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Message from SPVS received on 18/02/88 at 16:48:55
FOUNDATION FOR RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT
Phone (012) 841-3977
NET-/1/1
7 January 1988
The Postmaster General
S A P O
Dear Sir
RECOGNITION OF A COMMON INTEREST GROUP
We herewith wish to apply to the Postmaster General for recognition of a
group of organisations as a common interest group, in terms of item 2.1.1
of the statement on "Post Office Policy on Private Data-Communications
Networks".
The "Common Interest" which unites this group is Academic and Research
Activities, and the organisations concerned are Research Councils,
Universities, and SABINET (South African Bibliographic and Information
Network). (Refer to the list of computer sites of main initial
participants.)
Each of these organisations has its own computing system, and there is a
growing need for the interlinking of these systems for purposes of
obtaining access to specialised resources, for exchanging computing files
among academics and researchers and for obtaining access to "common"
information, as detailed in the attached memorandum.
In linking their computing systems, this Common Interest group will make
use of all types of SAPO services, viz., DIGINET, SAPONET-P, analogue
and dial-up lines.
The network used by this Common Interest Group will be heterogeneous, and
control of the individual links of the network will be decentralised. In
due course a Network Management and Policy Board will be set up, but in the
meantime the CSIR's Foundation for Research Development (the arm of the
CSIR Responsible for National Research Programmes, and for the support of
University Research in the Natural and Earth Sciences) is acting as
coordinator for the network development, in close consultation with the
other bodies.
Similar groups exist in many overseas countries and operate with the
knowledge and consent of their national PTT's. One of the objectives in
developing the network is eventually to be able to link with similar
networks overseas, thus enabling any academic or researcher to have
computer contact with a colleague anywhere in the world.
We trust that the attached memorandum will give you the required
information on which to base a favourable decision. Should you require any
additional information, we would be pleased to supply it and if necessary
further discuss the concept and details involved.
Yours faithfully
V A Shaw
Foundation for Research Development - CSIR
P du B Welman
Network Committee of Committee of University Principals
W F Coetzee
Manager: SABINET
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MEMORANDUM
ON
COMMON INTEREST GROUP IN ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
1. INTRODUCTION
Access to computing facilities is an increasingly important component of
academic and research activities, and developments in electronic
communication are facilitating communication among academics and
researchers, enabling more rapid exchange of ideas, pooling of
intellectual resources and collaboration among workers in the same
field. Research networks for academic and research purposes are
operational in nearly all the "developed" countries and it is essential
that the academic and research community in South Africa be able to
participate on an equal footing with their peer communities overseas.
2. SOME EXAMPLES FROM OVERSEAS
The most outstanding example of an Academic and Research Network is
BITNET, with its associated networks, EARN (European Academic and
Research Network), NORTHNET (Canadian counterpart to EARN). (Refer to
Annexure 1).
This group of networks includes over a thousand computers situated over
several continents and one of its functions is to provide a "store and
forward" capability for the transfer of files between various types of
computers, using the RSCS protocol and an addressing system based on
site and user identification. This enables a scientist, registered on
any university or research computer, to make contact by computer and
exchange files with virtually any other scientist, almost world-wide, as
long as he knows his site and user identification.
There are also many other "national" academic and research networks,
giving more sophisticated computer communications facilities, all making
extensive use of PTT facilities, such as JANET (Joint Academic Network)
in the UK; SUNET in Scandanavia; DFN (Deutsche Forschungsnetz) in West
Germany.
It is proposed to establish a similar natioanl academic and research
network (becoming known as UNINET) in South Africa, which will, first of
all, facilitate computer access and data exchange among South African
academics and researchers, and equally important, enable such a South
African network to be linked with other national and international
networks.
3. NETWORK CONCEPTS
It is difficult to define the network configuration in detail, as it is
expected to be implemented gradually, and to grow continuously, but it
can described in concept.
The main concept is the installation of a "backbone" network
incorporating existing long-lead lines of the Council for Scientific
Reaearch (CSIR) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) to provide links,
country-wide, to connect machines and/or networks within an organisation
and between the participating organisations.
As some of these lines already carry heavy and continuous traffic within
a single organisation, it is proposed that this "backbone" network will
be based on Digital Time Division Multiplexors (DTDM) with networking
capabilities, linked by means of DIGINET point-to-point circuits.
It is envisaged that, in the initial implementation, there will be
approximately 9 such DTDM's linked by approximately 11 DIGINET point-to
point circuits.
This "backbone" network, consisting mostly of long-lead links, will be
supplemented by local links from individual sites to the DTDM's and also
by SAPONET-P circuits, where appropriate.
The local links will be on DIGINET where practicable, or analogue where
DIGINET is not available.
SAPONET-P circuits will generally be used where traffic is light over
long distances and where, "one-to-many", rather than point-to-point
interconnection is required.
4. USE OF THE NETWORK
The UNINET network will provide for a number of different uses in the
academic and research field, some of which are outlined below.
Access to Specialised Facilities
In the scientific environment it is not economic, and in many cases not
at all feasible for every organisation to provide expensive specialised
computing facilities, such as large-scale vector processors; specialised
CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) facilities; educational systems such as
PLATO; and other special-purpose software. These specialised facilities
may exist at any location within the academic/research community.
The Research Councils all sponsor research at universities, and their
researchers must be able to get access (from their normal terminals) to
the computing facilities of their sponsors.
It is therefore essential that an academic or researcher at any site, be
able to access facilities at several other sites from the
terminal/micro, that he normally uses for his "local" computing.
Collaborative Research Projects
There is a growing tendency, stimulated by the economic need to make the
best possible use of the country's very limited resources of both brain-
power and specialised equipment, towards the setting up of collaborative
projects among researchers of several different organisations. (One such
project in formation is on Digital Technology.)
It is essential that these researchers be able to interlink their
computing systems, to share software and other facilities, and to
communicate information held on their computers.
Communication Between Academics and Researchers Locally and World-Wide
Many of our academics and researchers have studied overseas and have
direct experience of the benefits of BITNET and similar networks, and on
their return they wish to continue contact with colleagues abroad.
Computing centres are regularly approached with requests for connections
to BITNET, as well as requests for the same facilities locally.
It is therefore becoming essential to establish a local network of the
BITNET type, both for fostering computer communication among researchers
locally, and for establishing a connection with the overseas networks.
Access to SABINET
The South African Bibliographic Information Network, was established in
1985 as a not-for profit organisation, under sponsorship by the
Department of National Education, in order to provide centralised
bibliographic information to the "Library and Information" Community.
The majority of SABINET users are at universities or research
organisations. Access to bibliographic information is a cornerstone of
academic and research activities. It is essential for terminals,
normally used for accessing local computers and data-bases should also
be able to link into SABINET, rather than having to establish special
"SABINET terminals", separately linked to the SABINET computer.
It would be ideal if the SABINET computer and data-bases could be
operated as just another "resource" on the academic and research
network, by configuring ports on the network to the SABINET computer.
Transmission of Statistics and Administrative Information
Universities are required to prepare and submit certain statistics to
the Department of National Educations; many of these statistical files
are already in computer-readable form. The existence of the proposed
network would facilitate the electronic transmission of these statistics
electronically, with consequent savings in time and effort.
The sponsoring of research by the Research Councils necessitate the
exchange of information regarding applications for sponsorship, projects
approved, payment of grants, progress on projects, etc.
The existence of a joint network will facilitate the development of
electronic information interchange systems.
5. ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL OF UNINET
The Common Interest Group will consist of a number of autonomous
organisations, each of whom have their own computing systems and/or
networks.
It is proposed to administer the UNINET network by allocating
responsibility for a particular link and the terminating equipment to a
specific organisation which will relate to the SAPO, in respect of that
link as a normal SAPO client.
Eventually UNINET will be controlled by a Network Management and Policy
Board which will be representative of the participants; until that Board
is established, the CSIR's Foundation for Research Development will be
acting on behalf of the present and future participants.
FRD, initially, and ultimately the Board, will be responsible for
overall liaison with the SAPO on policy matters regarding UNINET, and
will be responsible for ensuring that conditions imposed by SAPO are
respected by the participants.
6. DETAILED NETWORK CONFIGURATION
A detailed configuration of the proposed interlinking of computer
systems within the UNINET network is set out here provisionally to
illustrate the way that the participants' computer systems will be
interlinked. In practice there will be modifications to the
interconnections, and new inter-connections will included. The network
interconnections will have to be properly documented for operational and
administrative purposes and SAPO will be regularly informed of any
modifications as they are made.
( This is being worked out at Present)
7. CONCLUSION
The need for an academic and research network and its feasibility has
been clearly established. As the use of this network involves a certain
amount of third party traffic in the form of "storage and forwarding" of
messages and files it is necessary to have the approval of the
Postmaster-general for the recognition of the participants as a Common
Interest Group.
The justification for such recognition is submitted in this memorandum.
The establishment and operation of this network will offer considerable
benefits for the academic and research community, particularly in the
effective utilisation of the country's very scarce research manpower and
facilities.
Access to information is a vital aspect of research and academic
activities, and the inclusion of SABINET in this Common Interest Group
is essential.
Annexure A
COMPUTER SITES OF MAIN INITIAL PARTICIPANTS IN UNINET
- Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
Scientia (Pretoria), NRIO Stellenbosch, NAC (Faure)
- Medical Research Council
Bellville, Johannesburg
- Human Sciences Research Council
Pretoria
- Water Research Commission
Computer Centre for Water Research (CCWR) Pietermaritzburg
- Potchefstroom University
- Pretoria University
- Witwatersrand University
- University of Natal
- Rhodes University
- University of Stellenbosch
- University of Cape Town
- University of the Western Cape
- SABINET
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