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n-1-3-040.52a
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N-1-3-040.52, "U.S. - France/Ebone Link Upgrade", by Steven N.
Goldstein*, <sgoldste@cise.cise.nsf.gov>
The National Science Foundation (NSF) was asked by Renater to partner
on an expanded capacity link (from 128 to 512 kbps) which would
involve re-designating the NSF-INRIA link (with INRIA's concurrence)
and re-homing it from Sophia-Antipolis to Paris. In addition, the
link would be designated for service between North America and
Europe's grass-roots multi-protocol backbone, Ebone. As such, routing
and backup arrangements would be coordinated with other North
America-Europe links to London and Stockholm.
In a note from NSF addressed to Alain Bensoussan, President of INRIA on
31 July 1992, the past history of the NSF/NASA link with INRIA and its
growing importance as an operational infrastructural link to Europe
was reviewed by Steve Goldstein:
Dear Alain,
As we approach the third generation of U.S.-France research networking
collaboration, I look back on the incremental steps NSF and INRIA have
taken together toward achieving today's staging for the coming phase.
I recall Larry Landweber's and Christian Huitema's transport gateway
project (INRIA-NSF) and the NASA and INSU/CDS (Strasbourg)
collaboration for access to SIMBAD, then at Orsay's Centre de Calcul.
And how Mitch Tasman and Walid Dabbous and the Princeton and MCI
control rooms remained on duty until early morning (Sophia-Antipolis
time) and monitored the circuits to keep the demonstrations
functioning during the 1988 congress of the International Astronomical
Union in Baltimore and the associated meeting of astronomical center
librarians in Washington.
Then, we joined in the International Connections Manager's
re-engineering of the connection and Rocquencourt's entrance into the
collaboration for INRIA. We recall with gratitude INRIA's
single-party funding of the old circuit during the institutionally
complicated transition period to the new ICM circuit. INRIA has been a
stalwart partner in this endeavor. Operational stability certainly
improved fantastically during the second phase. And INRIA provided us
with connectivity to Crete and Tunisia as well as to a large
cross-section of France's research and academic community.
And now, with the implementation of Renater, we prepare to take the
next step of expanded capacity to a Renater/NSF-provisioned link
between the U.S. and Ebone. In doing so, NSF looks back on the rich
environment of collaboration we have enjoyed with our INRIA
colleagues, and we acknowledge with deep appreciation INRIA's
contributions to today's successes. We have made many personal and
professional friendships, and we look forward to continued
collaborations with INRIA personnel in our now-enlarged sphere of
cooperation with Renater.
*Program Director, Interagency & International Networking
Coordination - Div. of Networking and Communications Research &
Infrastructure - National Science Foundation