cat@tygra.ddmi.com (CAT-TALK Maint. Account) (11/11/90)
In article <14555@accuvax.nwu.edu> roeber@cithe2.cithep.caltech.edu (Frederick Roeber) writes: X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 807, Message 6 of 12 "It has been mentioned that recently much transatlantic computer "traffic has been routed via satellite because of a broken undersea "cable. [questions about Internet links overseas] The following article appeared in the U-M Computing Center News (October 25, 1990, V 5, No 18, Pg 10) ----------------------- NSFNET DEMONSTRATES INTERCONTINENTAL ISO TRANSMISSION [Editor's note: The following article is reprinted, with modifications, from the September 1990 issue of the Link Letter (Vol 3, No 4), published by the Merit/NSFNET backbone project] At the end of September, partners in the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET) announced a succesful demonstration of intercontinental data transmission using the International Standards Organization Conectionless Network Protocol (ISO CLNP). The international exchange of ISO CLNP packets was demonstrated betweeen end systems at the NSFNET Network Operations Center in Ann Arbor and in Bonn, West Germany, using the NSFNET backbone infrastructure and the European Academic Supercomputer Initiative (EASInet) backbone. The prototype OSI (this, I think is a typo - it should be ISO) implementation is intended to provide wide area connectivity between OSI networks, including networks using the DECNet Phase V protocols. The new software was integrated into the NSFNET's "packet switching" (data transmission) nodes by David Katz and Susan Hares of the Merit Computer Network, with support from IBM's software developement departments in Milford, CT and Yorktown Heights, NY. NSFNET is the first federally supported computer network to acheive international ISO CLNP transmission on an operating network, according to Merit's Hans-Werner Braun, Principle Investigator for the NSFNET Project. The Prototype ISO implementation is being designed to coexist with NSFNET's operational Internet Protocol (IP) network, and is a significant step towards offering OSI services on the NSFNET backbone. Eric Aupperle, President of Merit and acting director of ITD Network Systems, says that "the demonstration shows that we're capable of transporting OSI traffic. Now we're working to deploy this experimental service as fast as possible." An implementation of CLNP was first demonstrated by Merit/NSFNET staff at the InterOp '89 conference. That implementation of CLNP was originally developed as part of the ARGO project at the University of Wisconsin, Madision, with the support of the IBM Corporation. by Ken Horning DTD Network Systems.
mukesh@eng.sun.com (Mukesh Kacker) (11/13/90)
>At the end of September, partners in the National Science Foundation >Network (NSFNET) announced a succesful demonstration of >intercontinental data transmission using the International Standards >Organization Conectionless Network Protocol (ISO CLNP). The >international exchange of ISO CLNP packets was demonstrated betweeen >end systems at the NSFNET Network Operations Center in Ann Arbor and >in Bonn, West Germany, using the NSFNET backbone infrastructure and >the European Academic Supercomputer Initiative (EASInet) backbone. >The prototype OSI (this, I think is a typo - it should be ISO) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >implementation is intended to provide wide area connectivity between >OSI networks, including networks using the DECNet Phase V protocols. This is not a typo. OSI stands for "Open Systems Interconnectioni" which is broad suite of protocols for data transmission in computer networks following a seven layer model. The other suite of protocols normally used on NSFNET/Internet is called the Internet suite or commonly as the TCP/IP suite. ISO stands for "International Standards Organization" and is the standards body under which the OSI suite of protocols is being developed. However ISO is not limited to computer networking standards. The standards for the paper sizes used on your copier or the nuts and bolts sizes on your furniture were probably developed under ISO. ISO CLNP referred above is one of the Layer 3 (Network Layer) protocols in the OSI protocol suite. This set of standard protocols(OSI) is available in products from most major computer vendors including the ones made by my employer Sun Microsystems Inc. Mukesh Kacker OSI Engineer Sun Microsystems Inc. Mountain View, CA 94043 e-mail: mukesh@eng.sun.com
oberman@rogue.llnl.gov (11/14/90)
In article <14625@accuvax.nwu.edu>, mukesh@eng.sun.com (Mukesh Kacker) writes: >>The prototype OSI (this, I think is a typo - it should be ISO) > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >>implementation is intended to provide wide area connectivity between >>OSI networks, including networks using the DECNet Phase V protocols. > This is not a typo. OSI stands for "Open Systems Interconnectioni" > which is broad suite of protocols for data transmission in computer > networks following a seven layer model. The other suite of protocols > normally used on NSFNET/Internet is called the Internet suite or > commonly as the TCP/IP suite. OK. I guess I'll have to pick some nits here. OSI is a reference model for networking, not a protocol suite. It is an ISO standard itself (ISO 7498), and any set of protocols which fit this reference model is OSI. It does not imply interoperability or any such useful thing, but moves in that direction. For example, there are five different Transport Protocols that are ISO standards and fit in the OSI model, cleverly called TP0, TP1, TP2, TP3, and TP4. Each serves different purposes and political requirements. And just wait until you get to deal with the 50 or so address formats! Various bodies, governmental and otherwise, are writing "profiles" to specify just what protocols they will use and how. In the US and UK there is a "Government OSI Profile" that is mandated for most government systems. Unfortunately, UK GOSIP and US GOSIP don't interoperate directly bacause UK requires a different set of protocols at the lower levels then the US. There are enough options in the OSI world that everyone can have a standard network that won't communicate with anyone else's. > ISO stands for "International Standards Organization" and is the > standards body under which the OSI suite of protocols is being > developed. Reasonably accurate except that the name of the body is "The Organization for International Standardization", at least in English. The name "ISO" was selected because it "looks right" in a lot of languages without being an actual acronym for the name of the body in any language, thus avoiding offending either anglophiles or francophiles. This is the sort of silliness international bodies have to go through to keep users happy and why there are five Transport Protocols, of which only three are likely to ever be implemented and probably only two really used much. Of course, some country will probably select TP1 and a major computer vendor select TP3 just to be a pain :-). But enough OSI bashing. Given market forces some rational set of protocols should emerge and they may even work. And OSI does allow a lot of neat functionallity beyond what the TCP/IP suite allows. Just don't expect it tomorrow! R. Kevin Oberman Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Internet: oberman@icdc.llnl.gov 415) 422-6955 Disclaimer: Don't take this too seriously. I just like to improve my typing and probably don't really know anything useful about anything.