Ebone/OU/EMPB IP - some personal comments

[Milan Sterba <]

The relationship between Ebone and the RARE Operational Unit and the EMPB
IP pilot seems to be one of the most important issues of european connectivity
today. I see the role of our community in pointing out the most important
technical caveats of the possible scenarios of future Ebone/OU cooperation
or integration.

I presume that this problem will be extensively discussed in the plenary
session but I suggest that a small ad-hoc WG starts thinking about what
will the appearance of a new european IP service provider (namely the 
EMPB IP Pilot) mean in terms of the global european routing strategy, 
thruput requirements on gateways between the two services and other common
issues which could globally influence the quality of service on the global
european IP network. This group could use the next RIPE meeting to meet.
We have already some input on this thanks to Peter Lothberg and Bernhard
Stockman.

Unfortunately we have seen very few technical information about the announced
EMPB IP Pilot service (concerning technology, topology, line thruputs,
routing, gateways to existing networks, transatlantic connectivity, network
management and monitoring etc.) to be able to take a serious position. 

I warmly invite designers of the EMPB IP Pilot to come to consult and
coordinate all these issues at RIPE. Without such coordination we will 
only get one step futher on the long way to the complete desintegration
of the existing global european network :-).

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We have now enough experience with several years of IP over IXI and we should
be able to avoid the same mistakes which have caused much trouble to the 
communication in european R&D community and have contributed to the bad 
image of IXI in the minds of an important part of that community.

	The most important lessons learned from IXI being in my opinion
	the IP gateway underestimation problem and the financial framework
	of IXI.

The Ebone initiative has improved the pan-european connectivity tremendously
and the setting up and operation of the Ebone core has proved highest technical
skills of the people involved. The production stage has been reached very
quickly and seems to be now stabilized. The reliance on Ebone seems to be 
high (see the recent decision of GMD to set up an EBS in Germany). I believe
that the narrow cooperation of Ebone with and WITHIN RIPE has contributed 
a lot to the smooth start of Ebone.

	From the technical point of view I really cheerish the idea of one 
	common policyless IP/CLNP infrastructure to which everyone contributes
	in a uniform way. 

While the technical quality of the Ebone approach  seems to be doubtless
there are certainly many thinks to be done in the finacial and organizational
areas. I consider as an imperfection the fact that we didn't manage to put the 
transatlantic lines under Ebone. There must also be some problems in the 
financial area which allow e.g me in Prague to use Ebone without contributing
to it, which (if I am not the only one) is certainly not a durably stable 
situation. Moreover I have no right to influence the Ebone evolution.

As a conservative person I would be very reluctant to ABRUPTLY change the
control of a reliable and well evolving Ebone by putting it under another 
new authority (OU). The quality and perenity of services being the first
commandment. 

But before all I do not consider it economical to start in Europe another
new IP pilot service especially if it should be founded from top public sources.
I see no economical nor technical justification for it. I would much prefer
using the potentially available resources on improving the recently emerged
and well doing structure - Ebone - and try to take use of the organizational
and financial experience of RARE/OU in solving the still existing problems
in organizing and financing that infrastructure. 


Regards
Milan Sterba



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