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Internet2

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This article is about a technology development organization. For the next-generation Internet backbone, see Abilene Network.

Not to be confused with Web 2.0.

Network map of Internet2 in the USA

Internet2 or UCAID (University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development) is a non-profit consortium which develops and deploys advanced network applications and technologies, for education and high-speed data transfer purposes. It is led by 212 universities [2] and partners with 60 companies in areas from the networking (Cisco Systems, Nortel^[1] and others), publishing (Prous Science) and technology industries such as Comcast, Intel and Sun Microsystems. "Internet2" is a registered trademark [3]. The consortium is based from administrative headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan.^[2]

1 Achievements
2 History of the next-generation Internet backbone and Internet2
3 Selected bibliography
4 See also
5 External links
6 References

Achievements

Internet2 (and its members) created the Abilene Network and was a prime investor ($10 million) in the National LambdaRail (NLR) project [4]. During 2004–2006, Internet2 and NLR held extensive discussions regarding a possible merger [5]. Key to this merger was the condition that Internet2 would operate its successor to Abilene using NLR's infrastructure (NLR has IRUs on actual fiber infrastructure from WilTel, now Level(3), where Internet2 utilizes leased optical wavelengths from Qwest for Abilene). Those talks paused in the Spring of 2006, resumed in March of 2007 and eventually fell apart in September of 2007 [6]. These technologies and their organizational counterparts were not only created to make a faster alternative to the internet. More and more applications for Internet2 technology become apparent all the time. Many fields have been able to use the Abilene network to foster creativity, research, and development in a way that was not previously possible. Users of poor quality libraries can now download not only text but sound recordings, animations, videos, and other resources, which would be otherwise unavailable. Another application is the robust video conferencing now available to Internet2 participants. Neurosurgeons can now video conference with other experts in the field during an operation in a high resolution format with no apparent time lag. There are many other possible applications for this network.

History of the next-generation Internet backbone and Internet2

The beginnings of the internet were based on the communications of computers over a network. One of the first major examples of such a network was ARPAnet, developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Another was the University of Illinois PLATO educational network. As more networks like ARPAnet were created, the need to standardize and make them compatible arose. This is how the Internet began to evolve into what it is today. Governments and universities are among the first institutions to outgrow the internet's bandwidth limitations. Some universities realized the need for a network that would better support bandwidth- and computer-intensive work, like data mining, medical imaging, and particle physics. This need for a higher bandwidth network resulted in the creation of the very-high-performance Backbone Network Service, or vBNS. The vBNS was developed in 1995 by the National Science Foundation and MCI telecommunications company specifically to meet the needs of the supercomputers at educational institutions. The concept of “the next generation of internet” was born. MCI engineered this backbone for the National Science Foundation, but when their agreement expired the participating institutions looked to the Internet2 organization to offer the same service as MCI.

Selected bibliography

Barnes, Christopher, and Terresa E. Jackson . INTERNET2: The Backbone of the Future. Brooks Air Force Base, Tex.: Air Force Research Laboratory, 2002. http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA406627 (9 February 2007).
Internet2. Internet2 - Home. http://www.internet2.edu/ (9 February 2007).
Matlis, Jan. "Internet2." Computerworld, 28 August 2006, 30.
Moschovitis, Christos, Hilary Poole, Tami Schuyler, and Theresa M. Senft. History of the Internet: A Chronology, 1843 to the Present. Santa Barbara, Cal.: ABC-CLIO, 1999.