torben@FORALIE.ICS.HAWAII.EDU (Torben Nielsen) (06/10/90)
In response to some of Mr. Sung's comments, I recently made the following statement: >Actually, the Australian network (AARN) is about the >most impressive accomplishment in IP network construction I can think of. >They connected just about all the universities in the country in one fell >swoop; the whole thing was planned and executed very nicely. Several people have pointed out that I'm not being nice to the NSFNet by saying such things :-) Well, I had no intention of saying that the construction of NSFNet was somehow inferior. However, irrespective of it's size, the AARN is a true national academic network and they have more than just a few nodes on it. Moreover, it was established with what appeared to be a minimum of fuss and bother. The primary protocol is IP. Not because it's viewed as inherently better, but because it's available and works *now*. When we have a true national network that reaches all universities in the country, I'll revise my statement. Waiting for the NREN :-) As an aside, it's truly interesting to watch how national networks are built/develop/grow. So far, I can see at least three major types of scenarios.... No doubt ther're a lot more. Torben