NSFNET: The Partnership that Changed the World

自1987年成立以来，作为NSF高速计算和通信基础设施发展总体目录的一部分，NSFNET项目是学术计算基础设施发展和通过先进网络服务加强研究工作的先驱力量。NSFNET骨干网支持更广泛的NSFNET项目，将全国大学校园内的科学家和教育工作者以及他们在世界各地的大学、实验室、政府机构和研究中心的同行联系起来。按照设计，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，进而将网络的可用性扩展到其他研究和教育机构。以前，只有特定的计算机科学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。通过将高速网络和超级计算中心与区域网络之间的连接结合起来，NSF创建了一个“网络的网络”，它在发展的关键时期充当了全国网络的焦点，并形成了今天互联网的直接前身的基础。在过去的二十年中，该项目对网络科学技术、通信革命、促进全球和多学科科学互动以及公私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，Internet2和Merit Network， Inc.提议举办一个研讨会来庆祝NSFNET的历史和影响，并讨论和预测未来的应用和基础设施发展。这次研讨会的召开是为了纪念合作协议达成20周年，该协议于1987年启动，将NSFNET骨干网推进到一个真正的高速网络。作为互联网发展中最重要的部分之一，NSFNET的历史和庆祝活动代表了一个工具，帮助了解未来，同时从过去学习。本次研讨会的智力价值在于其对先进网络知识进步的贡献；对历史观点的反思；对科学、研究、教育和工业的影响；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，并且由于其会议记录将广泛提供，因此它很可能对教育产生广泛影响，并加强对网络架构和管理的长期研究。通过将关键人物聚集在一起，反思这段关键的历史，并确定它如何为未来提供信息，将使高等教育界以外的人对互联网的发展和先进网络在社会中的作用有更深入的了解。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。该项目具有广泛的教育组成部分，包括一组K-12学生参加会议，并通过实时网络广播从八个大型会议中心远程参加会议。

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.