NSFNET: The Partnership that Changed the World

从1987年开始，作为NSF高速计算和通信基础设施发展总体清单的一部分，NSFNET计划是学术计算基础设施发展和通过先进网络服务增强研究工作的先驱力量。NSFNET骨干网支持更广泛的NSFNET计划，将全国大学校园的科学家和教育工作者相互联系起来，并与世界各地的大学，实验室，政府机构和研究中心的同行联系起来。通过设计，NSFNET骨干网为国家超级计算机中心和相互连接的区域网络提供高速网络，从而将网络可用性扩展到其他研究和教育组织。此前，只有计算机科学领域的特定社区才能有限地访问CSNET、BITNET和ARPANET等网络，因此NSFNET骨干网的引入代表了在创建统一和更全面的网络基础设施方面的重大发展，通过将高速联网和超级计算中心与区域网络之间的连接相结合NSF创建了一个“网络的网络”，在发展的关键时期作为全国联网的中心，并为今天的互联网奠定了基础。该项目在20年的时间里对网络科学技术、通信革命、全球和多学科科学互动的促进以及公共和私人伙伴关系的实践产生了持久而重大的影响。为了认识到这一影响，Internet 2和Merit Network，Inc.建议举办一个研讨会，庆祝NSFNET的历史和影响，并讨论和预测未来的应用程序和基础设施的发展。该研讨会的时间是为了纪念1987年启动的合作协议二十周年，该协议将NSFNET骨干网提升为真正的高速网络。作为互联网发展最重要的部分之一，NSFNET的历史和庆祝活动是一个工具，以帮助了解未来，同时从过去的学习。本次研讨会的智力价值在于它的贡献，知识的进步，在先进的网络;反思历史的观点;对科学的影响，研究，教育和工业;国际影响;以及对未来的考虑。由于讲习班将包括先进网络发展的先驱，而且其会议记录将广泛提供，因此很可能对教育产生广泛影响，并加强对网络结构和管理的长期研究。通过聚集关键个人一起反思这一关键的历史，并确定它如何能够告知未来，互联网的发展和先进的网络在社会中的作用将实现超越高等教育界的更好的理解。存档的信息将为包括学生、学者和广大公众在内的广泛人群提供资源，并将有助于说明联邦资助的研究在国家经济发展中的作用。该项目有一个广泛的教育组成部分，包括一组K-12学生参加会议，并从八个大型会议中心远程参加，并通过实时网络广播。

From its inception in 1987 as a part of NSF's overall inventory of high speed computing and communications infrastructure development, the NSFNET program was a pioneering force in academic computing infrastructure development and in the enhancement of research efforts through advanced network services. The NSFNET backbone, in its support of the broader set of NSFNET programs, linked scientists and educators on university campuses nationwide to each other and to their counterparts in universities, laboratories, government agencies, and research centers throughout the world. By design, NSFNET backbone made high speed networking available to national supercomputer centers and to inter-linked regional networks, which in turn worked to extend network availability to other research and educational organizations. Previously, only specific communities in computer science had limited access to networks such as CSNET, BITNET, and ARPANET, so the introduction of the NSFNET backbone represented a significant development in creating a unified and more comprehensive network infrastructure.By combining high-speed networking and connections between the supercomputing centers and regional networks, NSF created a "network of networks" that served as the focal point of nationwide networking during a critical period of development and that formed the foundation of an immediate precursor to today's Internet. The project has had a lasting and significant impact over the intervening twenty years on the technology of network science, the revolution in communication, the fostering of global and multidisciplinary scientific interaction, and the practice of public and private partnership. To recognize this impact, Internet2 and Merit Network, Inc. propose a workshop to celebrate NSFNET's history and impact and to discuss and anticipate future applications and infrastructure development. The workshop is timed to mark the twentieth anniversary of the cooperative agreement, initiated in 1987, that advanced the NSFNET backbone to a truly high speed network. As one of the most significant parts of the Internet's development, the history and celebration of NSFNET represents a tool to help understand the future while learning from the past.The intellectual merit of this workshop lies in its contributions to the advancement of knowledge in advanced networking; reflection on historic perspectives; impact on science, research, education, and industry; international implications; and consideration of the future. Because the workshop will include pioneers in advanced networking development and because its proceedings will be widely available, it is likely to have broad impact in education, and in enhancing the long-term study of network architecture and management. By gathering key individuals together to reflect on this key history and to determine how it can inform the future, a greater understanding of the development of the Internet and the role of advanced networking in society will be realized beyond the higher education community. The archived information will provide a resource for a broad spectrum of people, including students, scholars, and the public at large and will help illustrate the role of federally funded research in national economic development. The project has an extensive educational component including the participation of a group of K-12 students at the meeting and attending remotely from eight mega-conference centers and via real-time webcast.