Thevery high-speed Backbone Network Service (vBNS) came on line in April 1995 as part of aNational Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored project to provide high-speed interconnection between NSF-sponsoredsupercomputing centers and select access points in the United States.[1] The network was engineered and operated byMCI Telecommunications under a cooperative agreement with the NSF.
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NSF support[2] was available to organizations that could demonstrate a need for very high speed networking capabilities and wished to connect to the vBNS or later to theAbilene Network, the high speed network operated by the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID, which operatesInternet2).[3]
By 1998, the vBNS had grown to connect more than 100 universities and research and engineering institutions via 12 national points of presence withDS-3 (45 Mbit/s),OC-3c (155 Mbit/s), andOC-12c (622 Mbit/s) links on an all OC-12c, a substantial engineering feat for that time. The vBNS installed one of the first ever productionOC-48c (2.5 Gbit/s)IP links in February 1999,[4] and went on to upgrade the entire backbone to OC-48c.[5]
In June 1999 MCI WorldCom introducedvBNS+ which allowed attachments to the vBNS network by organizations that were not approved by or receiving support from NSF.[6]
The vBNS pioneered the production deployment of many novel network technologies includingAsynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM),IP multicasting,quality of service, andIPv6.
After the expiration of the NSF agreement, the vBNS largely transitioned to providing service to the government. Most universities and research centers migrated to theInternet2 educational backbone.
In January 2006MCI andVerizon merged.[7] The vBNS+ is now a service ofVerizon Business.[8]
References
edit- ^NSF Solicitation 93-52Archived 2016-03-05 at theWayback Machine - Network Access Point Manager, Routing Arbiter, Regional Network Providers, and Very High Speed Backbone Network Services Provider for NSFNET and the NREN(SM) Program, May 6, 1993
- ^NSF Program Solicitation 01-73: High Performance Network Connections for Science and Engineering Research (HPNC), Advanced Networking Infrastructure and Research Program, Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, National Science Foundation, February 16, 2001, 16 pp.
- ^E-mail regarding the launch of Internet2's Abillene networkArchived July 19, 2011, at theWayback Machine, Merit Joint Technical Staff, 25 February 1999
- ^MCI WorldCom Expands Internet2 Capacity, Patricia Fusco,InternetNews.com, February 18, 1999.
- ^"vBNS: not your father's Internet", John Jamison, Randy Nicklas, Greg Miller, Kevin Thompson, Rick Wilder, Laura Cunningham and Chuck Song,IEEE Spectrun, Volume 35 Issue 7 (July 1998), pp. 38-46.
- ^"MCI WorldCom Introduces Next Generation vBNS+ For All Higher Education And Research Organizations",Verizon Business News, June 23, 1999
- ^"Verizon and MCI Close Merger, Creating a Stronger Competitor for Advanced Communications Services",Verizon Business News, January 6, 2006
- ^vBNS+, at www.verizonbusiness.com Home > Solutions > Government > Federal Government > Contract Vehicles > FTS2001 Bridge > Products