OSI in the NASA science internet: An analysis

The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) protocol suite is a result of a world-wide effort to develop international standards for networking. OSI is formalized through the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The goal of OSI is to provide interoperability between network products without relying on one particular vendor, and to do so on a multinational basis. The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a Government OSI Profile (GOSIP) that specified a subset of the OSI protocols as a Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS 146). GOSIP compatibility has been adopted as the direction for all U.S. government networks. OSI is extremely diverse, and therefore adherence to a profile will facilitate interoperability within OSI networks. All major computer vendors have indicated current or future support of GOSIP-compliant OSI protocols in their products. The NASA Science Internet (NSI) is an operational network, serving user requirements under NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications. NSI consists of the Space Physics Analysis Network (SPAN) that uses the DECnet protocols and the NASA Science Network (NSN) that uses TCP/IP protocols. The NSI Project Office is currently working on an OSI integration analysis and strategy. A long-term goal is to integrate SPAN and NSN into one unified network service, using a full OSI protocol suite, which will support the OSSA user community

Research into alternative network approaches for space operations

The main goal is to resolve the interoperability problem of applications employing DOD TCP/IP (Department of Defence Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) family of protocols on a CCITT/ISO based network. The objective is to allow them to communicate over the CCITT/ISO protocol GPLAN (General Purpose Local Area Network) network without modification to the user's application programs. There were two primary assumptions associated with the solution that was actually realized. The first is that the solution had to allow for future movement to the exclusive use of the CCITT/ISO standards. The second is that the solution had to be software transparent to the currently installed TCP/IP and CCITT/ISO user application programs

Internetworking: an analysis and proposal

As the number of computer networks has grown, so has the desire for users on these networks to communicate with each other, thus the need for internetworking. Unfortunately, many of these networks were not designed with internetworking capabilities in mind. The internetworking facilities offered by a typical network range from non-existent to state of the art. Two major efforts towards internetworking are the DARPA Internet protocols and the OSI Internetworking protocols. The goals of this thesis are to acquaint the reader with the qualities which are desired in an internetworking scheme, to describe how internetworking is accomplished currently, and how these protocols might be modified to better suit the needs of the internetwork user. To this end, this thesis will develop the functional requirements for an ideal internetwork, describe two current methods for internetworking, and analyze these methods against the ideal internetwork. The advantages and disadvantages of each internetworking method will be discussed. After this analysis, suggestions will be made as to how these internetworking schemes could more closely resemble the ideal internetwork

An investigation into some critical computer networking parameters : Internet addressing and routing

This thesis describes the evaluation of several proposals suggested as replacements for the currenT Internet's TCPJIP protocol suite. The emphasis of this thesis is on how the proposals solve the current routing and addressing problems associated with the Internet. The addressing problem is found to be related to address space depletion, and the routing problem related to excessive routing costs. The evaluation is performed based on criteria selected for their applicability as future Internet design criteria. AIl the protocols are evaluated using the above-mentioned criteria. It is concluded that the most suitable addressing mechanism is an expandable multi-level format, with a logical separation of location and host identification information. Similarly, the most suitable network representation technique is found to be an unrestricted hierarchical structure which uses a suitable abstraction mechanism. It is further found that these two solutions could adequately solve the existing addressing and routing problems and allow substantial growth of the Internet

Proceedings of the Second Annual NASA Science Internet User Working Group Conference

Copies of the agenda, list of attendees, meeting summaries, and all presentations and exhibit material are contained. Included are plenary sessions, exhibits of advanced networking applications, and user subgroup meetings on NASA Science Internet policy, networking, security, and user services and applications topics

The Xpress Transfer Protocol (XTP): A tutorial (expanded version)

The Xpress Transfer Protocol (XTP) is a reliable, real-time, light weight transfer layer protocol. Current transport layer protocols such as DoD's Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and ISO's Transport Protocol (TP) were not designed for the next generation of high speed, interconnected reliable networks such as fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) and the gigabit/second wide area networks. Unlike all previous transport layer protocols, XTP is being designed to be implemented in hardware as a VLSI chip set. By streamlining the protocol, combining the transport and network layers and utilizing the increased speed and parallelization possible with a VLSI implementation, XTP will be able to provide the end-to-end data transmission rates demanded in high speed networks without compromising reliability and functionality. This paper describes the operation of the XTP protocol and in particular, its error, flow and rate control; inter-networking addressing mechanisms; and multicast support features, as defined in the XTP Protocol Definition Revision 3.4

A session layer for the X.400 message handling system

Bibliography: pages 233-235.The CCITT X.400 Message Handling System resides in the Application Layer of the seven-layer Reference Model for Open Systems Interconnection. It bypasses the services of the Presentation Layer completely to interact directly with the Session Layer. The objectives of this thesis are to show how the general Session Layer may be tailored to be minimally conformant to the requirements of X. 400; to produce a formal specification of this session layer; and to show how this session layer may be implemented on a real system. The session services required by X. 400 are those of the Halfduplex, Minor Synchronization, Exceptions and Activity Management functional units of the CCITT X.215 Session Service Definition. These services, and particularly their use by X.400, are described in detail. State tables describing these services are derived from the general session service state tables. Those elements of the CCITT X. 225 Session Protocol Specification which are required to provide only those services required by X. 400 are described in detail. State tables describing this session protocol are derived from the general session protocol state tables. A formal specification of the session layer for X.400 is presented using the Formal Description Technique Estelle. This specification includes a complete session entity, which characterizes the entire session layer for X.400. A session entity for supporting X.400 is partially implemented and interfaced to an existing X.400 product on a real system. Only the Session Connection Establishment Phase of the session protocol is implemented to illustrate the technique whereby the entire session protocol may be implemented. This implementation uses the C programming language in the UNIX operating system environment

The Third Annual NASA Science Internet User Working Group Conference

The NASA Science Internet (NSI) User Support Office (USO) sponsored the Third Annual NSI User Working Group (NSIUWG) Conference March 30 through April 3, 1992, in Greenbelt, MD. Approximately 130 NSI users attended to learn more about the NSI, hear from projects which use NSI, and receive updates about new networking technologies and services. This report contains material relevant to the conference; copies of the agenda, meeting summaries, presentations, and descriptions of exhibitors. Plenary sessions featured a variety of speakers, including NSI project management, scientists, and NSI user project managers whose projects and applications effectively use NSI, and notable citizens of the larger Internet community. The conference also included exhibits of advanced networking applications; tutorials on internetworking, computer security, and networking technologies; and user subgroup meetings on the future direction of the conference, networking, and user services and applications