Planning the Next Stage of NSF Advanced Networking Research and Development

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Networking and Telecommunications Task Force of Educom (NTTF) and FARNET The NSF vBNS program is nearing the end of its 5-year award. As is described in its 1997 midterm review, the vBNS is widely recognized for essential contributions to the development of U.S. capabilities for advanced networking for R&D. In its first three years of service, for example, the vBNS has: - accelerated the planning and implementation of the Partnerships for Advanced Computational Infrastructure, - enabled the interconnection of the Internet2 universities and partners, - served as the core national network for goal 2.1 of the Next Generation Internet project, - supported remote computing and collaborations for significant advances in the sciences and engineering, and - led to the design and improvement of high-performance network technology in the commercial sector. The vBNS expert review concluded with a very strong recommendation that NSF continue its support for advanced networking for research and development after the scheduled conclusion of the present vBNS award. It is now time, therefore, to examine developments in technology and the environment since the vBNS program was designed and to reach sound recommendations on how NSF might best support its goals for the continued development of advanced networking in the coming years. This project intends to organize and oversee a formal process that captures and summarizes the best creative thinking of both experts and generalists in the U.S. community for advanced networking. The result will be a final document and supporting material outlining the major issues and objectives to be addressed by NSF in its follow-on program to the vBNS.