Just as we saw the Internet being started by various educational facilities and universities in order to communicate together, there is now being research conducted to develop a new generation of the Internet. The University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID) is currently researching the idea of Internet2.

UCAID’s goal for Internet2 is to provide fundamentally different technologies available for academic and government organizations to communicate ideas among each other. Since the Internet2 concept is in the research phase, it is definitely an emerging technology that the business and academia world needs to consider. The UCAID is currently working with other affiliates and companies interested in developing the "new" technologies for Internet2. (Internet2…and Counting, September 1, 1999)

Basically, UCAID is making the most effort in dramatically improving the Internet as it stands now in order to increase performance and provide organizations, primarily the universities and government agencies, a way of accessing information more accurately and efficiently. Concepts such as multicasting and differentiated quality of service, or DiffServe, will aid in providing this performance boost in the information flow of the academic and business society. These concepts will allow, for example, for intense video and audio streaming such that on-demand television delivers to its genre of users.

The Internet2 project is taking more precedence in the education area as opposed to business mainly because it is concerned with the distance learning that many universities are starting to adopt. The article also illustrates how the Internet2 enhancements that are being researched and developed can provide businesses with extraordinary tools to conduct business. For example, stock market data can be illustrated in 3-D, automobile consumers can test-drive their "dream car" online, and many other applications can help businesses become more productive. This may aid in increasing loyalty in various market niches.

The only thing, according to the article, that CIOs can do now to prepare for Internet2 is to plan for the coming revolution and to begin thinking about how the new Internet2 technologies can help build strategic advantage. Since networking is becoming a vital part of society’s everyday life, people with networking skills is becoming ever more valuable.

Because the Internet has become a way for academic organizations, government organizations, and businesses to communicate to the world, it has become necessary to develop more appropriate tools for the future. Thus, UCAID is researching the opportunity and developing the next generation of the Internet, Internet2.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce how Internet2 will help businesses, educational organizations, and government of ways to communicate in the future. Comparisons how today’s Internet technology will be used to illustrate how Internet2 will provide a more productive and affective way of online communications.

History and Background

Before discussing Internet2, a full understanding of what the Internet is necessary. As provided by the Federal Networking Council (FNC), the term "Internet" refers to the global information system that satisfies the following credentials:

• Logically linked by a globally unique address space based on the Internet Protocol (IP) or its subsequent extensions;
• Able to support communications using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite and other compatible protocols such as Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS), NetBEUI, and others; and
• Provides, uses, or makes accessible, either publicly or privately, high level services layered on the communications and related infrastructure described herein. (Federal Networking Council, October 30, 1995)

What is Internet2?

As mentioned previously, Internet2 (I2) is currently being developed and organized by the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID). I2 is a combined project with another project known as the Abilene project. Abilene, generally speaking, is the advanced backbone network that connects regional network aggregation points, called gigaPoPs. Abilene also integrates well with other high-performance research networks such as Cable Modems, ADSL, and so on. In order to become attached to the Abilene backbone, there are a series of steps that need to be completed and are generally as follows:
 

Registration	A non-binding indication of serious
Application	A formal application with specific terms
Clarification	Work with the Abilene team to ensure mutually satisfactory arrangements
Confirmation	Confirming the details (dates, connection parameters, etc.)
Billing	Invoicing and payment
Renewal	Annual renewal of agreements and billing

 

Abilene is the network used to connect all I2 affiliated universities and corporate partners together via one common network. I2 currently operates at 2.4 gigabits per second. In comparison, that is 45,000 times faster than a 56K modem (Morgenstern, Steve, June 24, 1999). To further compare to today’s technology of the Internet, I2 in comparison with a T1 line, is approximately 1,600 times faster. With the applications that are being researched and developed for use via I2, the high bandwidth as described is crucial in delivering services to those who need those services.

Figure 1 - GigaPoP Sites in the U.S.

Who is part of the I2 project?

I2 is a collaborative effort of member universities, corporate partners, affiliate members, I2 working groups, and I2 initiatives (www.internet2.edu/html/who.html). Member universities deal primarily with the faculty, staff, and students. These universities, as will be discussed in detail later, are carrying out most of the I2 project. Corporate partners, such as Cisco, Microsoft, and many others are helping to provide the technologies for when I2 is expected to hit the commercial market. Just as Internet1 has done, I2 is expected to expand its scope from educational and governmental organizations to the commercial sector of business. The affiliate members are those that are primarily concerned with the I2 goals and mission. Many of this type are organizing the leadership necessary in the development in the I2 gigaPoPs. I2 working groups are those that are exploring the scientific and technical aspects of the project. Finally, the I2 initiatives, or technologies aiding in the succession of I2, such as I2-DSI and QBone are helping to improve the technologies of today’s Internet and "sell" this new technology to all.

Where does the "heart" of I2 begin?

In April 1998, Al Gore launched the initiative for Indiana University (IU) to host "Net2" to connect over 130 universities at bottleneck speeds (Macavinta, August 5, 1998). With IU being the largest university in the country, facilitating more than 100,000 students, faculty, and staff, and its knowledge of technological innovation, it is an ideal location to host the "major hub" of the Abilene network for I2. For many involved campus users, I2 is helping them to update their software and hardware to the latest networking technologies and participate in the high-speed network of Abilene and I2. Greg Wood, a spokesman for the I2 project, stated, "you’ll see, at this point, there are relatively low utilization rates on parts of these networks. These days, only 1 to 2 percent of the network’s bandwidth is in use." Mr. Wood also mentions, "the average user probably won’t even notice that much of a huge difference between I2 and the existing Internet" in terms of speed.

What are applications of I2?

I2’s major applications are distance learning, digital libraries, video teleconferencing, tele-immersion/collaborative tools, and virtual laboratories (Online, http://sev.bu.edu/vBNS…; 1999). Since telecommuting and education from home is becoming more and more popular, current networks are becoming bogged down with remote transmissions and making local network traffic less efficient.

After choosing the topic of Internet2, I began using today’s Internet, Internet1, to search common searching engines for the keyword "Internet2". The results of this search led me to the site where the bulk of my research has taken place. I was introduced to the Internet2 Project web site found at http://www.internet2.edu. I used the following as my research questions when looking at this site:

• What is Internet2?
• Who is Internet2 affiliated with?
• How is Internet2 different than the Internet (or Internet1)?

I then began searching some more of the popular Internet portals, or search engines, for news articles relating to Internet2. I found several articles on Infoseek (http://www.infoseek.com) and several on Yahoo! (http://www.yahoo.com).

Research also came from ProQuest Direct via the Cunningham Memorial Library’s web site (http://odin.indstate.edu). Returned were approximately 20 articles that had to do with I2. These articles came from the ABI/Inform database via ProQuest Direct’s online database search engine.

I will begin my analysis of Internet2 technologies by first understanding all the technologies involved in Internet2 deployment. This will help me to illustrate how businesses, educational organizations, and the government will be able to take advantage of these technologies. This understanding will also help me to analyze historical trends and be able to anticipate future trends based on the past.

A conclusion will be drawn from the materials analyzed and described throughout the paper in order to show why organizations should become part of the Internet2 research and development that has been under way for the past 3 years.

After understanding what Internet2 is, I will analyze the facts found from various literal works discussed in the Literature Review section. In this section, I will begin by restating the problem statement that can be introduced as the reason behind the research and development of Internet2. Then, I will explain each of the main technologies involved in making Internet2 available. Next, I will begin to analyze the details explained previously. Finally, I will move to the final section of this research paper, conclusion, where I will draw some conclusions based on the analysis discussed.

The problems statement of why Internet2 technologies have been initiated are because the current public network is being bogged down "fun" sites and services that research and development organizations can not share information efficiently and effectively. The UCAID has brought together top educational facilities, government agencies, and a few commercial businesses from the networking and software industry to help in this initiative.

There are five major technologies that make Internet2 possible. Those technologies are as follows:

• Abilene
• QBone
• Internet2-Digital Video Network (I2-DVN)
• VideoSpace
• Internet2-Digital Storage Infrastructure (I2-DSI)

QBone’s primary goal is to provide a testbed infrastructure for deploying DiffServe technology for Internet2 applications. This testbed architecture is to provide new IP quality of services (QoS) for the new advanced networking applications available via Internet2’s backbone, Abilene. The expertise required to implement and develop QBone’s initiatives require a vast knowledge of networking and engineering skills (QBone FAQ, Online).

The I2-DVN technology will provide businesses to ability to deliver high-quality streaming video at higher bandwidths than previously achieved through today’s public network. This includes that hardware involved in implementing such high performance applications across Internet2’s high-speed network architecture.

Since networks have become more and more popular in the business and education worlds, there have been more opportunities being introduced to account for the applications that businesses and educational facilities are requiring. Applications such as telecommuting (for business) and distance education (for education) are increasingly becoming well known in society. These two technologies are requiring higher network utilization, also called bandwidth. Internet2 is being developed to provide such technologies to accommodate the needs of businesses and educational facilities in implementing these technologies. The Videospace technology being developed by the UCAID and affiliates is just one of many technologies that Internet2 will use to bring streaming video and audio to business. Video and the Internet2 Digital Video Network (I2 DVN) are the critical elements associate with this application and other streaming video applications. Zydacron, an Internet2 member, is currently developing video compression and networking standards for delivering high performance streaming video through the Internet2 mediums. Zydacron has been developing IP videoconferencing standards since 1996. Zydacron’s OnWAN340 is available for Windows 98 and Windows NT operating systems and fully compatible with Microsoft NetMeeting. This device is priced at $1,195 (Zedacron’s OnWAN…, September 9, 1999).

High Definition Television (HDTV) is currently being researched and developed for use over Internet2’s infrastructure by the University of Washington, ResearchTV, and Sony Electronic, Inc. (HDTV Over Internet2 Networks, www.washington.edu/…/Hdtech_9_22.html). The major objective of this application of Internet2 is to allow for continuous streams of broadcast-studio-quality high definition (HD) video to be delivered over high bandwidth IP networks. The current video streaming technologies present on today’s Internet are "broken up" during transmission. Delivering this over Internet2 and the Abilene backbone is said to increase the performance of transmission not dependent upon the number of users connected to one streaming video server.

Another application, from analyzing the facts, might be the concept of data mining and data warehousing. These are two new technologies that, again, require a high bandwidth to transfer data and information across network medium (or cabling) to other physical facilities. The primary Internet2 technology used here is the I2-DSI (Internet2-Digital Storage Infrastructure). Data mining and data warehousing is primary dealing with the "archiving" of data and information within a separate database set aside from the organization’s main application database. Many companies are implementing data mining and data warehousing applications to perform this task of archiving their information efficiently and yet still allow for the business to continue it’s normal operational productivity.

There are certain issues regarding implementation of any of the Internet2 technologies, but the primary concern is the cost involved in implementation. Much like any other technology that is to be implemented, it is very costly to research and develop technologies that will be implemented across the board to businesses, government organizations, and even the home user. These organizations and/or individuals have only a set amount allocated towards their budgets and can only afford implementing what they are able to spend.

Based on the information gathered from the literature review and the analysis performed above, I have drawn several conclusions which will be discussed in this section. These conclusions will bring the Internet2 technology to the foreground and why businesses and education facilities should begin working together to bring this technology to life.

Just as the Internet has become popular with home users, the UCAID doesn’t anticipate home users to take advantage of Internet2 technologies for quite some time. They think it will take approximately six to seven years before home users are benefiting from Internet2’s full features. However, many home users may benefit from parts of Internet2. The most prevalent example would be the distance education application of allowing for home users to be able to attend classes remotely all from the luxury of their own homes.

In summary, just as technology is advancing in all areas of business, UCAID seems to be researching the right aspects in delivering a high performance network of services available for business and eventually personal use.

Table 1 - Procedure for connecting to Abilene backbone from www.ucaid.edu/abilene/html/getting_attached.html

Figure 1 - GigaPoP Sites in the U.S.