Functional requirements document for NASA/MSFC Earth Science and Applications Division: Data and information system (ESAD-DIS). Interoperability, 1992

These Earth Science and Applications Division-Data and Information System (ESAD-DIS) interoperability requirements are designed to quantify the Earth Science and Application Division's hardware and software requirements in terms of communications between personal and visualization workstation, and mainframe computers. The electronic mail requirements and local area network (LAN) requirements are addressed. These interoperability requirements are top-level requirements framed around defining the existing ESAD-DIS interoperability and projecting known near-term requirements for both operational support and for management planning. Detailed requirements will be submitted on a case-by-case basis. This document is also intended as an overview of ESAD-DIs interoperability for new-comers and management not familiar with these activities. It is intended as background documentation to support requests for resources and support requirements

The Design and Implementation of an AFP/AFS Protocol Translator

This paper gives an overview of the design and implementation of the AFP/AFS protocol translator currently in use at the University of Michigan. The protocol translator is an implementation of the AppleTalk protocol suite on BSD UNIX and BSD UNIX derivatives. The translator exploits currently existing UNIX TCP/IP mechanisms (such as sockets), and provides a programming interface to the session and transport layers of AppleTalk. The translator is designed to export AFS and UNIX local file system components as AFP volumes. This ability enables users to access files in the large AFS file system using the native Macintosh interface. Additionally, the translator software on the Macintosh provides Kerberos authentication to the AFS client (AFS Kerberos), reauthentication for expired tokens (AFS Log), and the advantages of the rich access control mechanisms provided by AFS.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107947/1/citi-tr-93-5.pd

Networking vendor strategy and competition and their impact on enterprise network design and implementation

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-99).While a significant amount of literature exists that discuss platform strategies used by general IT vendors, less of it has to do with corporate networking technology vendors specifically. However, many of the same strategic principles that are used to analyze general IT vendors can also be used to analyze networking vendors. This paper extends the platform model that was developed by Michael Cusumano and Annabel Gawer to networking vendors, outlining the unique strategic aspects that the networking market possesses. The paper then reviews the strategy of the first dominant corporate datacom vendor, IBM, how it achieved its dominance, and how it lost it. The paper then discusses the strategies of various vendors who attempted to replace IBM as the dominant networking platform vendor and how they failed to do so. Finally, the paper discusses Cisco Systems, a vendor who did manage to achieve a level of dominance that parallels IBM's, and how that company has utilized its strategy to achieve and maintain its current dominance. Finally, Cisco's current strategic challenges are discussed. The impact of the strategies of the various vendors on the evolution of corporate networking is also discussed.by Ray Fung.S.M.M.B.A

Not The Internet, but This Internet: How Othernets Illuminate Our Feudal Internet

What is the Internet like, and how do we know? Less tendentiously, how can we make general statements about the Internet without reference to alternatives that help us to understand what the space of network design possibilities might be? This paper presents a series of cases of network alternatives which provide a vantage point from which to reflect upon the ways that the Internet does or does not uphold both its own design goals and our collective imaginings of what it does and how. The goal is to provide a framework for understanding how technologies embody promises, and how these both come to evolve.

Kennedy Space Center network documentation system

The Kennedy Space Center Network Documentation System (KSC NDS) is being designed and implemented by NASA and the KSC contractor organizations to provide a means of network tracking, configuration, and control. Currently, a variety of host and client platforms are in use as a result of each organization having established its own network documentation system. The solution is to incorporate as many existing 'systems' as possible in the effort to consolidate and standardize KSC-wide documentation

A rapid prototyping/artificial intelligence approach to space station-era information management and access

Applications of rapid prototyping and Artificial Intelligence techniques to problems associated with Space Station-era information management systems are described. In particular, the work is centered on issues related to: (1) intelligent man-machine interfaces applied to scientific data user support, and (2) the requirement that intelligent information management systems (IIMS) be able to efficiently process metadata updates concerning types of data handled. The advanced IIMS represents functional capabilities driven almost entirely by the needs of potential users. Space Station-era scientific data projected to be generated is likely to be significantly greater than data currently processed and analyzed. Information about scientific data must be presented clearly, concisely, and with support features to allow users at all levels of expertise efficient and cost-effective data access. Additionally, mechanisms for allowing more efficient IIMS metadata update processes must be addressed. The work reported covers the following IIMS design aspects: IIMS data and metadata modeling, including the automatic updating of IIMS-contained metadata, IIMS user-system interface considerations, including significant problems associated with remote access, user profiles, and on-line tutorial capabilities, and development of an IIMS query and browse facility, including the capability to deal with spatial information. A working prototype has been developed and is being enhanced

Intermediate File Servers in a Distributed File System Environment

A component of the Institutional File System (IFS), the intermediate file server addresses scaling and interoperability issues on the University of Michigan campus. The IFS is based on AFS, a distributed file system from Transarc. Intermediate servers provide protocol translation that enables non-AFS clients to easily access the distributed file system. For example, Macintosh users can manipulate UNIX files that reside on a server by moving folders and icons, just as they would manipulate local Macintosh files. Intermediate servers also offer other benefits, such as multi-level caching and data preloading, that increase the capacity of the network by reducing the load on central servers.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107959/1/citi-tr-92-4.pd