NBS TECHNICAL NOTE 795

Review of

Network Management Problems

and Issues

100

5153

<*n3
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

The National Bureau of Standards ' was established by an act of Congress March 3, 1901. The Bureau's overall goal is to strengthen and advance the Nation's science and technology and facilitate their effective application for public benefit. To this end, the Bureau conducts

research and provides: (1) a basis for the Nation's physical measurement system, (2) scientific and technological services for industry and government, (3) a technical basis for equity in trade, and (4) technical services to promote public safety. The Bureau consists of the Institute for Basic Standards, the Institute for Materials Research, the Institute for Applied Technology,

the Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology, and the Office for Information Programs. THE INSTITUTE FOR BASIC STANDARDS provides the central basis within the United

States of a complete and consistent system of physical measurement; coordinates that system

with measurement systems of other nations; and furnishes essential services leading to accurate and uniform physical measurements throughout the Nation's scientific community, industry, and commerce. The Institute consists of a Center for Radiation Research, an Office of Measurement Services and the following divisions: Applied Mathematics — Electricity — Mechanics — Heat — Optical Physics — Nuclear

Sciences " — Applied Radiation - — Quantum Electronics 3 — Electromagnetics 3 — Time

and Frequency 3 — Laboratory Astrophysics 3 — Cryogenics n. THE INSTITUTE FOR MATERIALS RESEARCH conducts materials research leading to improved methods of measurement, standards, and data on the properties of well-characterized

materials needed by industry, commerce, educational institutions, and Government; provides advisory and research services to other Government agencies; and develops, produces, and

distributes standard reference materials. The Institute consists of the Office of Standard

Reference Materials and the following divisions: Analytical Chemistry — Polymers — Metallurgy — Inorganic Materials — Reactor

Radiation — Physical Chemistry.

THE INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED TECHNOLOGY provides technical services to promote

the use of available technology and to facilitate technological innovation in industry and Government; cooperates with public and private organizations leading to the development of

technological standards (including mandatory safety standards), codes and methods of test; and provides technical advice and services to Government agencies upon request. The Institute consists of a Center for Building Technology and the following divisions and offices: Engineering and Product Standards — Weights and Measures — Invention and Innovation — Product Evaluation Technology — Electronic Technology — Technical Analysis — Measurement Engineering — Structures, Materials, and Life Safety ' — Building Environment * — Technical Evaluation and Application 4 — Fire Technology.

THE INSTITUTE FOR COMPUTER SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY conducts research and provides technical services designed to aid Government agencies in improving cost effec- tiveness in the conduct of their programs through the selection, acquisition, and effective

utilization of automatic data processing equipment; and serves as the principal focus within

the executive branch for the development of Federal standards for automatic data processing equipment, techniques, and computer languages. The Center consists of the following offices and divisions: Information Processing Standards — Computer Information — Computer Services —

Systems Development — Information Processing Technology.

THE OFFICE FOR INFORMATION PROGRAMS promotes optimum dissemination and

accessibility of scientific information generated within NBS and other agencies of the Federal Government; promotes the development of the National Standard Reference Data System and

a system of information analysis centers dealing with the broader aspects of the National Measurement System; provides appropriate services to ensure that the NBS staff has optimum

accessibility to the scientific information of the world. The Office consists of the following

organizational units: Office of Standard Reference Data — Office of Technical Information and Publications —

Library — Office of International Relations.

1 Headquarters and Laboratories at Gaithersburg, Maryland, unless otherwise noted; mailing address Washington, D.C. 20234.

3 Part of the Center for Radiation Research.

3 Located at Boulder, Colorado 80302.

« Part of the Center for Building Technology.
foivaJ Borailri b? SiahSar®

# f7' -

g< 00

Review of Network Management Problems 10

53 and Issues

7.5"

A. J. Neumann

Systems Development Division

Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology

National Bureau of Standards Washington, D.C. 20234

*>0 7f5

Sponsored by

The National Science Foundation

18th and G, Street, N W. Washington, D.C. 20550

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Frederick B. Dent, Secretary

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Richard W. Roberts, Director

Issued October 1973
National Bureau of Standards Technical Note 795

Nat. Bur. Stand. (U.S.), Tech. Note 795, 77 pages (Oct. 1973) CODEN: NBTNAE

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 (Order by SD Catalog No. C13.46:795) Price S1.00
FOREWORD

This report is one of a series of publications produced by the

Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology, National Bureau of

Standards, under Grant AG-350 from the National Science Foundation.

This grant supports a broad program of research into the

foundations of computer networking in support of scientific efforts.

A listing of completed and planned publications produced by the

Institute under this grant follows:

1. Primary Issues in User Needs

D. W. Fife

Chapter 10 in Networks for Research and Education:

Sharing of Computer and Information Resources

Nationwide

MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

Expected Publication October, 1973

2. Some Technical Considerations for Improved Service

to Computer Users

T. N. Pyke, Jr. COMPCON, 1973

Seventh Annual IEEE Computer Society International

Conference

3. Computer Networking Technology - A State- of- t he-Art

Review

R. P. Blanc and T. N. Pyke, Jr. COMPUTER Magazine

Computer Society of the IEEE August, 1973

4. Review of Network Management Problems and Issues

A. J. Neumann

NBS Technical Mote 795

September 1973

5. Annotated Bibliography of the Literature

on Resource Sharing Computer Networks

R. P. Blanc, I. W. Cotton, T. N. Pyke Jr. and

S. VI. Watkins

NBS Special Publication 384

September 1973

6. Network Management Survey

I. W. Cotton

NBS Technical Note, September, 1973

in
7. User Procedures Standardization for Network

Access

A. J. Neumann

NBS Technical Note, September, 1973

8. Review of Computer Networking Technology

R. P. Blanc

NBS Technical Note, September, 1973

9. Microeconomics and the Market for Computer

Services

I. W. Cotton

Submitted to Computing Surveys

10. Cost Analyses for Computer Communications

R. P. Blanc

NBS Technical Note, Fall, 1973

11. Network User Information Support

A. J. Neumann

NBS Technical Note, Fall, 1973

12. Quality Service Assurance Experiments

R. Stillman

NBS Technical Note, Fall, 1973

13. A Guide to Networking Terminology

A. J. Neumann

NBS Technical Note, Fall, 1973

14. Research Considerations in Computer Networking

D. W. Fife

NBS Technical Note, Fall, 1973

Acknowledgement

The author wishes to acknowledge the generous support of

Dr. Dennis W. Fife, of the National Bureau of Standards, for his

painstaking review of several sets of draft material, and for his

many constructive comments.

IV
CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Definitions and Scope 3 1.2 Types of Potential Network Application 6 1.3 Modes of Network Operation 6 1.4 Prospective Users 7 1.5 Extent of User Distribution 8 1.6 Potential Resources and Services 8 1.7 Networking Development 11

USER AND SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 13

2.1 Ease of Access 13

2.2 Ease of Use and Operation 14

2.3 One - Point Contact 14

2.4 Terminology Problems 14

2.5 On-Line User Assistance 15 2.6 Consultation 15

2.7 Orientation and Training 16

2.8 Documentation 16

2.9 Terminal Design 17 2.10 User Feedback 18

2.11 Information Control . 18

2.12 Reliability 18

2.13 Product Quality 19

2.14 Network Continuity 19

2.15 Network Performance Criteria 20

2.16 Standards 20

MAJOR CONSTRAINTS ON NETWORKING INNOVATIONS 21 3.1 Legislative Restrictions 21 3.1.1 State Legislation 21 3.1.2 Federal Legislation 22

3.2 Academic Environment 24

3.3 Economic Constraints 25

3.4 Government Interfaces 26

3.5 Networking Trends 27

CRITICAL ISSUES FOR NETWORKING MANAGEMENT 29

4.1 Management Problems as Mirrored in the Literature . 29

4.2 Critical Issues 31 4.2.1 Planning and Policy Development 31 4.2.2 Weakness in Marketing of Products & Services 31 4.2.3 Organizational Problems. ... 33

4.2.4 Financing 33
Page

5. OTHER SIGNIFICANT MANAGEMENT CONCERNS 34

5.1 Network Control 34

5.2 Service Agreements 35

5.3 Information Control 36

5.4 Accounting 37

5.5 Evaluation Criteria and Methodology 38

5.6 Standardization 39

5.7 Cost Determination 39

5.8 Pricing 40

5.9 Charging Algorithms 41 5.10 Resource Allocation and Rationing 42

5.11 Royalties and Copyright 42

5.12 Critical Mass of Small Service Centers 43

6. ORGANIZATIONAL ALTERNATIVES 44

6.1 Network Organization 44

6.1.1 Structuring of Network Nodes 44

6.1.2 Ownership and Organization of Network ... 47

6.1.3 Major Levels of Networking Management

(Vertical Structuring) 51 6.1.4 Horizontal Structuring 57

6.2 Management Control 58

6.3 Information Handling 58

7. CONCLUSIONS 59 7.1 Principal Research Needs. 59

7.1.1 Requirements Analysis 60

7.1.2 Financing 61 7.1.3 Documentation 61 7.1.4 Marketinq 61 7.1.5 Model Development fi? 7.2 Experimentation 62

7.2.1 Establishment of a Cataloq of Existing. . . 62

Network Services

7.2.2 Perform Selective Market Analyses 63 7.2.3 Support Requirements Experiment 63

7.2.4 Establish a Working Group on Network . . 63

Objectives

7.2.5 tistablish a Working Group on Product

Packaging 64

7.2.6 Develop a Metholology for Network Impact

Analysis 64

7.2.7 Establishment of a Networking Newsletter. . 64

7.3 Planning Teams 65

8. REFERENCES 66

vi
FIGURES

Page

1. Network Functions and Participants 4

2. Multiple Resource and Service Nodes 45

3. User - Resource Relationships 46

4. Network Ownership Relationships 48

5. Network Management Level Groupings and Illustrative Cases . 53

6. EDUCOM Organization Proposal 55

7. EDUNET Organization Proposal 56

vii

Review of Network Management Problems and Issues

A. J. Neumann

Computer networking is broadly considered including hardware, software, procedures and people. Networking encompasses

many activities; such as, creation of network products, distribution processes, user activities, and supporting services like

marketing, documentation, information services and maintenance.

Network management covers both the establishment of networking

operations and actual operation of the network facilities. It includes all management functions performed at such network

nodes as computing centers, documentation facilities, and .ser- vice distribution centers.

In order to survey the problems facing development of

network management, user requirements and system requirements

are outlined in a qualitative manner. Examples of political,

economic and legal constraints are summarized, such as the

economic impact of extended networks on regional and local

computing activities. Critical issues for networking management, and other areas of significant management concern are outlined.

Organizational alternatives are conceived in terms of a four layer organization model. Conclusions deal with continuing problem areas, the need for a structural model for network

management, critical experiments and tasks to be undertaken to further networking capabilities, and a suggestion to establish

planning teams to initiate some of the initial steps required

for further networking development.

Key Words: Academic computing; networks; network management;

regional networks; research computing.

1. INTRODUCTION

There has been substantial growth in academic computing in recent

years, stimulated partly by marketing successes of manufacturers and

partly by Government financial support. Questions are now arising as to how the new technology of computer networking might best be utilized in

support of higher education and research, and how academic computing

could be channeled to become less dependent on Federal grant support, and

what steps should be taken by all participants -- Government, universities, and users -- to use computer technology more effectively. There is

a consensus of opinion that computer network technology is now available,

and a strong desire is evident to apply this technology in a proper manner tc provide possibly far reaching benefits to higher education and

research.

Related to the problem of introduction of technology are the

1
problems of development of an organization, of the management of the

available resources -- people, material, and financial -- and of development of new management concepts, procedures, and methods. Network

management is concerned both with planning of network operations and

the operation of networks. It is concerned with organization, direction

and control of all activities which develop and distribute network re- sources and network services in the academic environment. This environment commonly is limited to a single campus at this time, but the growth

of multi-campus institutions and of regional cooperation among institutions is tending toward a national orientation for networking activities. Nationally oriented networking is imminent through interconnection among regional networks, and between regional networks and special

purpose computing centers.

This study is concerned with identification of existing or potential

problem areas related to network management. This includes definition

of network parameters which can be used to specify network properties,

identification of network constraints, and isolation of major concepts

of network management. These form the basis for network planning,

organization, and control.

The study is addressed to those who will be involved in the

planning and development of academic networking capabilities. They may

be top-level university administrators, who are concerned with the

raising of funds or the development of policies for academic networking

efforts; they may be directors of local, or regional computing centers,

who need to interface with networking development, and who need to develop operating procedures, policies and funding mechanisms, to interrelate network facilities with their needs and their installation capabilities. The report should also be useful to users, or user representatives, who would like to investigate the impact of networking on their

special discipline, or who would like an overview of points to be con- sidered in establishing network organizations. Finally, the study should
be of interest to technical managers, system planners, and designers of

computing networks who have to interact with their managements and who

may want an overview of the networking management environment.

1.1 Definitions and Scope

"Network" is given a rather broad meaning. A network is considered a combination of processing nodes, communications linkages, hard- ware and software, people and their organizational relationships, and

various rules, policies, and regulations which permit smooth operation

and interaction of the network components. This broad definition is

used to permit an integrated approach to the overall system development

during the formative and conceptual stage of network development. Some

nodes may be centers which are primarily resource oriented, and which

deliver specialized resources to the network; such as, one-of-a-kind

data .bases , or a unique processing capability. Other nodes may be usage

oriented and provide service distribution or access capability, e.g.reqional

computing centers. Still other nodes may serve both functions with the

mix determined by local requirements. Processing nodes will have both

automated and human processing, each providing their own unique capabilities. Communication linkages may be simple information channels,

where mail flows between regional centers, human communications channels

established over dial-up voice lines, narrow band communications, or broad band computer-to-computer linkages. No preconceived notions exist

at this time as to the composition of either the network nodes, or the

linkages of a future science networking capability. Description and

elucidation of management concepts for such networks will require com- prehensive understanding of the functioning of the network.

Major network functions and possible participants are shown in

Figure 1, in symbolic form. Eventually there will be many resource

centers, a diversity of users, and as many service centers as required

by the needs of the network community.

Major resources are provided to the network by the resource

centers. The creator of the resource may or may not be affiliated with

the resource center. There are resources such as proprietary data

3
CO 4J >>

c: +-> CD 4- i

O 4- 3

3 ro CJ +J +-> re l/ltOLL

•M O -C

CO -r- CJ

•i- +J S- c ro ro •n U CI

CO

03

I E 3

I -O T3 _

co a) c — en O O CO CD •—

CD i— +-> -£Z CT>i— fd O CD O CJ Wi— c_> 3

i— "O

>, O >iLxJ

s- cj +-> rC -i—i

-a s- c to C O 3 -r- O •!- E CJ

i cj c E cu

I CD 3 O Qi i/now

CD

•4-> CO T—

CD CO en s- CD CD 1— >

o

c_> CD

<C

Da.a

o

O

I—

E +> O 03

co ro CD +-> CO c

E CO O

•i- CD -

s- E cn+J

CD E ro ro

+-> ro 3 O ro CD Q. ro rjiCi— o 3

O rd CX ro O

<- _l Q.CU

C_> O Q_

ro CD E cn

S- ro o s_ 4- O

O C +J a i—i oo
banks, which may be owned by a separate organization, but are made available to the resource center and to the network under special licensing

agreements. Individuals who have written special computer programs

may want to retain ownership, and may want to permit network users access

to their programs. Thus there may be a distinction between the resource

creator, the resource owner, and the resource center. Similarly, depending on the nature of the network product and its distribution process,

there may be other needs for division of labor as indicated by the

emergence of wholesalers and retailers. An existing regional network,

as part of a national network, may take on the task of acting as a major

distributor, or wholesaler, and furnish services to various campus com- puting centers, who act as local distributors, or retailers of services.

The local centers in turn may serve a customer; such as, a research

project or university department, and through them it may serve individual users. Legal service agreements will have to be executed between the

retailer and the customer. The user, or ultimate consumer is a member

of the customer organization.

Major functions are concerned with network support, facilities

and personnel at all the major network nodes. A special box in Figure 1 labeled "broker" indicates the need for a brokerage type of liaison

function, which in a large network will provide a linkage between sources

of service and user needs. This linkage function matches the temperaments and capabilities of usage oriented researchers, and distribution

oriented providers of services. The location of the brokerage function

in the resource to user chain depends on circumstances, type of service,

type of customers and type of network organizations. This will be discussed in more detail later on.

Network management is defined as comprising all activities

directly concerned with the making of major decisions regarding both

network planning and network operational activities, at all levels, of

all organizations engaged in planning, operations, support and maintenance of network resources, network distribution and network services.
1.2 Types of Potential Network Application

Several types of resource sharing may occur on a network. In load sharing , a given work load is distributed among several computers.

This equalizes the load on participating computers, and permits accom- modation of peak loads and perhaps the installation of smaller computers

if work load estimates can be predicted with reasonable certainty.

Hardware sharing could provide computational machines; such as, extremely fast machines, or machines with very large storage capacities,

for unique research applications beyond the capability of individual

computing centers. Hardware sharing also refers to sharing of unique

output hardware capabilities; such as, machines for preparation of hard

copy, photo composition, or unique graphic production capabilities.

In data , or data base sharing , several users at different sites

would access one data base, of unique characteristics. This may become

economically feasible with very large data bases on the order of

10 bits, where the cost of copying and transfer of the data base would

be prohibitive.

Program or software sharing would permit users at different sites

to use programs at a resource center, by providing their own data, transmitting the data to the resource node, and receiving the results from the resource node. This could include various software packages which may

not be available locally because of hardware or language incompatibilities.

Various types of network applications place different burdens on network management, in terms of requirements for services, standardization, support, and documentation.

1.3 Modes of Network Operation

A future networking capability would provide a variety of modes

of operation. Some users may require interactive service, where relatively small programs are entered from a console and the results appear

at the console practically immediately. Other users may want to operate

in the remote batch mode, entering data from a terminal, and receiving

6
results from a batch process some time later. Other users may transmit

a deck of cards to a remote computer for batch processing, and receive

the results via a similar process, or by the mails. Finally there may

be use for capabilities where a chain of computers may be involved, and

various processes are executed at various levels of a hierarchical com- puting system.

1.4 Prospective Users

In order to assess requirements for a broader networking capability,

some estimates must be made regarding the usage requirements; i.e., the

number and types of users, their potential distribution, actual user time

required and various types of services to be used. Furthermore, one needs to know the characteristics of the individual customers and their

particular needs.

The user community may include private institutions, state

supported schools, municipal colleges, community and junior colleges,

professional schools, and also some secondary and even primary schools.

Some users may be associated with government agencies and non-profit

research centers.

Research usage will serve the very sophisticated user, with

unique computational requirements. Another category is graduate and

undergraduate students. Their needs ray be characterized partially by course work requirements in a variety of courses, by terminal use at all

hours, and by specific requirements towards the end of the term or of the

academic year, where computing use rises traditionally, in support of

term papers and thesis projects. Other beneficiaries or participants

will be faculty and university staff, engaged in teaching or research.

Another group to whom network services may be useful are the school

administrators. It is not clear at this time whether all of the above

can be or should be accommodated on one network, or whether there should

be separate administrative, research and teaching networks. Another area of use would be computer aided instruction (CAI), which has been developed for all levels of teaching and instruction, from graduate level (1),

through undergraduate to high school and grade school. Special

Figures in parentheses indicate the references at the end of this paper.

7
applications have been developed for "distributed populations" (2) and

for training in a specialty; such as, nursing. Administrative applications in the educational sector may include handling of student records,

class scheduling, billing, plant maintenance, and preparation of address

lists and directories.

If conventional library functions are made part of a network,

interlibrary loan and reference queries, as well as circulation data

and catalog preparation, would be candidates for network services.

Another application of network technology would be mass utilization of minicomputers, which would provide on-line process or experiment control, and would at the same time be linked to the network to provide specific inputs or to utilize specific network services in support of local experimentation. Much work has yet to be done in classification of experimental functions, development of experiment control

languages, and special hardware or software functions.

1.5 Extent of User Distribution

Several analyses address the possible extent of academic networking requirements.

A survey by Hamblen (3) of computer facilities in institutions

of higher learning showed that as of June 1969 there were 1255 institutions with computer facilities and 1282 without. The Pierce report

recommended that all universities and colleges should have some kind of

computer facilities (4). In 1968 - 69 the 1282 institutions without com- puters enrolled about 1.2 million students. i e Grasse(7) also estimated that

there might be 6000 terminals in higher education by 1975, and 12,000

terminals by 1980. One can easily envision at some future time interconnected networks of thousands of terminals and several hundred nodes

entirely devoted to higher education.

1.6 Potential Resources and Services

Potential network resources will be made available to remote

users from resource centers having the hardware, software, and

people necessary to support service nodes in service
distribution. Hardware may include specialized machine capaoility; sucn

as, high speed, multi-font, hard copy production capability, very high

speed computing capability, or very large storage facilities. Software

may include ^jery large data bases, proprietary applications programs,

or other unique research capability, while people will include functional

specialists, system programmers, operations experts, and others, who

would be available for advice to and consultation with users. Resource

centers may be discipline oriented > having expertise in one or several

of the academic disciplines, like chemistry or physics, or in subdivisions like theoretical chemistry, or nuclear physics, or they may be

interdisciplinary and problem oriented such as a center for urban studies

or for pollution research. Potential networking services have been described in the literature (5), (6), and there are a variety of candidate

types for potential networking services (See Table 1). Before such

services can become viable products for broader, even nation-wide distribution , management will have to make decisions on priorities of needs.

Guidelines for implementation will have to be developed to fill these

needs.
Potential Network Services

Computing Services

research computing

educational computing

computer aided instruction

computational training

administrative computing

Information Services

data services

retrospective search

current awareness

selective dissemination

document production and publishing

Communications Services

teleconferencing

Control Services

TABLE 1

10
1.7 Networking Development

The problem of remote computing in higher education has been

addressed by DeGrasse (7) who studied potential patterns of development

of remote computing.

His findings, although reported in 1971, are still relevant and

are summarized here. He asks three questions:

1. Is a national (educational teleprocessing) network evolving

by itself?

2. Is a national (educational teleprocessing) network worthwhile?

3. What is the effect of computer hardware and software?

He answers "No" to the first question. "A national network will not

evolve if we define a national network as connecting a majority of

institutions of higher education on a single network or utilizing a common utility. We have a number of (approximately twenty-five) small

disconnected regional networks with little incentive for them to connect

together. The future will bring more small, local networks, but no single national network or utility without a great deal of federal

government stimulation."

DeGrasse answers the second question in the affirmative, "provided it is economical and with the national education goal of effective

utilization of teleprocessing technology by as many institutions as possible . The concept is worthwhile ... if it includes the relatively disadvantaged institutions as well as the leaders in educational computing."

Regarding the impact of hardware and software, he concludes that

hardware effects will be small, since a good many of them (i.e., the

majority of institutions of higher learning) have little if any hardware

in the first place. The main challenge is "tailoring the applications

programs to serve the great many different needs of educational practitioners in a useful, attractive, economical way, is our biggest

challenge ... Nearly half of the institutions in the country have

little or no computing at all which means we have a long way to go before we find the computer ... used extensively in an efficient

11
cost-effective manner 'for class support in a majority of disciplines".

There are three elements of higher educational computing: administration, instruction, and research. They are in different stages of

evolution. Instructional computing comprises the newest group of users,

and is growing fastest, and "has the greatest potential need for networks". (This does not necessarily imply a "national network"). "Because

of the nature of research, research users will always find use for networks as long as government support is available." (One might argue that

loss of such support, may reduce research use considerably). 'Individual

institutions' administrative users are a large, well defined group but

administrative networks are unlikely without a major restructuring of

both public and private higher education." In this connection, it is

interesting to note that the TUCC network has started to provide administrative computing services for several institutions (8). This has been

successfully carried out for some smaller institutions but with the three

larger universities there is a greater reluctance to shift their administrative data processing to TUCC, although Duke University has already

accomplished this for their student record processing. 'One problem which

must be overcome ... is the administrators' reluctance to give up a machine on which he can exercise direct priority pressure." Implementation by TUCC of centralized administrative services will require additional machine capacity at the central site, and approval of such an extension by the other partners of the consortium. This development, if

successful, will be of interest, because it will demonstrate the utility

of centralized administrative processing.

A national network should be envisioned as a developmental effort

which will slowly and naturally evolve into a useful instrument. In its

early stages the network may consist of a loose federation of regional

computing centers, linked by no more than dial-up lines, and some jointly

developed policies, procedures, and minimum facilities. At some later

stage, computer - to - computer linkages and additional service nodes may

be added, which will provide specialized capabilities for the regional

networks. Individual institutions may join the network and have access

12
to the network on an independent basis, not related to existing regional

centers. At a later time, as additional institutions and traffic re- quirements may justify, a special communications network may become the

basis for a national educational and research network.

The overall system economics should make it possible for all

institutions to participate in the network. Both the rich and large

private or public schools, and the small, less endowed institutions would

be able to derive fullest benefits of the networks. Both the "have" and

"have-not" schools should be accommodated.

2. USER AND SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

One of the fundamental requirements for development of any

extended computer based networking capability is consideration of the

needs and characteristics of the users, for whose benefit the system is

being developed. The user requires ease of system access, ease of system

operation, and a variety of services which aid him in efficient and productive operation. The user is cost conscious and would like to obtain a maximum of service at minimum cost. Finally, certain basic system performance requirements such as reliability, availability and product

quality must be met both from the users' standpoint and from the system

operators' and managers' viewpoint.

Network management organizations must be concerned with fulfillment of the user needs and of system requirements, because only if these

needs are met will there be continuing use of the networking facilities.

We will discuss both in somewhat more detail in the next sections.

2.1 Ease of Access

The sign-on or log-in procedure must be simple, easy to understand and logical. With many different services available on a network,

there could arise a proliferation of possibly confusing or conflicting

log-in procedures, which would inhibit easy systems access. In order to use network facilities, many administrative arrangements must be understood and learned. User documentation exists in a variety of formats,

with different degrees of detail of contents. User assistance may often

13
not be available when needed. Improvement of uniformity, simplicity of

operation and standardization in this area is required.

2.2 Ease of Usr and Operation

Once a user has "logged on", operation should be possible without much effort on the users' part. Messages from the system to the user operator, should be unambiguous and should indicate what action is

required on the user's part. Commands from the user to the system should

also be simple, and system actions depending on these commands should be

well documented and easy to find in the documentation.

2.3 One - Point Contact

In order to facilitate easy access, efficient operation, and

support of the network user, it would be desirable to have a one point

contact, where the user may make arrangements for services, obtain the

latest information on types of services, availability and prices, obtain

advice and consultation on how to solve operational problems in terms of

access procedures, identification, and other details. Here he either

would obtain all general purpose documentation required for network

operation, or he would learn where and how to obtain special documentation published and distributed elsewhere. Such capability exists today

only in a \/ery rudimentary fashion.

Administrative procedures which are required before access to the

network can be granted, must be well documented and simple; completion

of the access authorization should not take undue time.

2.4 Terminology Problems

The emergence of the new network technology has brought computer

technologists, communications engineers, software specialists, educators,

and scientists face to face. The technical language used to describe and

to specify networks and to measure systems and systems performance re- flects this diversity and as a consequence the terminology used today is

confusing to say the least. The same word may mean different things in

various environments, and the same concept may be known by different

names. A logical path is called a link, a connection is an extension of

14
a link, a synchronization string is called marking, an open connection,

may also be considered a closed path, and so on.

2.5 On-Line User Assistance

There are several forms of user assistance, which must be provided. Certain information can be conveniently disseminated "on-line",

upon user request, at sign-on or sign-off, or at other times. The

format and language of such "system messages" must be unambiguous, clear

and easily understandable. Many system messages on existing commercial

timesharing systems leave much to be desired in this respect. Types of

information which can be handled in this manner may be tutorials re- garding systems operation or applications, new product announcements,

system changes, documentation changes, or status reports.

While operating, the user should have a capability to know the

system status; i.e., the operating conditions of all those parts of the

network involved in his operations over which he has control or which

affect him. He also should be able to know the service cost so far, or other measurements which are used for accounting purposes such as terminal time or machine time. If errors occur, error messages should

be provided, if at all possible, with a guide towards solution of the

problem.

Other assistance resources should be developed as part of the

overall network development. This would mean human professional assistance in systems analysis, systems programming support, or general

consultation in a specialty available at a network resource center.

2.6 Consultation

Human communications are often being neglected in the design of

automated information systems. In a national networking capability as it is being considered here, there is great need for human intellectual

support to all potential users. Highly individualized assistance may be

required by a local user in debugging of programs, additional programming

assistance on a contract basis, or special applications such as curriculum development or the interfacing of laboratory minicomputers. These

15
tasks may be best performed by local talent and may not be national network functions, although some guidelines or policies in this respect may

be useful to local computer centers.

Since consultation by its nature is a human communications

process, it is best done in direct person-to-person contact, but various

"hot-line" arrangements have been successful where a large geographic

area has to be covered.

Some of the major regional networks have established the position

of "campus coordinator", which performs this function. Off campus they

act as "circuit riders", and provide consultation and communications to

an area beyond the immediate campus.

2.7 Orientation and Training

Certain orientation and training activities are required periodically for all echelons of all organizations participating in a national

networking effort. These may range from short concise briefings on network objectives, network status, or current problem areas to top level

managers, to detailed specific courses in operational aspects such as operation of certain terminals, or operational procedures for students,

faculty, or administrators. Timing of such efforts is of importance

and needs to be considered in the overall planning of introduction of

services, or the development of new capabilities.

2.8 Documentation

Documentation in various forms is required for hardware, soft- ware and system procedures. It is required for system operations,

maintenance, orientation and training, as well as for all management

functions.

Documentation may have to be prepared in different formats and

with different content for various types of users, such as the expert

computer professional, or the casual non-computer oriented administrator

or educator, or the junior college student.

Documentation will also vary in level of detail, from general

network-wide policy and procedures statements, to details reqarding

16
network access methods, log-in procedure, identification, passwords and

emergency procedures.

All publications must meet minimum acceptable standards, as to clarity, content, readability and format. Uniform numbering procedures,

and format standards will probably be beneficial on a network wide basis.

System-wide standards will also aid both the mobility of users, throughout the network, and of products.

Various types of documentation pertaining to the network are operations and maintenance manuals, policy and procedures manuals,

directories, reference manuals and training documentation. Also there

will be required some material for general orientation and public

relations purposes.

Experience has shown that documentation problems have been

ignored in many cases by management both in the planning process and

as part of the operational aspects of networking. Documentation deadlines have been set unrealistically, documentation requirements have been

ignored or minimized, and production and distribution problems have been

solved on an ad-hoc, post facto basis, to the detriment of both system

user and system manager.

2.9 Terminal Design

Terminal design must accommodate all user and system requirements

to provide a useful and efficient system, and to provide basic capabilities to the network user. Especially for interactive users, many of

the user and system requirements are only approximated by present day

terminals, which in the case of teletypewriter types, were designed for

different purposes, and in a different technological environment.

Development of requirements for low cost, state-of-the-art

terminals is being pursued at this time (9). These efforts are being

evaluated as to their impact on the educational process and as to the

expected reduction of cost for a student terminal. Positive results of

these efforts will enhance networking applications to the educational

process.

17
2.10 User Feedback

Development of interactive processing has given the user a greater capability to influence an ongoing computational or information

handling process. This capability of communication between the user and

the system can also be used to elicit responses from the user which can provide valuable information to management, on system usage, system

performance, and system utility. Such feedback can also be gained as part of the consultation process, where user replies can be translated

into new policies and operational procedures.

2.11 Information Control

Users have certain requirements for keeping their files, data

and programs restricted to their own use, or they may want to keep usage

restricted to persons authorized or licensed by them. There is a need

for restricting access to personal records, which may be part of medical,

psychological, or social research files. There also is a need to protect

unpublished research work from unauthorized access. Users may want to restrict access on a file basis, or on a partial file basis. Various

data management systems provide such capabilities, but not all systems

are flexible enough to accommodate all user requirements.

2.12 Reliability

Regarding performance requirements, there is a substantial

distinction between an experimental timesharing system which is run by

a university computer laboratory for internal student experimentation

only, and a nation-wide service that serves hundreds or possibly

thousands of users. In the former case irregular operation is a nui- sance, and while it may inconvenience individuals at times, it can be

tolerated, especially if an alternate source for services is not available. A nation-wide network must, however, run on a precise schedule

and must be available when scheduled. Technical performance criteria

such as mean time between failures and mean time to repair are available for hardware components, and overall systems criteria can be

developed for availability and reliability, and must be specified.

18
System reliability is an important ingredient contributing to user con- fidence; only a trouble free performance record will insure continuity of use of the system. Another related factor is system stability, which not

only insures that the system remains operational within specified operating conditions and operating times, but that the system characteristics

remain unaltered. This refers to hardware configuration, software capabilities, and operating procedures. A class of students depending on the

system for end-of-term results, must be assured of the continuing stable

operation of the network. An educational computer aided instruction

program must remain essentially the same, as seen by the user, format and

content wise, at least during the school year, to permit consistent meas- urement of student progress. Researchers must be assured of stability of

system languages, operating system programs and routines so that their

research may progress, and may be completed within planned time periods.

2.13 Product Quality

Hardware quality control has become a specialized branch of engineering and has made great progress over the years. Software quality

control, in contrast, is still in the research stage. Only recently has

the problem been addressed in a comprehensive and determined way. In a national network formal mechanisms have to be established for classification of software malfunctions, reporting, evaluating and correcting

of errors. Efforts are underway to improve software and program structures to permit location of incorrect program parts, and to localize

faults. Related to this are system requirements for software documentation, and software design, to permit programs to operate on dissimilar

machines, with minimum of adjustments. A central facility for software

quality research and development and test may well prove to be beneficial, and may even become necessary in the network context.

2.14 Network Continuity

The network must be so organized that various pieces can be

planned and added at various times based on growth requirements. Bell

(10) calls this "dynamic rejuvenation". Older generation machines can be

shifted to different system tasks, while new generation machines take

19
over the tasks of the older machines. Purchased last generation machines

may be obtainable at less cost per operation than newer machines, at least for certain classes of problems. Thus, with increased demand for

service both machines can remain in operation.

A network should be able to accommodate addition or removal of

equipment or system features without subjecting the users to the major

transients associated with system configuration changes. Furthermore,

elimination of any user node must not affect the rest of the network,

as far as operations at other nodes are concerned. Similarly organizational and financial provisions must be made to minimize a crippling

loss of revenue, and to provide operational compensating mechanisms to continue service. Technically it is necessary to make provision for

assumption of certain network functions by other nodes, to replace those

functions performed by the node leaving the network.

2.15 Network Performance Criteria

Various echelons of network management would like to be apprised

of the "state of well being" of the network at times when major decisions

have to be made. No widely recognized general concepts of network status

and performance have been developed yet to suit this need. Some commercial timesharing systems do measure system response time and system

capacity respectively in terms of the time required between completion

of a user request and the start of a system reply and total number of

users, which can access the system simultaneously, without degrading

system response time to unsatisfactory levels. Further work is required

to develop meaningful criteria for networks and to have these criteria

generally applied by network managers.

2.16 Standards

Interoperation of various regional and campus wide networks re- quires standards for description of systems operation and performance,

standards for system measurements, and standardized evaluation criteria

to permit service evaluation and comparisons.

20
Standards will be required, in the not too distant future, for

system command languages, user identification methods and codes, programming languages, file structures, library card catalog formats, and

record forms required in network administration (6). Also required is a system-wide scheme of classification for all types of service, for service priorities, and related operational detail and data elements. Uniformity is necessary for accurate system-wide cost determination and

billing, as well as for the measurement of network operational- characteristics and for network planning.

3. MAJOR CONSTRAINTS ON NETWORKING INNOVATIONS

There are a variety of existing factors which significantly limit

or constrain the future development of academic networks, particularly

in regard to management approaches. These factors pertain to the "real

world", or the environment in which networks are developing and in which

networks will continue to exist. We analyze some of the major factors

here to show the domain in which realistic management concepts have to be

developed. The constraints are primarily of a legal, organizational,

economic and political nature.

3.1 Legislative Restrictions

3.1.1 State Legislation

Some states have enacted protective legislation pertaining to state supported information networks. Thus, in Oregon special justification may be required to buy "outside services". In the Oregon State

University network "no contract for the purchase of computing services

from a commercial source will be consummated without approval ... of the

executive department. The request for services must include a statement

of examination as to what specific steps were taken to insure that State

computing resources are, in fact, not available and that support requirements can only be satisfied by commercial services " (11)-

In the State of California, a master plan has been put into

effect which creates four data centers specializing in business and services, state colleges, law enforcement, and revenue. Funds for these

21
centers have been appropriated and are included in the state budget (12)-

Both these legislative actions are typical examples of state

legislation which directly affects networking. Dependence on state

budgets creates rigidities in timing and fund allocations which do not

permit system reaction and hardware adaptations to rapidly chanqing

requirements.

3.1.2 Federal Legislation

Another set of laws which impact on computing and networking are those dealing with anti -trust matters. The Sherman Act of 1890 prohibits

"contracts, combinations or conspiracies in restraint of trade," and

makes it "unlawful to monopolize trade, attempt to monopolize trade or combine or conspire to monopolize trade." The Clayton Act of 1914 makes

it unlawful for a seller to discriminate in price between different

customers when the effect might be "to substantially lessen competition

or tend to create a monopoly". The Clayton Act also prohibits tie in

sales or contracts under which commodities are made available only upon

the condition that other, different commodities are taken. As with other

legislation in such a broad area, effectiveness of the legislation depends greatly on court decisions and the actions of the Justice Department, which is charged with bringing suit against potential offenders.

As time goes on, courts have increasingly held, that continuing dominance

of an important market is, in itself, grounds for anti-trust action. The

term "restraint of trade" has been interpreted as "unreasonable" re- straint of trade, but the term "unreasonable" has never been defined.

Similarly, monopoly power has been defined as "the power or ability to fix or control prices in a market or ability to exclude competition from

a market", but the term "market" has not been defined and there are no simple tests for monopoly power; such as, the percentage of the market

held. Legal action against firms which were found guilty of anti-trust

law violation usually has tended to strengthen competing firms. Impact

of this legialation must be considered by networking organizations and

will affect pricing policies, and marketing strategies, especially in areas where unique resources are distributed on a national scale.

22
Any firm in the United States which offers communications services for sale is considered a public utility and is subject to the regulatory power of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under the

Communications Act of 1934. In addition, State and local authorities

also exercise some regulatory power. There are some networks which

provide computing services like the GE, TYMSHARE, or ARPA network. These

networks are considered private networks and do not fall under the regulatory powers of the FCC. If they should begin to offer information

services which could be considered communications services, they would

fall under FCC regulations. In practice, this would mean that they have

to apply to the FCC for construction permits, and if authorized, would

have to file tariff schedules, describing their price structure and service conditions. Thus, establishment of a general network type communications service would require FCC authorization and be subject to the

attendant time delays.

Introduction of teleconferencing capability, in connection with

computer networks, may either be interpreted as a general communications

capability, in which case it would be subject to government regulation,

or it may be interpreted as a specialized service, in which case government regulations would not apply. We must await further developments

on this vital issue.

The products and services of the network are partly intellectual

products and questions regarding ownership and use rights have to be

resolved. Proprietary programs, data, and textual material can under

some conditions be protected by the owner under existing copyright, patent, trademark and trade secret legislation. Actual use of products

requires agreements and contracts between users, service center resource

suppliers and resource creators. Responsibility for content of material,

and for application has to be defined in some cases, in terms of warranties or liabilities.

Certain legal bases, differing from state to state, exist for

various types of organizations which may be set up as part of the overall

network organization; such as, individual ownership, partnerships,

23
corporations, consortia and cooperative associations.

Legal bases for communications and common carrier tariffs vary

between within state, and between interstate operations, and thorough

understanding of these factors is required to design optimum communications networks. Legal problems arise also in connection with privacy,

controlled access and security of information, data bases and programs.

The rights of authors, resource providers, service centers and users must be protected, as much as their responsibilities must be

defined and their adherence to these must be monitored.

There is a need for product protection, so that as a minimum, the owner can prevent use of the product without remuneration. In some cases,

the owner may want exclusive control of the use of certain products.

Legislation by municipalities, states, and federal authorities

having an impact must be identified and considered.

3.2 Academic Environment

Various network components will exist in the academic environment

and network planning must take into account some of the "facts of life"

surrounding academic institutions.

Higher education is big business, the capital invested in the

educational plants, the annual gross operating income and gifts and en- dowments are cumulatively in the billions of dollars. One of the most

critical functions of governing boards is the continuous raising of money,

to augment tuition fees and other income, and to provide for growth and

increase of quality of instruction.

The top level manager is a president or chancellor, assisted by

vice presidents or vice chancellors. All are selected by the board.

Direct responsibility for various functional areas lies with various

deans and directors, who direct faculties, finances, libraries, schools

and institutes, centers, laboratories, student affairs, community affairs

and fund raising. The faculty operates in the environment of tenure,

academic freedom, and university tradition. The individual department

24
head or senior faculty member has an opportunity to establish and develop

a research organization in an entrepreneurial fashion which often is quite

independent of other departments even if there are possible common goals.

This is quite noticeable in the computing environment. Despite the fact

that there are central computing centers in many universities, there are also numerous local, small departmental installations, which are grant

supported and sometimes are in competition with established computing

centers.

Involvement of top level university officials in inter-university

cooperative efforts will depend very much on individual personalities.

It may be very difficult to achieve, in networking, considering long

standing traditions, differing objectives and educational goals of institutions and attitudes of independence which are part of our educational

system. There are, however, changes occuring now in academia which indicate a growing desire for cooperation among the highest levels in the

academic environment. Inter-university programs are being set up at an increasing rate. Inter-institutional cooperation also exists at departmental levels which have pooled their resources so that courses at different institutions may be taken by students at all participating

institutions.

The problem of inter-institutional cooperation can be solved by

personal involvement of top level managers in development of common goals

and objectives, by personal commitment to these goals and objectives,

and by transmitting this commitment to their institutions through effective leadership.

3.3 Economic Constraints

The real crux of the economics of network development and evolution is that large sums of money will be required for additional system

hardware, system software, and system management before an economically

viable network can be in place and operating.

New computer installations, where required, involve capitalization in the millions of dollars. Participation of existing computing

centers and of regional networks in national networking will require

25
considerable funds for additional functions to be performed by the

centers and networks. These functions require additional documentation, maintenance, and other support necessary for network participation,

With consistent inflation, increasing pressures on universities

to maintain existing facilities, and the need to accommodate growing

enrollments in continuing education and special education courses,

university administrations find it increasingly difficult to maintain

their computer center budgets at an adequate level. Any additional

networking costs must be borne out of existing budgets, which is most

difficult to do. At the same time, some government channels for funds

are being cut off, so that financing of networking activities presents

a real problem. and a prime constraint on future development.

In addition the establishment of extended networks may impact

on operations of regional networks, just as the establishment of re- gional networks has had an effect on individual computing centers.

Emergence of networking may impact on existing capabilities in several

ways. A local computing center may be forced to compete with an emerging regional network for Federal funds, and may lose financial support

or key personnel in the process. An existing regional network may be

able to provide better services than the local center, and thus may

divert customers and revenue from the local facility. Also services

on a regional network may be obtainable at lower cost, or under more

beneficial conditions, and may thus affect utilization and revenue

of local services. These and other factors need to be considered in

the developing of academic networking capabilities.

3.4 Government Interfaces

The historical independence of private institutions, and the

26
separation between state-supported and private schools is being bridged

more and more, under the impact of decreasing enrollment in and decreasing financial support of private institutions. To provide needed services without unnecessary duplication has become the order of the day, and

27 states have set up planning boards for higher education. Under

Federal educational grant programs, up to 2 billion dollars will no longer be distributed to individual institutions, but will go to state

planning boards for allocation to the schools (13). This measure will

stimulate creation of new boards where they do not exist and will

strengthen existing boards. An additional federal requirement specifies

that the state boards must represent private schools as well as public

institutions in distribution of federal funds through state agencies.

Private college administrators fear that state planning will rob them of

their independence. On the other hand, receipt of federal funds through

the medium of state planning agencies may solve some of their critical

financial problems.

The previous discussion illustrates a tendency towards state

planning under Federal sponsorship. Other problems arise as a result of

establishment of regional organizations, which may cross municipal or state boundaries. Effects of state law and possible interstate variations in laws reqarding networking organizations need to be determined.

Details remain to be worked out on a regional and national basis.

3.5 Networking Trends

The recent history of computing networks shows a trend towards

regional centralization of computing services. Individual centers at various campuses have exploited communications and computer technologies

and have provided campus-wide, university-wide, or regional computing

services from a central facility. This has been effected under Federal

sponsorship, as well as with state support. Possible development of a national networking capability may build on this trend. Linking of some

of the present regional centers may be one avenue of a natural evolution,

in the desire to extend services on an equitable basis to a wider audience, throughout the country. Another possibility would be for

27
independent service providers to compete with existing networks and service providers. Several steps are possible here:

1. Further extension of existing regional and local centers,

together with establishment of more regional nets to serve a national

clientele.

2. Linking of existing regional centers, to serve a national

clientele, without a central facility.

3. Independent development of new national centers for resources

and service distribution, linked to regional networks.

4. Independent national resource centers, available only to existing local computing centers or to individuals.

Case 1 would represent an interim solution. It would extend

capabilities of regional centers, beyond their present reach, possibly

over the extent of the whole country, it would not, however, provide linkage to other network systems. This may be likened to a group of completely

independent airline reservation systems covering the country.

Case 2 would be illustrated by linking existing regional centers

such as the TUCC network in North Carolina, the MERIT network in Michigan

and the California state network to provide additional capability for all

three networks.

Case 3 is best illustrated by the emergence of the National Crime

Information Center (which provides information to a central facility from

various state networks). As of 1970, about 20 state networks had direct

access to the central facility. It is planned that eventually all 50

states will have state-wide computerized law enforcement systems, which

will be linked to the central facility.

Case 4 would occur if these resource centers develop their own communications linkages, which would be accessible to any local computing

center or user node if desired.

In the long run it appears desirable to develop competitive capabilities, which will favor the user by helping in reduction of prices

for comparable services, by improvement of service quality and service

availability.

28
In the case where local centers also handle distant products,

some motivation will have to be provided to the local center to handle

"foreign" products. These may be:

1. Financial rewards, in terms of service charges, for handling

of outside products.

2. Motivation to provide "public service" to the academic com- munity.

3. User demand for augmentation of local service.

4. Personal or political reasons for providing service.

In the case of the monopoly situation, the user will have little

choice and will have to adjust himself to whatever service may be offered

if it is usable and if he is willing to pay the price.

We thus recognize that existing regional networks are powerful

contributors to a growing national networking capability and that their

existence must be taken as given. Similarly their experiences and knowhow provide a good start-off point for extension of services to a wider

market, and to new types of products.

4. CRITICAL ISSUES FOR NETWORKING MANAGEMENT

In the previous discussion we have outlined the initial considerations for broader, academic networking, and have sketched the scope

and possible content of such capabilities. We now briefly review some

of the viewpoints, which have been expressed in recent publications,

concerning what generically are called "network management problems."

4.1 Management Problems as Mirrored in the Literature

Stefferud, for example, lists the following specific issues,

which should be resolved in order to share computer resources (14):

"User/supplier agreements for the exchange of services over the network;

controls to protect and regulate competition among suppliers and users; policies for decisions to add computer capability to the network; establishment of responsibility for allocation of network resources, with or without congestion; and ways to buffer users from each other, so they

can suballocate their resources within their own areas of responsibility."

29
Similarly, Norn's raises the following questions (15): Who

should manage the network? Who should make policies and what should

these be? What should the membership policies be? What should be the

relationships among members, regional or disciplinary subnets, and the

national network? What kind of standards are needed regarding priorities,

security, and technical compatibility? How do we ensure the effective

and efficient operation of the network now and in the future?

Haas (16) divides administrative questions into three catagories:

technical, policy and network relationships to institutional goals and resources. As a prime technical problem he cites the need of management

and of administrators for technical assistance in comparison of service

offerings. Specific service performance measures and criteria are re- quired for such items as: stability, network capacity, network flexibility, network charges, service growth, network reliability, data

reliability, ease of use, and security. He further identifies policy

type problems ; such as, the protection of interest of the participating

institutions, assurance of economic and effective satisfaction of service needs, and need of having influence on the policy making mechanisms

by the universities. Finally at the level of relationships of the network with the institutional goals and resources, he points out the importance of understanding and accommodating the relationship between the

instructional goals of the participating institutions and the network.

Stefferud (14) draws several general conclusions: 1. Large

scale pooling of computer resources into networks threatens to weaken the

accountability relationships of many administrators and managers of our mission oriented activities -- unless we adjust our organizational structures to counter this effect. 2. Computer networks are creating large

potential marketplaces, which need to be carefully managed, if they are

to achieve their potential; it is not yet clear who will develop and

manage this marketplace. 3. Networking may force a restructuring of

traditional marketing methods. Service vendors will have to find new

ways to package their services. 4. The impact of networks on management

will be felt at all levels, as a conflict between mission oriented and resource oriented control.

30
All these issues reduce to three basic areas of management concern: planning, organization and control. An essential linkage between

these broad areas, extending in the time and space domain, is provided by

communications, throughout and between all organizations involved, which

provide the "right information", to the "right people", at the "right

time", in the "right amount".

The critical issues addressed next are concerned with development

of plans, goals and objectives, implementation of marketing functions,

organizational problems ana tne financing of networking operations.

4.2 Critical Issues

4.2.1 Planning and Policy Development

There is TittTe experience in the educational field with a truly

national network. To evolve toward national networking capabilities,

of an operational as opposed to experimental form, will require a set of

objectives to provide uniform direction for networking development. Lack

of such objectives has so far prevented development of nationally-oriented

operational concepts, and thus is one of the major problems to be researched.

Such objectives would be concerned with the types of services to be provided, the number and types of users to be included, and some of the

ground rules pertaining to a flexible network, such as types of financial

support expected, general type of organization, and envisioned goals for

method of operation. Objectives would also be concerned with broad

statements on measurement activities, and on methods of assessing how

well the objectives have been achieved. The network objectives, and the

network management objectives constitute a basis for further development

of networking plans at all levels.

4.2.2 Weakness in Marketing of Products and Services

Development of viable networking operations depends on needs for

the services, availability of suitable products and services, and distribution mechanisms for making the services available to the users at reasonable costs, with suitable quality, and under market conditions to sustain continued operation of service delivery.

31
In the past, there has been little need for the individual aca- demic software developer to consider implications of a national market

for his products. Even if he would recognize that need, he may as a cre- ative scientist not want to engage in what easily could be a full -time

job of tracking down potential users, demonstrating advantages of the

package, and "selling" his product. Furthermore, the product itself in

most cases is not in a condition to be "marketed" nation-wide. Even if

good documentation were available, -- and no definitive rules exist today

on what constitutes "good" program documentation, -- that would not be

enough. In addition, there would be a need for users' manuals, sales

tools, guidelines on pricing, and references to related literature,

applications, and other documentation. All of this material must be prepared to appeal to a large particular segment of the market. Market

analyses must be made to determine applicability of existing products or need for further development. In addition, consideration must be given

to protection of the package, in terms of copyright, trademark or patent

laws. Prices will have to be set and conditions for use have to be determined and made known to potential users, or intermediaries, who may

want to distribute the material. All in all, the marketing of software

and network products requires specialized skills, knowledge and time,

which at present are neither available nor can they easily be obtained

by developers of software. It appears that lack of marketing effort is one of the major factors standing between the creators of service oriented products and the users of such products.

Stefferud (14) and Hootman (17) mention this problem as part of

their discussion of the "brokerage function". Hootman quotes the classical definition of brokerage: "one who for a commission or fee brings

parties together and assists in negotiating contracts between them". It

is not yet clear by whom and where the marketing and brokerage functions

should be performed. If automated facilities are available, these

functions should have access to the network, and new methods of marketing

and of brokerage are undoubtedly in the offing. Some authors speak of

the "electronic market place", and both marketing and brokerage organizations might become direct participants in network operations, which

32
would affect the network measurement schemes, accounting structures, and

billing systems.

A networking capability does therefore present a new form of

marketplace, where buyers and sellers can come together, make agreements

on what and how much is needed, and what the compensation for the services will be.

4.2.3 Organizational Problems

As the complexity of networking operations extends beyond the

individual campus or regional network, organizational interactions

multiply. Assumption of responsibility for local computational activities by regional centers raises questions as to possible elimination of

jobs, consolidation of functions, and reorganization. Computing activities are managed by a "director of computing activities", rather than by

the manager of the local computing center. Questions arise on responsibility for support functions, documentation, consulting and maintenance.

As regional centers begin extending their services into other jurisdictions, statutory and legal barriers to communications appear in terms of

what can and cannot be done by a local manager. Finally, the human

element, personal attitudes, needs, capabilities, as well as interpersonal relationships enter into organization structures. In the development of a national networking capability, as hierarchies of organizations begin to work with each other, redundancies will occur, as well

as communication gaps.

Questions such as: who will develop networking goals and policies? who will direct the effort? who will do the work and what will

happen at the local service delivery level? must be investigated, answered and documented in terms of a networking organization. We will con- sider some of the alternatives and make recommendations in the next

sections of this study.

4.2.4 Financing

The contemplated NSF Networking for Science program envisions

"permitting institutions from e^/ery sector of our society to participate

33
at minimum cost and without Federal subvention"(18). This requirement

places heavy responsibilities on the planners and implementors of networking capabilities. Heavy capital investments may be required for the

start-up of new resource centers. If operating expenses are to be paid

out of current computing budgets, some adjustments have to be made to pro- vide networking funds. Development of equitable user charges must involve development of some general notions related to inter-institutional

accounting, charging, and billing schemes. Limited financial resources

and the possibility of financial losses in competitive service will re- quire clear objectives and emphasis on economic evaluation to ensure highest payoff commensurate with the objectives. Some of the suggested

demonstration tasks will address the financial and economic side of the

networking effort.

5. OTHER SIGNIFICANT MANAGEMENT CONCERNS

Other significant functions are concerned with operations management, resource management, and user and support management. Some of the areas of concern are network control, service agreements, information

control, accounting, costing and pricing, network measurement, standardization, critical size of network nodes, and resource allocation.

5.1 Network Control

A multi-node network requires special provisions for monitoring

of the technical facilities to guarantee reliable network operation. An example is the network control center, which has been implemented on the

ARPANET (19). A small dedicated computer receives reports from every

interface message processor on the net. Traffic summaries, status and

trouble reports are generated from these reports. Line errors, storage

counts in excess of capability, occurrences of reloading from the net,

and checksum errors are logged. Detailed and summary logs of service

center computer and line traffic are produced. The Network Control Center serves as a coordinating point for network monitoring, testing and

diagnosing of troubles. Lines throughout the network can be switched

from the center to permit isolation of line difficulties. Personnel from

the center coordinate all debugging, maintenance, repair and modification

34
of equipment. The computer capability is presently oriented towards

statistical measurement and troubleshooting. Baran (20) has proposed an on-line monitoring capability for a control center, which introduces

human judgment control in connection with displays of both the availability of communications resources and the demand for service. In addition, some devices for suballocation of resources would be developed.

The controller would observe the communications capacity "on line" i.e.,

the present allocation and the size of the individual demand. A resource display would indicate system status, resource availability, number of

jobs in queue, and the communications status. Standardized measures for

allocated resources and for demand for various functions, used throughout

the network, could provide useful network management information for

operations, planning and charging purposes. A true network control capability, serving the network as defined here, has yet to be conceptualized. Eventual implementation would provide a powerful tool for network

management.

5.2 Service Agreements

Formal agreements will be required between the user or customer

of network services and the service provider. If there is a wholesaler

acting as service provider, agreements are in turn required between local

distributor and wholesaler and between wholesaler and the service provider.

Such an agreement, as a minimum, should be concerned with the

following service conditions:

amount of service available

service time periods

service quality guaranteed

type of service

turnaround times

cost per service unit and type of service

available security and privacy categories

user responsibilities

billing and payment conditions and procedures

35
User responsibilities with regard to authorship, copyright,

patents, trademarks, and proprietary software must be established, and

agreed on by the appropriate parties. Similarly, legally binding system

performance criteria, which are measurable by the user and service provider, would be made part of such agreements to provide quality service

to the users.

5.3 Information Control

Policies are required on what types of information should be

included in a network data base which in turn requires some taxonomy of

products as seen from the producer, distributor and user standpoints.

One might want to stipulate that all information and data pertaining to research and educational objectives ought to be available to

all authorized users on a permissive basis. Information excluded from

this blanket authority must be identified, as for instance administrative

data, student and health records, unpublished research and the like.

After users are authorized to enter the system, certain information will be restricted to certain individuals only. This type of

information includes personal records, pertaining to named individuals

in connection with psychological or medical research, health or personnel

records, etc. \ n an expanded network a rather cnmDlev accpss cnntrnl

scheme needs to be developed, with several levels of access control, and

various types of control. Security is becoming increasingly important

in terms of protection of installation, software and contents of files

stored in computer systems. Willis provides a good overview of the

problem (21). The physical hardware must be located in a safe place;

physical protection, access limitation, fire protection for machines

and storage devices, and personal security are mandatory. Software is

protected by access limitation based on personal identifiers or by

organizational affiliation, personnel level, by file or subfile, by

activity or by functional limitations such as "read only", "read and

write", "update", or "execute only". Threat monitoring devices and

methods are available. Protection of the operating system is especially

important. Finally protection against malfunctioning is partially

36
achieved by good documentation and sound operational procedures.

5.4 Accounting

In a regional or national network transfer of usage measurements,

service charges, and other operational and financial data is a requirement for equalization of services and monies exchanged between centers.

DeGrasse (7) has pointed out that major difficulties exist in the University environment in connection with uniformity of financial accounting

procedures. Due to existing procedures, actual computing costs cannot

be determined and different accounting systems at different schools do

not represent the same things. This makes cost comparisons meaningless.

The Pierce Panel (4) recommended that schools standardize cost accounting

for computing. One possible way for doing this would be to have regional

centers use standardized practices without forcing the individual universities to change their accounting methods. A nation-wide system in turn could evolve from standardization of regional center methods.

In addition to financial accounting, there is a need for usage

accounting; i.e., collection and processing of data on both use of

system facilities; such as, processors or processor components, communications lines, terminals as well as various products. If we consider the

network as an electronic "marketplace" (17), records must be kept in con- siderable detail on "who" uses "what", "where", "for how long", at "what

price". The following detail must be available for each network transaction: user identification

user location

institution and subdivision

service used and measure of service

time of use and time interval

to whom service should be charged (charge number)

project number

These accounting data serve many purposes such as cost determination,

cost allocation to accounts, billing and collection of service charges.

37
Additional questions to be answered are related to "how well"

the system has performed. This requires a set of efficiency criteria and

additional measurements to provide data for computation of operational

effectiveness. For planning purposes, one wants to know what measurements

must be taken in order to provide projections on future system use.

5.5 Evaluation Criteria and Methodology

Evaluation has two aspects which need to be integrated into network planning, network operations, and network management: an assessment

of the effectiveness of the system in achieving its objectives and an ability to use measured results in improving operations through system

modification.

A distinction is made between efficiency of operations and

effectiveness. The latter is concerned with how well the goals are achieved while the former is more concerned with the internal system

operations. A very efficient network can be completely ineffective in

achieving its stated goals. A further distinction can be made between

impact evaluation and strategy evaluation (22). In impact evaluation

overall effectiveness of the network is assessed in meeting its objectives. Appropriate output variables have to be defined and measured and

appropriate comparison groups are used to measure results. In strategy

evaluation, stress is on evaluation of the method of achieving goals.

Here appropriate input, output, process and environmental variables are defined and compared usually on the basis of analytic models. Some means

of user feedback need to be built into the network system so that impact

analysis can be carried out. Results will influence further system and

product development and will enhance overall system effectiveness.

With an automated network it should easily be possible to provide

for handling of messages for user feedback to the system. This could be

in response to system queries or provision could be made to handle messages sent by the users as required by his particular situation. Some

aspects of system operations can be monitored now, such as, loading of

various hardware components, utilization of certain software packages,

turnaround times, storage capacity utilization, and many other

38
technical factors. Certain subjective factors regarding utility of applications to the user could be made the basis for evaluation of network

impact and could lead to improvement of quality and of delivery systems

performance.

Determination of utility of services will require collection of

data on at least the following items:

amount of service delay (time between request

for service completion and completion of

service transaction),

amount of time required for service completion,

user's interest profile and service requirement,

some measure of his satisfaction or dissatisfaction of service.

5.6 Standardization

Implementation of widely common accounting procedures supported

by automated procedures, requires a high degree of standardization of not

only data elements, which can be generated, transmitted, and used in auto- mated systems, but of definitions of these data elements, and of associated procedures. Examples are identification of individual users, network

centers, individual network subsystems, locations, types of service,

types of priority, types of authorization, types of programs or jobs.

Network management at all levels will be concerned with establishment

of policies reoardinq standards, establishment of mechanisms to create

these standards, and with implementation and followup of the use of

appropriate procedures. Care must be exercised to avoid "standardization

for standardization's sake".

5.7 Cost Determination

Costs which must be taken into account are identified by Davis

(23): Costs of intellectual effort required by customer, producer, maintenance, support; equipment costs required for customer, production,

maintenance and support; manpower costs, required by customer, producer,

maintenance distribution, design, development, test and control.

39
Additional costs derive from other services; such as, common carrier

costs. Also included in the overall cost picture are expenses which pertain directly to becoming attached to the network; such as, major equipment costs, initial local software costs, and other initial capital ex- penses. Another part of the cost picture are continuing recurring costs;

such as are required for operation, liaison, maintenance, documentation

and management.

In some regional and national networks the communications costs

are borne by the customer. This penalizes remote users. A more equitable means of cost distribution would be to distribute the total network cost over all users. Three methods are in use: Allocation on an:

1. equal basis; i.e., each of participants pays 1/n of the

total communication cost.

2. on a usage basis; i.e., users pay an amount proportional

to their time of usage during a basic time.

3. on a straight time basis.

5.8 Pricing

Pricing for computing network services is another problem area. This subject has been addressed by Hootman (24) who states five principles of pricing of computer services. Prices may be set based on:

1. cost

2. competitive alternatives

3. "what the market will bear"

4. all of the above

5. none of the above ("seat of the pants plan")

He points out that the last point seems to be the winning factor, although competition is a runner-up. Basing of price on cost has been

difficult because of the difficulty of determination of system over-head

or utilization. Hootman also lists five pricing "principles" which

are relevant here:

The first he calls principle of resource utilization . The service supplier has a limited capacity of resources and must price its services such that a "reasonable load" will generate "sufficient revenue".

40
The second principle is that of user control . The user certainly can be

charged for resources under his direct control. It is not clear how to accurately measure the overhead, and how to charge the user for this

overhead. The third principle is one of demurrage : a user may be

charged for resources he is not using directly, because the resource may

not be charged to another user; such as s a dedicated port. Fourthly,

there is the principle of " understandability " which states that the user ought to be able to fully understand the pricing scheme so it may be used

in planning and estimating. A final principle is that of " differentiation "

, where e\jery vendor provides slight service differences as compared

to the competitor's services, to build his market, compete and hold his

customers. Hootman concludes that further progress must be made in cost

analysis, logging capability, and details in overall system accounting

and measurement.

There are two limits which bound prices charges for services.

Minimum price charged for a particular service could be the cost incurred in providing this service, plus either a reasonable profit, or

at least an overhead charge which would cover all additional costs not directly attributable to the particular service provision; such as, re- quired system changes or capital expansion. Maximum price for the same service would be based on the utility of the service to the user. In a monopoly situation, the user will pay what the market will bear, if the

service provided is useful. Today's prices are often based on the monopoly case and the user pays the price. Introduction of competition will

reduce prices, as a natural consequence of the action of the market, in

response to the law of supply and demand.

5.9 Charging Algorithms

Several methods have been used to charge users for services. In block scheduling the user obtains use of the service for a fixed time

and pays on a flat fee basis.

In metered services, computer access and communications use are metered on a "connect" or "holding time" basis. CPU time, storage

space, connect time, and other charges in addition to overhead charge

41
are made. Additional charges accruing to the customer may be terminal,

modem and line rental if these charges are not included by the service

provider.

There is a question how far one should go in development of so- phistication of charging algorithms, which can be handled by a computer.

Individual centers will undoubtedly work out their own methods.

5.10 Resource Allocation and Rationing

There will never be enough resources to satisfy all users at all times. Some rationing schemes will have to be devised. Thus priorities

may be established to prefer scientific users over administrative users

or faculty over graduate students. Debugging runs may have priority over production runs. All these schemes have the characteristic of inflexibility. Some scheme should be available to make exceptions. To solve

this kind of problem, a method is required which evaluates the degree of

desire of a user to get access to a specific resource. This is achieved

by requiring some payment for the services. This payment may be in time,

as in a waiting line for first-come first-served common terminal or in

money, either real or inter-departmental funds transfer. Given a certain

price, some rationing will take place. The higher the prices, the less

a user with a limited budget will be able to spend per unit of service.

If the price is too high, no services will be bought. If the price is too low, the rationing process will fail and the services will saturate.

There is an advantage to using money over the waiting time scheme. In the money case, resources are exchanged between user and supplier. In the waiting-time case, the waiting time is lost to both user and supplier.

In the money transfer case, no resources are expended or consumed, they

are just transferred from user to supplier5.11 Royalties and Copyright

One might ask where the various network products might come from

and what the incentives might be to create these products. One powerful

stimulant is pride of authorship. Another incentive is a monetary reward.

Several related precedents exist in the field of publishing. Thompson

(25) has pointed out that the Federal West German Government has recently

42
amended its copyright law to provide a reward to an author, every time

one of his books is withdrawn from a public library, and Thompson also

mentioned the performance right, which as a sub-concept of the copyright

law, provides for royalties to the author and composer of musical selections each time the selection is performed in public. In the case of a computer network "need to prohibit illicit copying is lessened, but the

reward to the creator of software is not diminished". This notion might

become a powerful stimulus for potential contributors to networks.

Authors would be charged a storage fee for their products and users would pay royalties, in addition to communications charges, ma- chine usage charges, and charges for services, other system support and

overhead.

The General Electric Company uses a royalty compensation scheme

and provides two classes of royalty recipients: those whose material

contributes significantly to the general value of the system and is

advertised by GE and those whom GE permits to offer their services on the network, which, however, are not advertised. Such a scheme affects

not only the billing system but the resource information announcements

and the "advertising schemes used".

5.12 Critical Mass of Small Service Centers

Another difficulty, which has to be faced by those concerned with

management of networks, is the need for a minimum size organization and

physical plant capability. Some of the smaller centers are limited in

financial capability, hardware, and also in capabilities of personnel.

They do not possess the diversity of talents which are required to support systems software and to support many sophisticated users with a variety of applications and applications related problems. A secondary

effect is the inability of such a center to attract and to hold competent

staff. Senior, experienced systems personnel gravitate towards the

larger centers and the larger machines where work tends to be more interesting and the professional challenges - and probably salaries - appear

to be greater.

43
6. ORGANIZATIONAL ALTERNATIVES

6.1 Network Organization

Network organization refers to the establishment of various working relationships between individuals , suborganizations, and organizations in support of achieving the networking objectives.

There are at least three major viewpoints which determine an organizational representation: (1) The organization structure, which

symbolizes communications relationships, a power and authority structure,

and a system of work flow and functional processes. (2) Another viewpoint focuses on the organizational tools, which are information processing devices in the broadest sense. This refers to the various commu- nications media used by the network organization, as well as to electronic, mechanical or human information processors. (3) A third viewpoint considers the human elements and deals with the individuals, their

attitudes, needs, capabilities and inter-personal relationships. All

three viewpoints must be considered in determination of organization

structures.

6.1.1 Structuring of Network Nodes

The organization of network management will depend to a great

extent on the network itself or the grouping of networks to be managed.

We wish to expand on Figure 1 and develop several typical network

structures which illustrate problem areas which must be handled by network management. Figure 2 shows an overall scheme of various resource

centers, service centers, and user nodes linked by communications networks. For the sake of argument, we consider the simplest combination,

one user, one service center and one resource center, Figure 3A. This

case is similar to the free standing computer center and no particular

problems arise from the network configuration. If we allow existence of

several service centers, Figure 3B, and if the services provided are roughly equal, the user will have a choice between several centers, while

the one resource center will have to serve several service centers. User

choice will introduce an element of competition into service provision.

44
HO • ^

CDH

O Pm COBa

Oh

CO

PioHCO8

COw

CO

;=>

45
R

//

/ \\\

s s \\\ ///

U

R

S

/

A

\

u u

R

/

/'\

\

s — s

u -- u

R

\/

R \ /

s

/

/\

\

u -- u

F G

USER-RESOURCE RELATIONSHIPS

FIG. 3

R R

S S

H

46
At the same time, needs of several service centers must be accommodated

and decisions on resource allocation have to be made at the resource

level. Similar considerations apply in Figure 3C for the relations of

several resource centers with one service center.

If we now add many users to the same configurations, we multiply

the possibilities for competition; i.e., user choices of service, and

also needs for resource allocation decisions, where many servers accom- modate one user. In the most general case, many users are served by

many servers and many resource centers. The diagrams in Figure 3 illustrate the network complexities which will arise as equivalent services

are developed, and as products and services are increasingly diversified

and standardized. As the network increases in complexity, new demands

are made on product description, specification, and measurement. New

criteria will be developed by the user for choice of services based on price, availability and the other factors outlined above. Also new methods for allocation of resources will be developed by suppliers at the resource level and at the service center level. This increased complexity will put new demands on all aspects of network management which is

concerned with resource center, service center and user operations, and

support.

Finally another dimension of complexity will be added by the

emergence of new types of communications networks. They may or may not

be government regulated, they will, however, operate either in a monopoly or competitive monopoly situation. This will add additional

requirements for communications management.

6.1.2 Ownership and Organization of Network

It is necessary to consider ownership relationships in connection

with the network, as another aspect of the alternate organizational

patterns which we have discussed before. Figure 4 shows a stylized network, containing, moving from the inside out: a communications network

with network interfaces, a series of communications computers, C C,

a set of host computers, and a group of user installations U.

47
D D D

48
In the simplest case we might consider a large organization,

which has its own private communications system and which owns all interfaces, communications computers, network facilities, host computers

and user installations. Some industrial organizations, or special purpose

networks approach this situation, although many of the communications

networks are leased lines obtained from a common carrier.

In the ARPANET situation, the communications network consists of

leased lines assigned to the ARPA organization. ARPA also owns the

communications computers, called interface message processors (IMP). The

IMPS physically are at or near the HOST location, but the HOST is owned

by the HOST sponsoring organization. Similarly user terminals are owned

or leased by the user organization which may or may not be the same as the HOST organization.

Ownership may be even further diversified, in a case where the

communications network, the communications computers, the host computers

and the terminal facilities all have different owners. Using a model

of concentric rings to denote ownership borders, we can in this case have

radial diversification of ownership, between one and four owners. Similarly for any one type of facility, like the communications network,

the communications processors, the host computers, and the terminal

installation, there may be different owners for similar types of equipment or facilities. Communications network ownership may diversify as time goes on and competition among common carrier system may become a reality. Several applications for certification as common carrier ar° on file with the Federal Communications Commission at this time, and it is

likely that there will be a variety of data carriers with competing and

possibly differing rate structures in the not too distant future.

Similarly the installation, maintenance and development of network interfaces may become a commercial venture, or may become of interest to an organization especially created for that purpose possibly on a cooperative basis. Thus, a group of network interface companies may spring up whose sole purpose would be to provide communications interface services,

independent of applications and independent of the communications network

itself. Finally, in the user area, there might be demand for special

49
purpose terminal facilities, as they have already been developed for the

airline industry, retail sales, securities information handling, and

other applications. These might be leased to users by their owners who

would provide attendant services, maintenance, and training.

From the user's viewpoint, a proliferation of owners may increase

total operational cost and his proportional cost, since there would un- doubtedly be a hierarchy of overhead charges, which eventually must be

reflected in user charges. On the other hand, there would be increased

competition, which may help to improve service quality and the variety

of services offered.

From a total management standpoint, proliferation of ownership

will increase organizational complexity, which, in turn, will lead to increased complexity of management communications, of transfer of funds,

to increase in operating expenses, and increased difficulties of control and coordination.

From the users standpoint, if a multiplicity of owners will be

involved in service delivery, an important point in system design will

be to provide single point user contact and to simplify inter-organizational procedures so that they do not present an undue burden for the user of services.

In the further development of networks and of network management

concepts, it is important that development be guided in a direction which

will provide the proper balance between central ownership of network

facilities, and too great a diversification, which might lead to over- complexity and inefficiencies of the overall service delivery.

So far, we have been concerned with ownership of facilities.

Another important facet of network operations are the products and re- sources which permit provision of services. Here there again is a great

variety of types of ownership. Data, programs, applications packages may

remain the property of the creator, in which case royalties or fees will

have to be paid to him. He may want to sell various products, in which

case the new owner will have property rights, and will be able to exploit

50
his products commercially. Again charging methods, pricing mechanisms,

and measurement techniques will have to be worked out and the network

"marketplace" will have its impact on network services evolution. Again

management planning must be conscious of the conflict between user needs

for minimum cost, maximum quality and reliability and between needs for

centralization to eliminate redundancy, wasted effort, and reduction of

operating costs and capital investment.

Relationships based on major missions and ownership of network

nodes are two viewpoints which characterize the network structure.

Management of this network requires a structuring based on several levels

which will be discussed in the next section.

6.1.3 Major Levels of Networking Management

(Vertical Structuring)

In order to establish guidelines which are useful in formation

of networking management organizations, several major functional levels

are defined. The distinguishing characteristics are basic funding and

independence of control of the organizational level. The four main

functional levels are: policy development, executive direction, operations management, and service delivery.

The policy level group includes representation from all institutions involved in the networking arrangement. This will include re- source providers, service centers, distributors and user representatives

from the executive level.

While at the policy level there must be broad representation of

all interested parties, executive direction requires one central

directive force, here called the director of networking, supported by a staff immediately reporting to the director.

Management of network operations requires considerable size and

diversity of organization, depending on the number of nodes, and the

functions performed. Part of network operations management can be

envisioned as being organizationally close or physically close to the

director's office. Another part will be located both physically and

51
organizationally at a resource node, service node, or at a location

determined by geographic, political, or other needs. For the various

functions the balance between centralized and decentralized organization

must be determined on the basis of not only functional and economic

requirements, but also on grounds of personal preference, political

expediency and many other intangible factors. Finally the service

delivery group will center around the regional or campus network node.

Each academic institution has its own policies, education and research

objectives, political, and cultural environment, traditions and con- straints. A viable networking capability must have demonstrated its

utility to the university, and should interfere not at all, or only

minimally, with the internal workings of the institution it serves. At

the same time, it must provide services to the university, which the

university alone could not provide for technical, personnel, or financial reasons.

These four major levels of organization may be grouped in different ways which lead to alternate organizational management arrangements.

Figure 5 illustrates these relationships, by analogy with some existing

networks.

In the simplest case there is close coupling between the four

levels and top level policies can directly influence the service delivery

(case 1) by use of authority and financial control. This organization is

typical of a commercial timesharing service; such as, TYMSHARE, CYBERNET,

or the GENERAL ELECTRIC Timesharing system. This is also typical for

service organizations owned, or part of one major organization; such as,

the OCTOPUS system (26). Since university prerogatives and individuality

must be carefully protected, this case appears unsuitable for application

here, where the network management organizations must by definition be

independent of the organization of the individual institutions it serves.

The next case shows a two-layer type organization. Depending on the interests and capabilities of the service delivery organization,

which is part of the university if a computing center exists, and which

may become part of the university if a service center is to be

52
CDCO 8M

X!MGHO

cu>

-HGQ

53
established, the institution may also carry the bulk of operations man- agement, (case 2B), or include top level direction (case 2C). In the

latter case, only the policy level group remains outside of the institutional organization. Similarities may be established between cases

2A and the TUCC System, and case 2B and the MERIT system. In the case

of TUCC centralized operations management is part of the headquarters

operation. In the case of MERIT, each university carries the burden of

operational control and management, although network management is still

responsible for communications facilities.

As the organization becomes more highly structured, various

organization groupings can be established as shown in case 3. Here case

3C symbolizes decentralized operations, where the bulk of operations

management is carried by the individual institutions, but centralized

top level direction and policy development, are carried out by separate

organizations.

Finally in case 4, there are four organizational groupings, each

concerned with one of the primary functions. An example of this type of

organization might be the EDUCOM proposed organization resulting from the

1966 summer study (6) (See Figures 6 and 7). Four distinct groups are proposed here, with the Council and the Board at the policy level, the

EDUCOM organizations at the direction level, the EDUNET organization

at the operations level, and the individual institutions at the service

delivery level

.

The previous discussion assumes that there is or will be a com- puter center service organization as part of each institution.

Since each organizational interface implies separate funding

mechanisms and also adds communications barriers, and other impediments

to operational and management control, the ideal organization would be

such that policy level, direction, operations, and service delivery are

all within the same organization. Network management will, however, have

to deal with the University management organizations and also with

existing computing center organizations. The next best solution would be case 2A, where there is one organization which provides policy level,

54
EDUCOM

42 MEMBER

UNIVERSITIES

COUNCIL

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

PRESIDENT

PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST

TASK (APPLICATIONS) FORCES (GROUPS)

NETWORKS COPYRIGHTS EDUCATIONAL CONTINUING othfrc;

SYSTEMS EDUCATION umc- no

OPERATIONAL FORCES (GROUPS)

PERSONNEL EDUNET FISCAL OTHERS

Source: EDUCOM

EDUCOM Organization Proposal: Boulder Study 1966

FIG. 6

55
EDUNET

FACILITIES

— RADIO 8 TV

COMMON

CARRIERS

STORAGE

PROCESSING

a SWITCHING

INSTITUTIONAL

MAINTENANCE

a ENGINEERING

CHIEF OF

OPERATIONS

NETWORK CONTROL

FACILITIES ASSIGNMENT

PRIORITIES

SCHEDULING a SWITCHING

MONITORING

EDUNET

'INFORMATION

INFORMATION

PROCESSING

SYSTEMS

COMPUTATION a SIMULATION

STORAG E a RETRIEVAL

— EDUCATIONAL

CONTROL

COMPUTING

Source: EDUCOM

EDUNET Organization Proposal: Boulder Study 1966

FIG. 7

56
direction and operations management, which then serves the universities.

Another possibility would be to decentralize operations management (case

2B), but let policy and top direction remain within one organization.

From the standpoint of ease of communications, across organizational

barriers and of lack of administrative impediments, case 4 appears to be

the most complex.

The EDUCOM structure (Figures 6 and 7) represents the vertically

most diversified structure among the various combinations of the four

basic functions.

6.1.4 Horizontal Structuring

In contrast to the discussion in the previous section which con- siders "vertical levels," we may separate network management organizations also into horizontal elements which may be performing the same functions, may however be independently owned, financed and managed. In

a national networking environment, we will undoubtedly soon encounter not

only a variety of resources and service providers, but a host of organizations set up to support these services with information, documentation,

maintenance and other functions. From an overall management standpoint,

in a nation-wide networking context, there need to be horizontal information channels, coordination, transfer of funds, exchange of data and

information, and interplay of work processes. We may envision many

communications networks and other organizations covering all of the

functions outlined above. From a management standpoint, increasing

horizontal diversification puts constraints on management control, and

increases requirements for coordination, which in turn requires establishment of communications channels to help in achieving of common objectives.

The preceding analysis illustrates the complexities of interrelating both vertical and horizontal building blocks, which are re- quired by viable networking management operations.

Relationships between the various building blocks are expressed

in terms of control or in terms of information flow. Control implies

also various types of information flow, which supports direction,

57
measurement, and decisions. In additions other information channels

are required for motivation, and other supportive needs. We now will

discuss these in somewhat more detail.

6.2 Management Control

One can define different degrees of control, in terms of strength

or weakness of control. One form might be the issuance of a written

directive from a manager to a geographically distant organization. Without any followup, further amplification or human communication this would

be a very weak, and possibly ineffective type of "open loop" control.

Contrasted to this might be issuance of a verbal order, followed by

written directive, with a request for confirmation of compliance, personal staff followup, and some judgment on the effectiveness of the

action performed. This has all the elements of a "closed loop" control

process, and could be termed "close" or "tight" control. Between these

two extremes there is a whole spectrum of possibilities. Establishment

of periodic reporting, exception reporting schemes, and incorporation

of automatic measurement schemes into hardware and software, all

contribute to management control.

Another effective medium of control is coordination through

special coordinating groups, advisory panels, or committees. Here

control can be effected without the formalized authority structure

implied in a fixed organization chart, yet channels are established to exert pressure, use persuasion, and get things done, often in an informal,

yet effective way. Coordination will be a powerful tool in the establishment and further development of the network organization, and in the

consolidation of network services.

Part of the design of the management structure will have to deal

with the design of the management communications subsystem and the re- quired management information flow, which must be considered as part of

the overall management planning effort.

6.3 Information Handling

Both planning and control activities depend on communications and

information processes. As part of networking development, and the

58
development of a management structure, informational activities must be

considered. They may range from a variety of one-shot or periodic publications, to on-line computer processes, and human verbal communications.

There will be requirements for newsletters, formal documentation of

actions taken at meetings, of plans and objectives, policy and procedure

statements, and a host of other documentary matter. Appropriate distribution, and dissemination is also required. On-line services could

aid by providing a rapidly updatable, and fast communications medium.

Development of on-line capabilities must be preceded by considerable

system analysis to determine types of communications required, frequencies and transmission rates, and other related system criteria.

Establishment of a central, all embracing, all governing tightly

controlled management organization covering all aspects of academic and

research networking would probably be difficult to set up, and even more difficult to operate. The evolving organization structure more likely

will be a loose federation of independent, sovereign entities, the

universities, with some superstructure, which will fulfill minimum

management requirements. Network management, most likely will evolve

as such a kind of superstructure, added to and augmenting existing networks and existing university functions.

7. CONCLUSIONS

A survey of the literature pertaining to network management,

discussions with knowledgeable people in the academic networking field,

and application of judgment and experience to a variety of impressions

lead to a set of conclusions which in a way highlight and summarize the

present state of the art in academic networkinq management.

7.1 Principal Research Needs

Many problem areas need to be addressed further, before expanded or national networking can be planned and implemented. Analysis of

needs, financing schemes, marketing mechanisms, and organization are among

these, and are now highlighted as principal research areas to expand networking for science.

59
7.1.1 Requirements Analysis

Progress in networking will be a function of real needs and bonafide requirements, and of documentation of advantages accruing to universities and research institutions as a result of their participation in

networking efforts. Further research, analysis, and planning is required

to quantify requirements and benefits to potential user groups under

various networking arrangements.

Requirements analysis is an interdisciplinary effort and is best

performed in a cooperative effort involving potential users, participating regional networks, and specialists in pertinent subject areas.

Requirements research would be concerned with identification of

needs at the user level, and would be heavily centered at the universities and the research institutions who might be likely network customers. A simple two-dimensional model would show classes of users versus classes of services. Inherent in this effort would be a development of classification schemes. Other dimensions to be added would include quantifiable data such as cost, location, size and type of user

populations. Other data would include time factors such as turn-around

time, and functional communications and hardware requirements.

Some background data are available from the Digest of Educational

Statistics of the US Office of Education, U.S. Census data, and other

sources. More specific data would have to be collected through surveys,

questionnaires and opinion polls. Since such programs are costly, a strong planning effort should precede the actual survey tasks. Initial

emphasis should be on development of pc-rtinent methodology, dealing with

the needs of specific, initially small , user classes and services. After

some testing, the methodology could perhaps be extended and applied to wider network services. Uniform classification schemes, and measurement

methods would permit correlation and extrapolation of both survey and

operational data which initially may have been collected on a decentralized or regional basis, to serve expanded networking plans.

60
7.1.2 Financing

Financing for capitalization of new facilities and for support of

current operations, is a particular challenge when there is a requirement to achieve self supporting capability. In the present environment,

university cost data are difficult to analyze, partly because they are highly proprietary. Coordinated accounting schemes, which permit maintenance of individualized methods, but some commonality and orderly

interchange of information between universities, need to be developed

in connection with pricing schemes, billing procedures, and inter-network

performance measurement.

7.1.3 Documentation

Documentation is required at all levels of the networking effort

by servers, processors, distributors and users. Requirements need to be

researched on types of documentation, user characteristics addressed,

updating requirements, and economical distribution mechanisms. Applicable standards need to be followed in identification, classification and

indexing, formatting, and citation of the variety of networking documents,

instructions, and other hard copy products. Trade-offs have to be determined as to what types of communications should be sent electronically

and what types should be moved physically in hard copy, or possibly

microfiche copy.

7.1.4 Marketing

Present networking efforts suffer to some extent from a lack of

marketing capability. Extension of them toward a nationally oriented

capability would be even more hampered by this lack. A key need here

is information on "what is available where" to potential users of networking capabilities. This would involve description of products and ser- vices in some standardized format, and measures which permit the user to select among a variety of pertinent services. Marketing capability

requires substantial, perhaps full-time attention to definition of

desired services and consequent development of useful packages.

61
7.1.5 Model Development

There is a need for development of a unifying structural model

for description, measurement, and evaluation of networkinq manaqement

concepts. Such a model in its simplest form would be a classification

scheme including management functions and networking relationships, i.e.,

a purely descriptive device. This could be extended later into quantifiable units, which would lead to a measurement and evaluation capability.

The various networking functions, and interrelationships among

networks, and outside agencies, form complex systems and subsystems of

facilities, people, processes and machines. Evaluations and comparisons

between various network operations and manaqement structures require a common reference base or conceptual model. This report includes a first

step towards such a model, having outlined major system and manaqement

functions. Further refinement would lead to identification of data,

information flows and product flows. A next step would be development

of detailed parameters, system measures and units, in which overall

service performance could be evaluated. Development of such a conceptual

model is thus a basic requirement in research on networking concepts.

7.2 Experimentation

There is need for coordinated performance of some critical ex- periments and tasks, whose successful completion will provide answers to some of the open problems.

Some typical tasks are outlined here:

7.2.1 Establishment of a Catalog of

Existing Network Services

A catalog of existing services and resources may be established.

It would list name of service or resource, description, languaqe, and

other technical characteristics, field of application, development

status, availability conditions, means of access, personnel contact with

address and phone number, and other detail useful to potential users, or distributors. Stress would be on utility and scope of needed information, with secondary effort on mechanization or methodology of automation. This also could develop into a self-supporting service function.

62
It would help interdisciplinary efforts; e.g., use of data bases that

may be useful in other areas, or where analysis programs may be used

in fields other than for which they were designed. Such a cataloa would

help materially in initial marketing efforts, and would aid seller,

buyer, distributor and users.

7.2.2 Perform Selective Market Analyses

A few selective market analyses may be performed, in well specified limited discipline or problem oriented areas. Typical factors

considered for a particular product, would be size of market, characteristics and location, usage habits, competitive factors, pricing schemes,

share of market expected and best method for distribution. Stress will

be on methodology of analysis, to make the analyses useful in other

applications. Another facet would be a determination of needed services,

and how the resource providing organization might develop additional

resources. This would involve analysis of the developing oraanization,

marketing capability, financing, and administration with respect to development of new resources. The work would be done in a real environment, within defined time and financial limits.

7.2.3 Support Requirements Experiment

One or more existing network services may be analyzed in terms of

network support requirements. Supporting services, including documentation, on-line services, consultation, maintenance, general information

services, should be analyzed as to costs, functions, documents produced,

and user needs and user impact. Cost, personnel and time factors should

be developed.

7.2.4 Establish a Working Group on Network Objectives

An Ad Hoc group could be established, which within a stated time

soan, will develop a set of network objectives, within the constraints

set forth by the National Science Foundation (18). The qroup may consist

of regional networks, discipline-oriented centers, and users. It would

determine scope, priorities, economic feasibility, and other operating

and development criteria. It would be directed by a chairman and a

63
secretariat, funded partially by Government sources, and partly by the

participating institutions. Time and travel expenses of participants

would be contributed by participating institutions.

7.2.5 Establish a Working Group on Product Packaginq

The group would determine user requirements for packaging of

potential network products. It will consist of "users", "creators

of products", and administrators who have marketed programs, both in the

commercial and academic environment. Objective is to define what would

be a minimum product package, what contents would be, and what would be

required to develop, maintain, and distribute such product information.

Estimates of service cost factors should also be developed.

7.2.6 Develop a Methodology for Network Impact Analysis

A methodology for impact analysis should be developed to determine the network effect on user task performance, which will be integrated into network operations. Significant output variables will be

selected and defined. Appropriate measurements will be performed and

results will be returned to the network, so that system improvements

can be made. Positive results would be a powerful stimulant to network

development, especially in the non-profit applications, where price may

not necessarily be directly related to user acceptance of products.

7.2.7 Establishment of a Networking Newsletter

A monthly newsletter could be established to provide information

on "who has developed what , where", "who needs what, where", latest

operating practices, packaging methods, pricing schemes, and other items

of use to networkers. It could also provide updating information for

the Network Catalog described below. A newsletter might initially be

supported by a grant, but could work however towards becoming self

supporting or even a revenue generator in support of other management

activities.

64
/ .3 Planning Teams

Development of expanded networking for science may require establishment of several nucleus network planning projects with the capability

to develop their own financial, material and personnel resources. These

groups may have an evolving mission. They would be concerned initially

with information exchange between regional centers, university centers

and service nodes. As time goes on they may undertake active coordination among projects where required, or they could assume direction of

research tasks or projects on behalf of expanded or interconnected networking, where such tasks cannot be adequately coordinated among existing

organizations. Eventually these planning teams may merge into nationallyoriented organizations, to encourage operation on a basis of "supraregional" cooperation.

The planning projects will initially be concerned with development

of supra-regional networking objectives, service policies* and experimental

operations. They also would participate in solution of problems which

involve interinstitutional considerations. Teams will necessarily interact with user and server nodes, as well as with public or private comm- unications carriers. They would develop, coordinate and publish network

operating procedures, rates of various services, and could provide staff

support to agencies and institutions participating in networking.

65
REFERENCES

1

.

Hamblen, John W. Using Computers in Higher Education

Past Recommendations, Status, Needs

CACM, 14, 11, Nov. 1971, pp 709-712

2. Ball , J. R. and Jamison, D. CAI for Dispersed Populations

Stanford University , 1972

3. Hamblen, J. W. Inventory of Computers in Higher Education

Southern Regional Education Board

Atlanta, Georgia

March 1, 1972

4. Presidents Science Advisory Committee

Computers in Higher Education

The White House, Washington, D. C. February 1967

(Pierce Report)

5. Fife, D. W. Primary Issues in User Needs

Chapter 10 in Networks for Research and Education

MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

Expected Publication October, 1973

6. Brown, George W.,. Miller, J. G., Keenan, T. A. EDUNET

Report of the Summer Study on Information Networks

J. Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1967

7. DeGrasse, R. V. Remote Computing in Higher Education: Prospects for the Future

University of Vermont

December 1971

8. A Functioning Computer Network for Higher Education in

North Carolina

Lei and H. Williams

Triangle Universities Computation Center

FJCC 1972

9. McWilliams, E. Large Scale CAI -- The NSF Program

Proceedings of the ACM Annual Conference

Boston, August 1972

Pp 313-317

66
10. Bell , C. G. et al

.

Computer Networks

Computer

3_, No. 5, Sept/Oct. 1970, pp 13-23

11. Oregon State University

Computer Center Newsletter

Corvallis, Oregon

Vol. 7, No. 2, March/April 1972

P. 2

12. Computerworld

Vol. 6, No. 34

23 August 1972

"Reagan signs legislation allowing 4 new data centers"

13. The States try out Master Planning

Business Week

March 19, 1972, p. 80

14. Stefferud, E. Management's Role in Networking

Datamation, April 1972

Pp 40-42

15. Norn's, R. In Networks for Higher Education

EDUCOM

Spring 1972

P 65

16. Haas, W. J. In Networks for Higher Education

EDUCOM

Proceedings of EDUCOM Spring Conference

P 67

17. Hootman, J. T. The Computer Network as a Marketplace

Datamation

Vol. 18, No. 4 April 1972, Pp 43-46

18. Expanded Research Program Relative to a National Science

Computer Network

(Description and Guidelines for Proposal Preparation)

National Science Foundation

Washington, D. C. 20550

67
19. McKenzie, A. et al

.

The Network Control Center for the ARPA Network

Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc. International Conference on Computer Communication

Washington, D. C, October 1972

Pp 185-191

20. Baran, P. On Distributed Communications

IV Priority, Precedence and Overload

The Rand Corporation, Santa Monica, California

Memorandum RM-3638- PR August 1964

21. Willis, J. A.

Is Your Computer Center Safe?

Computer Decisions

June 1972

22. Wholay, J. S. et al

.

Federal Evaluation Policy

Analyzing the Effects of Public Programs

The Urban Institute

Washington, D. C. , 1970

23. ' Davis, R. Practicalities of Network Use in Networks for Higher Education

Proceedings of the EDUCOM Spring Conference 1972

EDUCOM

Princeton, N. J.

24. Hootman, J. T. The Pricing Dilemma

Datamation

August 1969, Pp 61-66

25. Thompson, G. B. Potential Impact of User/Author Relationships on Public Data

Network Design

International Conference on Computer Communication

Washington, D. C, October 1972

26. Farber, D. J. Networks: An Introduction

Datamation, April 1972, pp. 36-39

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1973—542-650/47

68
form NBS-114A (1.71) U.S. DEPT. OF COMM. BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA

SHEET

1. PUBLICATION OR REPORT NO. NBS TN-795

2. Gov't Accession No.3. Recipient's Accession No.

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. Publication Date October 1973

Review of Network Management Problems and Issues 6. Performing Organization Code

7. AUTHOR(S) A.

8. Performing Organization Neumann

10. Project/Task/Work Unit No. 9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20234

11. Contract/Grant Nc AG-350

12. Sponsoring Organization Name and Address Office of Computing Activities

National Science Foundation

Washington, DC 20550

13. Type of Report & Period Covered interim

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

15. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

16. ABSTRACT (A 200-word or less

bibliography or literature survey, Computer networking

procedures and peop

creation of network

and supporting serv services and mainte

ment of networking

facilities. It inc

network nodes as co vice distribution c development of netw

ments are outlined

economi c and legal

impact of extended

Critical issues for

cant management con conceived in terms

deal with continuin

network management,

further networking

teams to i ni ti ate s networking developm

factual summary of mention it here.)sst significant information. If document includes a significant

is b le.prod

i ces nance

opera

1 udes

mputi

enter

ork m

i n a const

netwo

netw

cern

of a g pro

cri t capab

ome o ent.

road

Netw

ucts

like

. N ti on all

ng c

s

.

anag

qual

rain

rks

orki

are four

bl em

i cal ilit

f th

ly c orki

, di mar etwo

s an man

en te

In o emen

i tat

ts a on r ng m outl

1 ay are exp

ies,

e in

on si d ng en

s t r i b ketin

rk ma

d act ageme

rs , d rder

t , us

i ve m re su egi on anage

ined. er or

as , t erime

and

i t i a 1

ered in compass

u t i o n p g, docu

nagemen

ual ope

nt func

ocument

to surv

er requ anner. mmari ze

al and

ment, a Organ

g a n i z a t he need

nts and

a sugge

steps

cl udi

es ma roces menta

t cov

rati o tions

ati on ey th

i reme Exam

d , su

1 ocal

nd ot

i z a t i

i on m for

task

sti on requi

ng ha

ny ac ses

,

ti on , ers b n of

perf

f aci

e pro

nts a pies

ch as comp

her a onal

odel

.

a str

s to to e red f

rdware

t i v i t i user a infor

oth th

the ne ormed

1 i t i e s blems

nd sys of pol

the e

u t i n g reas o al tern Cone

uctura

be und

s t a b 1 i or fur

, so es;

cti v mati

e es twor

at s

, an

f aci

tern

i t i c cono

a cti

f si ati v

1 usi

1 mo erta

sh p ther

f tware

,

such as , i t i e s , on

t a b 1 i s h -

kuch

d serngrequi real,

mi c v i t i e s . gnifies are

ons

del for

ken to

1 a n n i n g

17. KEY WORDS (Alphabetical order, separated by semicolons) Academic computing; networks; network management; regional networks;

research computing.

18. AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

[Xl UNLIMITED.

I 1 FOR OFFICIAL DISTRIBUTION. DO NOT RELEASE

TO NTIS.

19. SECURITY CLASS

(THIS REPORT)

UNCLASSIFIED

20. SECURITY CLASS

(THIS PAGE)

UNCLASSIFIED

21. NO. OF PAGES

77

22. Price

$1.00

USCOMM-DC 66344-P7I

NEW

from NBS

This new monthly magazine from the National Bureau of Standards

highlights and reviews issues like energy, fire, building technology, metric

conversion, pollution, and consumer product performance. Research re- ports in DIMENSIONS will keep readers—scientists, engineers, business managers, and consumers—informed on the latest advances in science and technology.

(Formerly the Technical News Bulletin.)

Subscription Order Form

ENTER MY SUBSCRIPTION TO DIMENSIONS/NBS (formerly the NBS Technical News

Bulletin) (C13.I3) at $6.50. Add $1.75 for foreign mailing. No additional postage

is required for mailing within the United States, its possessions, Canada, Mexico, and all Central and South America n Countries except Argentina, Brazil, British Honduras, French Guiana, Guyana, and Surinam. For shipment to all other foreign countries include additional postage as quoted for each periodical or subscription

service. Send subscription to: NAME—FIRST, CAST

COMPANY NAME OR ADDITIONAL ADDRESS LINE

STREET ADDRESS

STATE

PLEASE PRINT D Remittance enclosed (Make checks payable to Superintendent of Documents)

Charge to my Deposit Account No. MAIL ORDER FORM TO: Superintendent of Documents

Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402

NBS TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS

PERIODICALS JOURNAL OF RESEARCH reports National Bureau of Standards research and development in phvsics, mathematics, and chemistry. Comprehensive

scientific papers give complete details of the work,

including laboratory data, experimental procedures, and theoretical and mathematical analyses. Illustrated with photographs, drawings, and charts. Includes

listings of other NBS papers as issued.

Published in two sections, available separately:

• Physics and Chemistry (Section A)

Papers of interest primarily to scientists working in these fields. This section covers a broad range of physical and chemical research, with major emphasis on standards of physical measurement, fundamental

constants, and properties of matter. Issued six times a year. Annual subscription: Domestic, $17.00; Foreign, $21.25.

• Mathematical Sciences (Section B)

Studies and compilations designed mainly for the mathematician and theoretical physicist. Topics in mathematical statistics, theory of experiment design, numerical analysis, theoretical physics and chemistry,

logical design and programming of computers and

computer systems. Short numerical tables. Issued quarterly. Annual subscription: Domestic, $9.00; Foreign,

$11.25.TECHNICAL NEWS BULLETIN

The best single source of information concerning the Bureau's measurement, research, developmental, co- operative, and publication activities, this monthly

publication is designed for the industry-oriented

individual whose daily work involves intimate contact with science and technology

for engineers, chemists,

physicists, research managers, product-development

managers, and company executives. Includes listing of

all NBS papers as issued. Annual subscription : Domestic, $6.50; Foreign, $8.25.

NONPERIODICALS Applied Mathematics Series. Mathematical tables, manuals, and studies. Building Science Series. Research results, test methods, and performance criteria of building materials, components, systems, and structures. Handbooks. Recommended codes of engineering and industrial practice (including safety codes) de- veloped in cooperation with interested industries, professional organizations, and regulatory bodies. Special Publications. Proceedings of NBS conferences, bibliographies, annual reports, wall charts, pamphlets, etc. Monographs. Major contributions to the technical

literature on various subjects related to the Bureau's

scientific and technical activities. National Standard Reference Data Series. NSRDS provides quantitative data on the physical and chemical properties of materials, compiled from

the world's literature and critically evaluated. Product Standards. Provide requirements for sizes, types, quality, and methods for testing various industrial products. , These standards are developed co- operatively with interested Government and industry groups and provide the basis for common understanding of product characteristics for both buyers and

sellers. Their use is voluntary. Technical Notes. This series consists of communications and reports (covering both other-agency and

NBS-sponsored work) of limited or transitory interest. Federal Information Processing Standards

Publications. This series is the official publication within the Federal Government for information on

standards adopted and promulgated under the Public Law 89—306. and Bureau of the Budget Circular A—86

entitled. Standardization of Data Elements and Codes

in Data Systems. Consumer Information Series. Practical information, based on NBS research and experience, covering areas of interest to the consumer. Easily understandable language and illustrations provide useful background knowledge for shopping in today's tech- nological marketplace.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES

The following current-awareness and literature-survey bibliographies are issued periodically by the Bureau

:

Cryogenic Data Center Current Awareness Service (Publications and Reports of Interest in Cryogenics). A literature survey issued weekly. Annual subscription : Domestic, $20.00; foreign, $25.00.

Liquefied Natural Gas. A literature survey issued quarterly. Annual subscription: $20.00. Superconducting Devices and Materials. A literature survey issued quarterly. Annual subscription : $20.00. Send subscription orders and remittances for the preceding bibliographic services to the U.S. Department

of Commerce, National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Va. 22151.

Electromagnetic Metrology Current Awareness Service (Abstracts of Selected Articles on Measurement

Techniques and Standards of Electromagnetic Quantities from D-C to Millimeter- Wave Frequencies). Issued monthly. Annual subscription: $100.00 (Special rates for multi-subscriptions). Send subscription order and

remittance to the Electromagnetic Metrology Information Center, Electromagnetics Division, National Bureau

of Standards, Boulder, Colo. 80302. Order NBS publications (except Bibliographic Subscription Services) from: Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Bureau of Standards

Washington. D.C. 20234

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

Penalty for Private Use, $300

POSTAGE AND FEES PAID

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE COM-215