The Internet 2 project promises to revolutionise e-commerce when it
finally yields fruit. Danny Bradbury investigates.
One of the biggest complaints about the Internet today is that it
is so slow and unreliable. In a period where everyone is asking for
service level agreements and performance guarantees, the Internet
is more of a kludge than a perfect solution.
The problem is it was not designed for commercial use but it was
built to withstand a nuclear attack, by rerouting data around
network damage.
If a group of US universities and technology suppliers have
their way, the Internet will grow up rapidly in the next five
years, thanks to a set of software and hardware technologies. There
are a couple of initiatives underway to revolutionise Internet
communications and produce a few flagship applications that will
demonstrate the potential to enhance e-business.
The move towards Internet 2 started in 1996, when 34
universities clubbed together to create the University Corporation
for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID). The organisation wanted
to develop a network capability that would benefit academic
institutions in their research. Its activities have blossomed
through working groups into key areas including advanced
applications, middleware and new networking capabilities.
The applications activity is the most exciting aspect of
Internet 2. Working groups focus on areas like teleimmersion, where
participants are placed in a virtual reality environment with which
they can interact.
Because different people can occupy the virtual space from other
locations, teleimmersion will enable working together online, say,
on walking through a virtual model of a building to discuss
architectural issues.
Other applications include creating virtual laboratories, where
lots of different computing resources across the Internet are used
with each other to solve large problems. For example, different
members of a project can use their own resources to help solve vast
calculations.
The work on new networking capabilities will also produce
advances in quality of service. Working groups are discussing how
to use the innovative IPv6 standard in Internet 2.
So what will the next generation of Internet services mean for
electronic business? The answer is little, until it breaks out of
the academic ivory tower to the commercial world. This should
happen within the next five years. It will probably happen in bits,
rather than as a single announcement, simply because it involves so
many academic and commercial parties.
But when it does, it will make the Internet faster. This will
attract a larger number of consumers and business users to start
using it seriously. Ideally, the increased bandwidth and reduced
latency inherent in the Internet 2 project will enable companies to
offer more intuitive applications.
Virtual reality services are currently slow and scarce. Some
technologies do exist, but are used on an ad-hoc basis, and are
more of a novelty. If they could become easier to implement and
more effective, we could enter a whole new world of electronic
business.
Video revolution
But the biggest revolution will come in video. At present, the
communications services across the Internet are of questionable
quality, with time lags and poor quality images. Few users of
products like Microsoft's Netmeeting would consider using it to
speak to customers. With next generation technologies, it would be
easier to conduct videoconferencing sessions with potential
customers online.
It would be possible to use the interactive nature of the
Internet providing them with animated presentations alongside video
sessions. Imagine a pension salesperson manipulating earnings
prediction graphs on-screen to push home their point.
Hopefully, the development of Internet 2 and its associated
technologies will be preceded by new, non-PC devices, making
Internet access completely intuitive. Fast access to high bandwidth
applications via digital TV would make it possible for you to press
a speed dial button on your remote control and instantly be in
touch with your granny in Scotland, in high-definition video and
audio. More to the point, you could be watching a commercial and
decide you want to speak to a representative there and then. With
next generation Internet capabilities, this would be possible.
Still, we have a long way to go before this is reality. For one
thing, the local loop has to be revolutionised. High-speed,
always-on connections to the home must be ubiquitous and cheap, or
all the backbone functionality inthe world won't make any
difference. We have to walk before we can run.
Network infrastructure projects
UCAID's Internet 2 project focuses on software aspects of
high-speed communication rather than on hardware. There are other
organisations and initiatives attempting to overhaul the current
network infrastructure so applications under development at UCAID
can run effectively. These include the following organisations in
the UK:
United Kingdom Education and Research Networking
Association - this organisation is responsible for development
of the JANET educational networks.
Joint Information Systems Committee - JISC promotes the
use of information technology among the academic community in the
UK.
The following are US initiatives:
Abilene - a high-speed network originally set up by US
data communications carrier Qwest, running since February 1999.
Very high-speed Backbone Network Service (VBNS) - another
high-speed backbone owned by the National Science Foundation.
CA*Net 3 - Canada's own Research and Education Internet
backbone, which started operation in autumn 1998.
Defense Research Engineering Network (DREN) - a US
Department of Defense communications network for conducting
research using high-performance computing techniques.