The `sexy technology': Internet2 - written on the web - Cover Story

Matrix: The Magazine for Leaders in Education, Feb, 2001 by Alan Dessoff

The future is now in information technology, as more than 180 collages and universities are demonstrating through their participation in the development of Internet2.

"That's the sexy technology. It's where the action is now," Randy Anderson, manager of emerging technologies at George Mason University, said. He spoke at a session on Internet2 at the conference and exposition of the Association for Telecommunications Professionals in Higher Education last summer in Washington, D.C.

Internet2 is both an organization and a network. As an organization, it was created in 1996 as a collaboration among 34 leading research universities. Today, as a project of the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development, Internet2 is a not-for-profit consortium principally of research universities, with corporate and affiliate members.

Corporate members include AT&T, Cisco Systems, IBM Corp., Lucent Technologies, and Microsoft Research. Among affiliate members are government research agencies such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, the National Institute of Health, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and United States Geological Survey.

With a staff of 40 and offices in Washington, D.C., Ann Arbor, Mich., and Armonk, N.Y., Internet2 functions through working groups to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technology in research and education. Internet2 is an umbrella term for many activities the organization and its members undertake in three working group technical areas: engineering, middleware, and applications.

As a network, Internet2 is a national and international collection of interconnecting high-performance networks, principally the very high performance Backbone Network Service (vBNS) and Abilene, which UCAID created and operates. The networks allow sites attached to them to interact in ways not possible using the initial Internet.

"The Internet today, as wonderful as it is, doesn't really provide reliable end-to-end performance. It doesn't encourage cooperation on new capabilities, allow testing of new technologies, and support development of revolutionary applications," Laurie Burns, director of member activities for Internet2, said.

Participation in Internet2 isn't cheap. It is open to any university that commits to providing on-campus facilities that will allow advanced applications development. That means investing to upgrade their campus networks and connecting to a national Internet2 backbone network. Unlike the current Internet, which is available to anyone with a computer and modem, organizations pay $25,000 annually to join Internet2 and another $20, 000 annually plus access costs to connect to Abilene.

Members then need to buy or rent the fiber optic line to connect their campus or facility to the nearest gigaPoP (Gigabit per second Point of Presence), which makes Abilene accessible.

That expense can exceed $150, 000. After expiration of a National Science Foundation grant that subsidized its Internet2 activity for two years, Kent State University expects its costs will be $200,000 annually, Greg Seibert, manager of network services, said at the ACUTA conference.

But Internet2's proponents say potential benefits more than offset the costs. Benefits include speed; Internet2 offers data transmission speeds 45,000 times faster than a standard 56k modem, allowing new applications such as digital libraries, virtual laboratories, and distance learning.

Higher education has a particular role to play in the development of Internet2, Burns said. Collaborative research is a primary driver for the development of advanced applications and higher education has a history of leadership for advanced networking nationally, she said. The higher-education community also offers a diversity of institutions, disciplines, people, and a large-scale test bed, Burns said.

Anderson said George Mason expects Internet2 to provide faculty and students with new research opportunities, to show support for advanced networking in Virginia, the university's home state, and to provide affordable bandwidth to meet the needs of current faculty projects.

As a relatively new university, founded in 1972, "we're trying to build our reputation, so we thought it was important to get involved with Internet2 at the beginning," Anderson explained.

One problem George Mason had to overcome was convincing the institution s administration that participation in Internet2 was worthwhile, and obtaining funding for it. Like Kent State and many other institutions, George Mason received funding through a grant from the NSF.

Introducing faculty to Internet2 was another problem. "Techies may expect too much of it, and non-techies, particularly those in the arts, may not be aware of the possibilities Internet2 offers," Anderson said.

Internet2 reports that more than 30 colleges and universities have sponsored "Internet2 Days" on their campuses, with a program of speakers and hands-on experience to demonstrate the potential of advanced network applications and build interest among faculty and staff.