The Program Layers 



National 

 Challenges (NC) 



Achieve major now 



Applications 



National Information 

 Infrastructure (Nil) 



PravldeB ubiquitous 

 InlsrconneclcdcanipuUng 

 and communlcstlona. 



Services IntWrnBtton 



Communication 



Bitways 



The three interconnected layers of the 

 Nil are a variety of "Bitways" for com- 

 munication, services for information- 

 based and computation-based 

 resources, and National Challenge 

 applications. Each layer focuses on 

 protocols for common delivery mecha- 

 nisms in order to insulate users from the 

 details of the underlying technologies. 

 In so doing, each layer sustains a 

 diverse base of technologies and sup- 

 ports a broad base of suppliers. 

 Communications protocols, for example, 

 ensure delivery in a uniform manner: 

 protocols for multimedia multicast and 

 other services provide similar uniformity 

 to applications developers: and applica- 

 tions developers use scalable open pro- 

 tocols to make rapid advances without 

 major services reengineering. 



BRHR 



The BRHR component is generally structured as an inte- 

 gral part of the other components. The ARPA program, 

 along with NSF, provides the majority of Federal support 

 to universities in computer and computational science. 

 Fundamental limitations of HPCC technologies are iden- 

 tified and alternatives developed that will provide the 

 basis for more advanced technologies in the future. An 

 Historically Black Colleges and Universities program 

 identifies individuals and groups that have the potential 

 to contribute to the program. Small Business Innovation 

 Research topics are formulated to provide another 

 opportunity for small businesses to participate in the pro- 

 gram. University projects provide an extraordinary 

 opportunity to attract new people into the program, ben- 

 efit from Iheir talent, and prepare them for the new tech- 

 nologies. Basic research programs are often estab- 

 lished in cooperation with NSF. 



Major FY 1994 Milestones 



Develop system architectures for affordable computing 

 systems, scalable from workstations to teraops systems. 



Demonstrate scalable libraries, components, and tools 

 to support software development on a scalable parallel 

 system. 



Develop and deploy gigabit networking protocols based 

 on experimental testbed results. 



Develop information infrastructure system architectures 

 and early prototype services. 



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