Advanced Network and Services

Last updated
Internet history timeline

Early research and development:

Merging the networks and creating the Internet:

Commercialization, privatization, broader access leads to the modern Internet:

Contents

Examples of Internet services:

Advanced Network and Services, Inc. [1] (ANS) was a United States non-profit organization formed in September, 1990 by the NSFNET partners (Merit Network, IBM, and MCI) to run the network infrastructure for the soon to be upgraded NSFNET Backbone Service. ANS was incorporated in the State of New York and had offices in Armonk and Poughkeepsie, New York.

History

ANSNet

NSFNET-backbone-T3.png

In anticipation of the NSFNET Digital Signal 3 (T3) upgrade and the approaching end of the 5-year NSFNET cooperative agreement, in September 1990 Merit, IBM, and MCI formed Advanced Network and Services (ANS), a new non-profit corporation with a more broadly based Board of Directors than the Michigan-based Merit Network. [2] [3] Under its cooperative agreement with US National Science Foundation (NSF), Merit remained ultimately responsible for the operation of NSFNET, but subcontracted much of the engineering and operations work to ANS. [4] Both IBM and MCI made substantial new financial and other commitments to help support the new venture. Allan Weis left IBM to become ANS's first President and Managing Director. Douglas Van Houweling, former Chair of the Merit Network Board and Vice Provost for Information Technology at the University of Michigan, was the first Chairman of the ANS Board of Directors.

Completed in November 1991, the new T3 backbone was named ANSNet and provided the physical infrastructure used by Merit to deliver the NSFNET Backbone Service.

ANS CO+RE

In May, 1991 [5] a new ISP, ANS CO+RE (commercial plus research), was created as a for-profit subsidiary of the non-profit Advanced Network and Services. [6] ANS CO+RE was created specifically to allow commercial traffic on ANSNet without jeopardizing its parent's non-profit status or violating any tax laws.

The NSFNET Backbone Service and ANS CO+RE both used and shared the common ANSNet infrastructure. NSF agreed to allow ANS CO+RE to carry commercial traffic subject to several conditions: [5]

In 1992, ANS worked to address security concerns by potential customers caused by recent security incidents (e.g. morris worm) and opened an office in Northern Virginia for their security product team. The security team created one of the first Internet firewalls called ANS InterLock. InterLock was arguably the first proxy-based Internet firewall product (other firewalls at the time were router-based ACLs or part of a service offering) and consisted of modifications to IBM's AIX (and later Sun's Solaris) operating system. InterLock's popularity at the time of the boom of the WWW was responsible for the infamous proxy settings in the Mosaic web browser, so users could access the Internet transparently through their layer 7 inspection proxy for HTTP 1.0.

ANS and, in particular, ANS CO+RE were involved in controversies over who and how commercial traffic should be carried over networking infrastructure that had, until recently, been government-sponsored. These controversies are discussed in the "Commercial ISPs, ANS CO+RE, and the CIX" and "Controversy" sections of the NSFNET article.

Sale of networking business to AOL

In 1995, there was a transition to a new Internet architecture and the NSFNET Backbone Service was decommissioned. [7] At this point, ANS sold its networking business to AOL for $35M. The networking business would become a new AOL subsidiary company known as ANS Communications, Inc. [8] [9] [1] Although now two separate entities, both the for-profit and non-profit ANS organizations shared the same pre-sale history.

A new life as a philanthropic organization

With over $35M from its sale of its networking business, ANS became a philanthropic organization with a mission to advance education by accelerating the use of computer network applications and technology". This work helped create ThinkQuest, the National Tele-Immersion Initiative, [10] the IP Performance Metrics program, [11] and provided grant funding for educational programs including TRIO Upward Bound, [12] the Internet Society, Internet2, Computers for Youth, [13] Year Up, National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Sarasota TeXcellence Program, [14] and many others. [15] [ full citation needed ]

One of their philanthropic ventures was to sponsor competitions in science and math, arts and literature, social sciences and even sports. They awarded over $1M in prizes in contests with the goal to use the Web for educational projects with widespread or popular applications. [16]

ANS closes

ANS closed down its operations in the mid 2015.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Internet</span>

The history of the Internet has its origin in the efforts of scientists and engineers to build and interconnect computer networks. The Internet Protocol Suite, the set of rules used to communicate between networks and devices on the Internet, arose from research and development in the United States and involved international collaboration, particularly with researchers in the United Kingdom and France.

In computer networking, peering is a voluntary interconnection of administratively separate Internet networks for the purpose of exchanging traffic between the "down-stream" users of each network. Peering is settlement-free, also known as "bill-and-keep" or "sender keeps all", meaning that neither party pays the other in association with the exchange of traffic; instead, each derives and retains revenue from its own customers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet backbone</span> Vital infrastructure of the networks of the Internet

The Internet backbone is the principal data routes between large, strategically interconnected computer networks and core routers of the Internet. These data routes are hosted by commercial, government, academic and other high-capacity network centers as well as the Internet exchange points and network access points, which exchange Internet traffic internationally. Internet service providers (ISPs) participate in Internet backbone traffic through privately negotiated interconnection agreements, primarily governed by the principle of settlement-free peering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tier 1 network</span> Top level network on the internet

A Tier 1 network is an Internet Protocol (IP) network that can reach every other network on the Internet solely via settlement-free interconnection. Tier 1 networks can exchange traffic with other Tier 1 networks without paying any fees for the exchange of traffic in either direction. In contrast, some Tier 2 networks and all Tier 3 networks must pay to transmit traffic on other networks.

The National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET) was a program of coordinated, evolving projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) from 1985 to 1995 to promote advanced research and education networking in the United States. The program created several nationwide backbone computer networks in support of these initiatives. It was created to link researchers to the NSF-funded supercomputing centers. Later, with additional public funding and also with private industry partnerships, the network developed into a major part of the Internet backbone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MCI Communications</span> Former telecommunications and networking company

MCI Communications Corporation was a telecommunications company headquartered in Washington, D.C. that was at one point the second-largest long-distance provider in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UUNET</span> Early U.S. Internet service provider

UUNET Technologies, Inc., formerly UUNET Communications Services, was an American commercial Internet service provider. Founded in 1987, it was one of the first and largest commercial ISPs and one of the early Tier 1 networks. It was based in Northern Virginia. Today, UUNET is an internal brand of Verizon Business.

The North American Network Operators' Group (NANOG) is a forum for the coordination and dissemination of information to backbone/enterprise networking technologies and operational practices. It runs meetings, talks, surveys, and a mailing list for Internet service providers. The main method of communication is the NANOG mailing list, a free mailing list to which anyone may subscribe or post.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet2</span> Computer networking consortium

Internet2 is a not-for-profit United States computer networking consortium led by members from the research and education communities, industry, and government. The Internet2 consortium administrative headquarters are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with offices in Washington, D.C., and Emeryville, California.

Internet exchange points are common grounds of IP networking, allowing participant Internet service providers (ISPs) to exchange data destined for their respective networks. IXPs are generally located at places with preexisting connections to multiple distinct networks, i.e., datacenters, and operate physical infrastructure (switches) to connect their participants. Organizationally, most IXPs are each independent not-for-profit associations of their constituent participating networks. The primary alternative to IXPs is private peering, where ISPs directly connect their networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PSINet</span> Defunct but one of the first commercial Internet service providers (ISPs)

PSINet, formerly Performance Systems International, was an American internet service provider based in Northern Virginia. As one of the first commercial Internet service providers (ISPs), it was involved in the commercialization of the Internet until the company's bankruptcy in 2001 during the dot-com bubble and acquisition by Cogent Communications in 2002.

The Ocean State Higher Education Economic Development and Administrative Network is a non-profit coalition of colleges, universities, K-12 school, libraries, hospitals, government agencies and other non-profit organizations, providing Internet-based technology for its member institutions and the communities they serve. OSHEAN is a member of the Rhode Island technology community, regularly contributing expertise and resources to a wide range of initiatives, from school enrichment activities to community forums on technology-related issues in the public interest. OSHEAN regularly pursues opportunities for local, regional and national collaboration and plays a national leadership role in professional education for IT professionals and policy development in the information technology arena.

The Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California is a nonprofit corporation formed in 1997 to provide high-performance, high-bandwidth networking services to California universities and research institutions. Through this corporation, representatives from all of California's K-20 public education combine their networking resources toward the operation, deployment, and maintenance of the California Research and Education Network, or CalREN. Today, CalREN operates over 8,000 miles of fiber optic cable and serves more than 20 million users.

The Commercial Internet eXchange (CIX) was an early interexchange point that allowed the free exchange of TCP/IP traffic, including commercial traffic, between ISPs. It was an important initial effort toward creating the commercial Internet that we know today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Very high-speed Backbone Network Service</span>

The very high-speed Backbone Network Service (vBNS) came on line in April 1995 as part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored project to provide high-speed interconnection between NSF-sponsored supercomputing centers and select access points in the United States. The network was engineered and operated by MCI Telecommunications under a cooperative agreement with the NSF.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Wolff</span> Internet pioneer

Stephen South Wolff is one of the many fathers of the Internet. He is mainly credited with turning the Internet from a government project into something that proved to have scholarly and commercial interest for the rest of the world. Dr. Wolff realized before most the potential in the Internet and began selling the idea that the Internet could have a profound effect on both the commercial and academic world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merit Network</span> Global LTE

Merit Network, Inc., is a nonprofit member-governed organization providing high-performance computer networking and related services to educational, government, health care, and nonprofit organizations, primarily in Michigan. Created in 1966, Merit operates the longest running regional computer network in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Van Houweling</span>

Doug Van Houweling is a professor at the University of Michigan School of Information. He is best known for his contributions to the development and deployment of the Internet. For these accomplishments, he was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2014. He is also the recipient of the EDUCAUSE 2002 Excellence in Leadership Award, the Iowa State University John V. Atanasoff Discovery Award, the Indiana University Thomas Hart Benton Mural Medallion, and an honorary Doctor of Science from Indiana University in May, 2017. Van Houweling was the Associate Dean for Research and Innovation from 2010 to 2014. Prior to that, he was the Dean for Academic Outreach and Vice Provost for Information technology at the University of Michigan.

References

  1. 1 2 November 28, 1994 e-mail Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine from Doug Van Houweling discussing the sale of ANS's networking business to AOL
  2. ↑ "The Technology Timetable", Link Letter, November 1992, p. 8, NSFNET Information Services, Merit Network, Inc., Ann Arbor
  3. ↑ "Internet2 Community Timeline - 1990", Internet2® Community Website
  4. ↑ "NSFNET Backbone Service Restructured", Link Letter, November 1992, p. 1, NSFNET Information Services, Merit Network, Inc., Ann Arbor
  5. 1 2 "OIG Review of NSFNET, 23 March 1993". April 23, 1993. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  6. ↑ "New ANS Service Will Provide Commercial Access to Internet", Link Letter, p. 4, NSFNET Information Services, Merit Network, Inc., Ann Arbor
  7. ↑ "Retiring the NSFNET Backbone Service: Chronicling the End of an Era" Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine , Susan R. Harris, Ph.D., and Elise Gerich, ConneXions, Vol. 10, No. 4, April 1996
  8. ↑ Drew, Jesse (2 May 2013). A Social History of Contemporary Democratic Media. New York, New York: Routeledge. p. 27. ISBN   978-0-415-65932-1.
  9. ↑ January 31, 1995 e-mail Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine from Jeff Ogden to the Merit Joint Technical Staff e-mail list
  10. ↑ "National Tele-Immersion Initiative web site". Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  11. ↑ IP Performance Metrics (ippm) Working Group at IETF
  12. ↑ Upward Bound Program, U.S. Department of Education
  13. ↑ Computers for Youth web site
  14. ↑ TeXcellence Program web site Archived April 30, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ Funding page Archived 2011-04-22 at the Wayback Machine on the Advanced Network and Services web site Archived 2011-04-13 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ "STUDENTS MAKE INTERNET THEIR STOCK IN TRADE". Washington Post. November 28, 1996. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.