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Quite amusingly, has anyone noticed just how slow www.internet2.edu really is?

My school (Johns Hopkins) is part of the internet 2, and unlike what a previous poster said, all computers have automatic access to it. I don't have access to my computer at school now (the school shut down the network for y2k...) but if I traceroute a host on any member network, for example www.mit.edu, traffic goes through through vbns.net routers (the i2 routers). (Normal traffic doesn't go through the vbns.net routers.) I haven't done much with it, but friends have reported rates of almost 1MB/sec to other member schools.

Some links:
vbns network map
Internet 2 connected schools

Secondly, I2 has plenty of corporate partners. It is unrealistic to think that any one of these partners is going to dominate the effort, particularly given that Internet2 is being run and coordinated by some extremely smart people, who are not in the habit of selecting technically inferior solutions. The I2 engineering staff has a proven history of thinking for the long term.

This is a good thing. It's a great sign that Microsoft is willing to play by the rules and wants to join in with collaborative efforts rather than compete them into the ground. Are they interested in a profit? Well, I'd imagine so, but so, frankly, is everyone else involved. I welcome Microsoft to the I2 project and hope they will be productive contributors to the community.

Peter Berger
Chairman, Internet2 Security Working Group
speaking only for myself.

Secondly, I2 has plenty of corporate partners. It is unrealistic to think that any one of these partners is going to dominate the effort, particularly given that Internet2 is being run and coordinated by some extremely smart people, who are not in the habit of selecting technically inferior solutions. The I2 engineering staff has a proven history of thinking for the long term.

This is a good thing. It's a great sign that Microsoft is willing to play by the rules and wants to join in with collaborative efforts rather than compete them into the ground. Are they interested in a profit? Well, I'd imagine so, but so, frankly, is everyone else involved. I welcome Microsoft to the I2 project and hope they will be productive contributors to the community.

Peter Berger
Chairman, Internet2 Security Working Group
speaking only for myself.

No standards yet, huh? Don't tell the people here

Let's see here, IPv6 sounds like a standard to me, an open one at that.

And yes I read the 'in other news'. Answer me this, how many open standards has MS successfully subjegated over the years? I'm thinking a big fat zero. Sorry if I don't go for the party line paranoia, but a little rational thought is a good thing, you may want to try it sometime. It may even help your code.

"Sorry, your flue messed our medical care. We have to shut you down."

Imagine the future:

All services, selling and buying are based on the Net. The Net v2 is based on proprietary products. Nobody can detect what this closed system does. Except for the corporations running it. Who yields the power? Books (like 1984) would burn again :)

Will the international community buy to I2 if it's closed source?

[...] Internet2 [...]

Um, I don't think Internet2 is quite what you think it is. See the FAQs for more information -- it seems to be centred more around `gigaPOPs' and faster backbones rather than a better distributed naming service/directory infrastructure.

Now Usenet II, on the other hand... time for October indeed.

Here's some background information in response to a few the posted questions: Internet2 is basically a research and development consortium of over 140 universities, about 50 companies and over 2 dozen affiliated organizations. Abilene is a national backbone network that members of Internet2 can use to develop advanced applications and network capabilities like QoS and multicast. As several folks have noted, the idea is not to replace the current Internet, but to develop technology that can migrate there. For the latest information on Internet2 and links to the Abilene Website see: www.internet2.edu . (truth in advertising: posted by Greg Wood, Internet2)

WRONG. Internet2 is a privately funded initiative; no tax dollars involved. Perhaps if you'd bothered to go to their web site at www.internet2.edu you would have realized that. But I guess expecting people to verify facts before spreading FUD would be a bit much.