enterprise-wide identity and
directory services, and directory-enabled applications. NMI Integration Test
bed:
http://www.nsf-middleware.org/testbed/

Participating campuses include: The University of Alabama at Birmingham, The
University of Alabama in Huntsville, Georgia State University, Texas
Advanced Computing Center (U Texas/Austin), The University of Virginia, and
The University of Southern California

There is no charge to attend this workshop but registration is limited and
will close March 24. To register, please send email to Mary Fran Yafchak,
NMI Test bed Manager, 
<>.

+ 2nd Annual PKI Research Workshop: April 28-29
For the second year, Internet2, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and
the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are sponsoring a
PKI Research Workshop in Gaithersburg, Maryland.  The Workshop seeks to
foster a long-term research agenda for authentication and authorization in
populations large and small via public key cryptography.  Areas of interest
cover the full range of public key technology used for security decisions:
discovery and interpretation of security information, authentication,
authorization, etc.  The workshop will take place April 28 and 29th. For
more information, see: http://middleware.internet2.edu/pki03/

+ Base CAMP Presentations
The Middleware Base CAMP held in Tempe, AZ, Feb. 5-7th was a complete
success with a record number of attendees.  Presentations are available
under “Proceedings” at: http://www.educause.edu/conference/nmi/camp031/

<> End-to-End Performance Initiative (E2Epi) Update
+ Performance Measurement Workshop
Nearly 50 people attended the Performance Measurement Workshop held
immediately after the Joint Techs workshop in Miami.  The workshop included
presentations from Bruce Lowekamp (The College of William and Mary) on the
measurement activities of the GGF, Jim Ferguson (NLANR DAST) on the Advisor
project, Micah Beck (University of Tennessee) on new research in data
repositories, Warren Matthews (SLAC) on the MAGGIE tool, Nageswara Rao (Oak
Ridge National Lab) on analysis techniques, and Stanislav Shalunov
(Internet2) on TCP performance analysis based on packet capture. In small
groups, the attendees discussed recommendations on an overall architecture
for a measurement effort; made suggestions for data collection, storage, and
analysis; and considered various trouble reporting systems.  More
information can be found at:
http://e2epi.internet2.edu/WK02/workshop02.html

+ piPEs/OWAMP
During a BoF session at Joint Techs, Eric Boyd (Internet2 E2Epi) provided
attendees with an update on E2E piPEs and Jeff Boote (Internet2 Engineering)
discussed his implementation of the One-Way Active Measurement Protocol
(OWAMP), an alpha version of which is available via:
http://owamp.internet2.edu

OWAMP is being written as the sample implementation for a proposed standard
http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-ippm-owdp-05.txt going
through IETF.

The E2Epi team plans to incorporate this tool as one of the first components
of the piPEs framework. Next, Eric demonstrated the current implementation
of the Abilene Measurement Infrastructure (AMI)/piPEs.  The presentations
and session summary is available at:
http://e2epi.internet2.edu/presentations_list.html

+ National Library of Medicine (NLM) Pilot Study
E2Epi is working with the NLM and Conseq Associates to conduct a pilot study
on user expectations, the results of which will help NLM to determine if a
more extensive study is needed or will be of use to them in policy
decisions. At this time, over 40 interviews have been conducted; an
informational BoF is scheduled at the Spring Member Meeting to provide a
status update. Currently, the project is seeking potential interviewees
(health sciences/health care community using networks); if you know of
anyone who might be interested in participating, please send contact
information to George Brett 
<>

+ Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Working Group
A new web page has been created, listing the current activities of the WG;
take a look at:
http://p2p.internet2.edu

<> Internet2 K20 Initiative Update
+ Michigan's Merit Network Named SEGP of the Month
A great example of the potential of Internet2 access is being provided at
St. Clair Intermediate School District. This ISD supports 7 school districts
and about 30,000 students. Saint Clair is about an hour's drive northeast of
Detroit, Michigan, on the border with Canada across the Saint Clair River.
The ISD has a fiber network serving all of its school districts and a 20
Megabit connection to Merit, burstable to 100 Megabits. For more
information, see:
http://k20.internet2.edu/segp/index.html

<> Member-to-Member Announcements
+ Information Sharing Guidelines
Periodically members are interested in sharing information about special
activities or opportunities with the Internet2 community such as technology
symposiums, workshops, donation programs, product offerings and or grant
opportunities. In an effort to facilitate information sharing we are adding
a Member-to-Member section to this monthly update. Members interested in
contributing notices should review the guidelines at:
http://members.internet2.edu/corporate/InformationSharing.html or email
<>
 with proposed announcements.

<> Future Internet2 Events
+ Internet2 Member Meetings
  - Spring 2003 Internet2 Member Meeting, Arlington, Virginia, April 9-11
  - Fall 2003 Internet2 Member Meeting, Indianapolis, Indiana, October 13-16

<> New Members
+ Corporate Members
  - Yipes

<> Internet2 Days
Hold an Internet2 Day for your Internet2 member organization. Technical
support for live demonstrations and informational materials are available.
For more information contact Marianne Smith 
<>
 or see:
http://apps.internet2.edu/Internet2-Days.html

Upcoming Internet2 Days
+ Case Western Reserve University
3 March, Cleveland, OH
http://www.cwru.edu/its/internet2/index.html

+ University of Notre Dame
13 March,  Notre Dame, IN
http://i2day.nd.edu/

+ Temple University
24 March, Philadelphia, PA
http://www.temple.edu/temple_times/1-23-03/inet2.html

+ University of New Mexico
28 March, Albuquerque, NM
http://www4.unm.edu/internet2/

+ Internet2 Music Education Symposium
29 March, Miami, FL
http://events.internet2.edu/2003/NWSIndex.html

<> Showcase and Spotlight Opportunities - Projects and People
Internet2 would like to showcase our members' efforts on our homepage. We
encourage Internet2 members to share advanced networking milestones, as well
events, collaborations and efforts in the advanced networking community.
Members are also encouraged to submit a profile of anyone in the Internet2
community whose efforts merit notice.  Include a brief description (less
than 100 words), all appropriate links and images, and contact information.
If you have suggestions about projects, people or news that might be
featured, please contact Adam Csillag 
<>.

<> Internet2 Related Events
+ Online Calendar
For a complete listing of events for and of interest to the Internet2
community, see the online Internet2 Calendar. Be sure the Internet2-related
event you are holding or know about is listed at:
http://events.internet2.edu/calendar/main.php

If you are holding an event of any kind related to Internet2, we will be
glad to assist members with resources such as printed publications,
equipment or speakers. Please contact Marianne Smith for more information
<>.

ViDe 5th Annual Digital Video Workshop
24-26 March
Atlanta, GA
http://www.vide.net/conferences/spr2003/index.shtml

EDUCAUSE--Networking 2003
30 April - 1 May
Washington, DC
http://www.educause.edu/conference/

The Security Professionals Workshop
22-23 April
Temecula, CA
http://www.educause.edu/conference/security/2003/

NetWorld+Interop 2003
27 April - 2 May
Las Vegas, NV
http://www.interop.com/


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Do you have a news item or event you'd like the Internet2 community to
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<>

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