Internet Info 1994 March/Internet Info CD-ROM (Walnut Creek) (March 1994).iso/inet/ietf/nisi/nisi-minutes-91nov.txt

Text File | 1993-02-17 | 7KB | 161 lines

CURRENT_MEETING_REPORT_


Reported by Patricia Smith/Merit

Minutes of the Network Information Services Infrastructure (NISI)

Agenda

Discussion:

  1. NISI Internet Draft Document

     All comments are in on this draft.  April has made the final tweaks
     and will format it and submit it as an RFC. Yea!

  2. NIC Profiles X.500 Directory

     At the Atlanta meeting in July 1991 the information being sought
     for the NIC Profiles had been discussed at length.  At the Santa Fe
     meeting a suggestion was made that we not get hung up with that
     type of discussion again but rather make an effort to put
     information on more NICs up in X.500 and allow folks on the NISI
     and DISI lists to play around with it.  Pat indicated she would be
     pro-active in this area and begin to knock on NIC doors to solicit
     their participation.

     In addition, the effort to create a friendly user interface
     environment in order to facilitate entry and updating of
     information will continue.

  3. Overlap with User Connectivity Working Group chaired by Dan Long

     The UC Working Group is looking at gathering NOC information via
     template for inclusion in some sort of directory.  There is general
     agreement that NISI should have some liaison activity with UC in
     order to avoid duplication of effort.  Pat sat in on the UC meeting
     on Wednesday and told them of the NISI interest.  UC members agree
     that we should work together and Pat agreed to stay in touch with
     Dan Long as the NIC directory activity develops.

  4. Request for a Database Security Document

     After the Atlanta IETF, the IESG tasked the NISI Working Group with
     writing an informational document that makes some recommendations
     regarding the need for accuracy and privacy of data in databases
     maintained by network information centers.  After some discussion,
     it was decided that April Marine, J. Paul Holbrook, and John Curran
     will work up a draft of this RFC which is expected to be only a few
     pages long.  In addition, the section on database accuracy that was
     added to the current NISI Internet Draft document, which addresses
     much the same concerns, will be retained in that document.

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5. Internet Society Request from Vint Cerf

   Vint Cerf suggested that the NISI Working Group collect information
   regarding various Internet products and services.  Evidently this
   request was prompted by the fact that the ISOC has received
   questions about the Internet and has felt the need of such a
   collection.  The Working Group was reluctant to take this on in the
   form suggested because the task is one that each NIC does currently
   for its own constituency and the task seemed redundant.  In
   addition, the CNI is putting together a directory of directories,
   lending more weight to the fact that NISI should not do so as well.
   The Working Group agreed that one good strategy for ISOC to use
   with such callers would be to refer them directly to an existing
   Internet information center (the NNSC was specifically mentioned)
   for the answers to such general questions as ``What is the
   Internet?''  ``What's on the Internet?''  and ``How do I join the
   Internet?''

   However, while this suggestion solved part of the problem, it led
   to a related discussion regarding the problem of easy discovery of
   information available about and via the Internet.  Currently, there
   is no means for either a NIC or a user to easily determine what
   information is available and where.  Neither is there an easy means
   for alerting users to information newly available.  This discussion
   was a natural lead in to the following Agenda topic.

6. Should NISI be dissolved?

   There was discussion of whether or not NISI should be terminated at
   the next IETF and emerge as a new working group.  We decided to
   take to the mailing list a discussion of whether or not NISI has
   accomplished what it set out to do.  The consensus at first glance
   appears to be that if at the next meeting in March the RFC has been
   published and other projects are either completed or well underway,
   then the San Diego meeting would be the last one for the NISI
   group.  The related issues of information discovery and delivery
   could be handled in a new working group in the User Services Area
   which would tentatively be called Network Information Delivery
   (NID).

   NID is seen as filling a very important and timely need since, at
   present, everyone is trying to figure out the best and most
   efficient means of locating and delivering information (X.500,
   WAIS, etc.).  It is felt that we can provide critical direction in
   this area as far as understanding and application of the various
   types of directory services currently available.

   Over the next couple of months, then, the mailing list needs to
   discuss the questions of whether the NISI group has fulfilled its
   charter or what else it has on its plate, what the charter of this
   new working group would be, and various matters related to the work
   we've recommended in the NISI doc.  Plus we'll need feedback and


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     comments on the db security draft.  April and Pat will take it upon
     themselves to try to get the discussions going on the list.


Attendees

Miriam Amos Nihart       [e-mail]
Robert Blokzijl          [e-mail]
James Codespote          [e-mail]
John Curran
Peter Deutsch            [e-mail]
Alan Emtage              [e-mail]
Martyne Hallgren         [e-mail]
Ittai Hershman           [e-mail]
Ellen Hoffman            [e-mail]
J. Paul Holbrook         [e-mail]
Greg Hollingsworth       [e-mail]
Alton Hoover             [e-mail]
Geoff Huston             [e-mail]
Darren Kinley            [e-mail]
Carol Lambert            [e-mail]
Ruth Lang                [e-mail]
Peter Liebscher          [e-mail]
April Marine             [e-mail]
Ellen McDermott          [e-mail]
David Minnich            [e-mail]
Marsha Perrott           [e-mail]
Joyce Reynolds           [e-mail]
Karen Roubicek           [e-mail]
Harri Salminen           [e-mail]
Dana Sitzler             [e-mail]
Patricia Smith           [e-mail]
Joanie Thompson          [e-mail]
Chris Weider             [e-mail]
Scott Williamson         [e-mail]
Nancy Yeager             [e-mail]



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