Prompted by the recent development of network-based tools to seek out information by querying 

 remote databases. NSF has established a Clearinghouse for Networked Information Discovery and 

 Retrieval tools for assembling, disseminating, and enhancing such publicly available network tools. 

 The clearinghouse complements the InterNIC. 



Solicitation of the Next Generation NSFNET 



Now that basic network services are readily and economically available commercially, NSFNET will, 

 beginning in 1994. evolve into a very high speed national backbone for research applications requiring 

 high bandwidth. In a new solicitation. NSF is requesting proposals to: 



J Establish an unspecified number of Network Access Points (NAPs) where regional and other 

 service providers will be able to exchange traffic and routing information. 



Q Establish a Routing Arbiter to ensure coherent and consistent routing of traffic among NAP par- 

 ticipants. 



Q Establish a very high speed Backbone Network Service (vBNS) linking the NSF-supported 

 Supercomputing Centers. 



3 Allow existing or realigned regional networks to connect to NAPs or Network Service 

 Providers, who would connect to NAPs, for interregional connectivity. 



The NAPs will provide connectivity to mid-level or regional networks serving both commercial and 

 research and education customers and will also provide access to the vBNS. 



With respect to regional networks, this solicitation addresses only interregional connectivity. On- 

 going complementary intraregional support will continue and will be funded at constant or rising lev- 

 els. These efforts include the Connections Program, which provides grants either to individual institu- 

 tions or to more effective or more economical aggregates. A separate announcement to address 

 intraregional connection of high-bandwidth users to the vBNS is planned for FY 1994. 



Interconnecting the NSF Supercomputer Centers, the vBNS will be part of the Interagency Internet. It 

 is expected that the vBNS will run at a minimum speed of 155 Mb/s and that low speed connections to 

 NAPs will be routed elsewhere. 



Gigabit Researcii Projects 



By 1996, gigabit research will lead to an experimental nationwide network able to deliver speeds up to 

 2.4 billion bits per second to individual end user applications. 



Ongoing research and development addresses communications protocols, resource allocation algo- 

 rithms, network security systems, exploration of alternative network architectures, hardware and soft- 

 ware, and the validation of that research by the deployment of several wide-area testbed networks. 

 Several high data rate local area network testbeds will allow Federal agencies, industry, and academic 

 researchers to explore innovative approaches to advanced applications such as global change research, 

 computer imagery, and chip design. 



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