| Source: | National Institute of Standards and Technology |
|---|---|
| Date: | 4/1/94 Record No.: 10076 |
| Contact: | Tassos Nakassis, 301-975-3632 |
Network Architecture
NIST has been involved with establishing specs for open systems for over 15 years, when effort began to make DARPA network (original internet) widely used. First tried open standards, where government agencies "should" conform unless specifically exempted.
Most recently, the Industry Government Open Standards Spec (IGOSS) allows for custom additions (e.g., for security) to basic OSI specs. (EPRI's UCA is an OSI derivative.)
Proposed NII/Internet protocols (EPRI has provided comments) conflict with OSI. New government procurement policies expected that leave it wide open, with only a "suggested" spec.
This group is also involved in the issue of Internet running out of addresses and routing tables, and there is a direct concern for the utility industry. Recently EPRI asked for 5 million addresses for an experimental program (500,000 customers and 10 devices each??). Outcome is unclear at this time.
Other: Need to assure protocols function with security. Remote database access. Use of OSI addresses on the Internet. EDI procurement, conventions. Collaborating with industry on health care systems. Automatic translation tools (to modern programming languages).
Research interest: How to test software and assure reliability. Need mtbf > 500 years!! Concept of "holographic proof" to get around basic impossibility of testing every possible situation.
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