RFC 1679 (rfc1679) - Page 2 of 10

HPN Working Group Input to the IPng Requirements Solicitation

RFC 1679                 HPN IPng Requirements               August 1994


   The purpose of this document is to provide what the HPN working group
   perceives as requirements for an IPng protocol set. Many of the
   necessary capabilities exist in current Internet and ISO network
   protocols; however, the HPN working group has identified needed
   capabilities that are beyond the existing standards.

   The HPN working group has identified three categories of topics for
   discussion in this document. The first category is assumptions or
   those topics that the HPN working group believes the IPng process
   will solve satisfactorily without specific Navy input. The second
   category is general requirements. These are capabilities that are
   felt to be insufficiently addressed in existing network protocols and
   of key importance to Navy mission critical applications. Finally, a
   set of additional considerations has been identified. These are also
   issues of importance to the HPN working group. However, no guidance
   or specific requests can be provided at this time.

2.   Background

   The US Navy has set up a program through the Space and Naval Warfare
   Systems Command called the Next Generation Computer Resources (NGCR)
   Program. The purpose of this program is to identify the evolving
   needs for information system technology in Navy mission critical
   systems. The NGCR High Performance Network (HPN) working group was
   recently established by the NGCR program to examine high performance
   networks for use on future Navy platforms (aircraft, surface ships,
   submarines, and certain shore-based applications). This working group
   is currently reviewing Navy needs. The requirements provided below
   are based on the HPN working group's current understanding of these
   Navy application areas. The application areas of interest are further
   examined below. The time frame for design, development, and
   deployment of HPN based systems and subsystems is 1996 into the
   twenty first century.

   Three general problem domains have been identified by the HPN working
   group. These are the particular problem domains within a mission
   critical environment that the HPN working group is targeting. The
   first is a distributed combat system environment.  This problem
   domain is analogous to a collection of workstations involved in many
   varied applications involving multiple sources and types of
   information.  Analog, audio, digital, discrete, graphic, textual,
   video, and voice information must be coordinated in order to present
   a single concise view to a commander, operator, or any end user. The
   second problem area highlights the general internetworking
   environment. The task of moving information to many heterogeneous
   systems over various subnetworks is addressed. Finally, the problem
   of providing a high speed interconnect for devices such as sensors
   and signal processors is identified. [1]



Green, Irey, Marlow & O'Donoghue