1.3: Network Infrastructure
Evolving and Scaling Socio-Technical Network Infrastructure Other Information:
Evolving and Scaling Socio-Technical Network Infrastructure -- Network connectivity, beginning at the computing platform or
device and radiating outward through local-area networks connecting to wide-area networks connecting to the Internet's network
of networks, creates the wired and wireless communications fabric that makes a digital world possible. Over the last four
decades, Federal investments in basic network research have led the way to the Internet, the World Wide Web, wireless mobile
and optical networking, and an array of network-based applications that are reshaping societies and economies around the globe.
Where we are now -- advanced computer networks provide the infrastructure for transporting, developing, archiving, accessing,
and using the huge volumes of data that support critical functions in every sector, such as storage and nearly instantaneous
interchange of data in the financial markets. Scientific experiments such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN distribute
petabytes of data to thousands of scientists around the world who are seeking to uncover the fundamental nature of matter
and the "dark energy" that dominates the universe. Dynamic, heterogeneous, secure, and reliable networks are also critical
to the Department of Defense's (DoD's) ability to defeat adversaries, to Department of Homeland Securities' (DHS's) ability
to respond to natural disasters and terrorism, and to Federal efforts to improve health care for all. Like the LHC, a growing
number of scientific applications require very large bandwidths to support massive data transfers and the need for near-real-time
coordination and data transmission protocols tailored to the data requirements. Other such applications include Earth system
modeling supported by the Earth Systems Grid (ESG); computational genomics; and Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI),
a radio astronomy application enabling simultaneous observations of an object by many telescopes combined, emulating a telescope
with a size equal to the maximum separation between the telescopes. Current high-performance networking (including science
networks) does not generally support these demanding requirements; the current approach is to provide dedicated point-to-point
network links and services among the key researchers (or to have researchers move to sites where adequate networking is available).
Today, such services lie mostly outside the science networking provided to the larger research community and are implemented
outside the university science networking infrastructure. Research needs -- the network infrastructure of the 21st century
must be robust enough to meet very diverse demands, including network services supporting A7; exponential increases in data
volumes and changes in how people access data (e.g., data in the network); ultra-reliable, secure networking (e.g., for national
security and the commercial and banking sectors); new networking technologies that scale (e.g., all-optical networking) to
provide the end-to-end bandwidth, performance, and services required for data-intensive science; and heterogeneous networking
(e.g., wireless, optical networking, satellite communications, and others). The following are core areas of networking R&D
in which advances are needed: * Foundations -- architectural principles, frameworks, and network models to deal with complexity;
heterogeneity; multi-domain federation, management, and transparency; endto- end performance; and differentiated services
* Design -- secure, near-real-time, flexible, adaptive services with built-in intelligence to facilitate discovery, federation,
and management of resources across domains and to increase the application robustness and resistance to attack even in extraordinarily
complex systems and new ways of interconnecting networks to provide those services * Management -- management methods and
tools that incorporate intelligence in the network to enable effective deployment, control, and utilization of complex networks
and resources in dynamic environments, across domains, and with ever-increasing network and application complexity * Privacy
and Security -- achievement of a high degree of security even in complex, heterogeneous federation and policy environments,
especially in the face of component failures, untrusted components, malicious activities, and attacks, while also respecting
privacy and maintaining usability, (e.g., provide scalable federated policies for authentication, authorization and accountancy)
* Usability -- adaptable, user-centered services and interfaces that promote efficiency, effectiveness, and fulfillment of
user needs without overwhelming users with unnecessary or unauthorized data This agenda must be pursued across the spectrum
from fundamental to applied research and with engagement of all sectors to attain widely deployable innovations. Necessary
elements include: * Basic and applied research in the full range of network architectures, theoretical models, analysis techniques,
hardware, software, security and privacy, and middleware needed to support the next generation of uses for networks and explore
new paths to develop capabilities that cannot be supported on the current evolutionary path * Partnerships with application
developers, users, and stakeholders to test basic research ideas on real problems in areas including national security, support
of scientific leadership, and human health * A suite of prototype networks and testbeds that enable understanding and creation
of new technologies, data systems, and improvements in end-to-end performance at varying scales. The massive size of existing
deployed networks such as the Internet limits R&D, while laboratory and simulation studies cannot address some aspects of
the solutions, particularly complexity, their ability to scale, and their potential realism. Research, partnerships, and prototype
networks and testbeds are closely interrelated. The latter are needed to test and develop new networking capabilities in realistic
environments, to assure they can be implemented technically and economically, and to explore policy frameworks. Partnerships
between the researchers and the application developers will help assure that R&D capabilities can be implemented in real networks
and that other application resources such as computing and storage are provided.
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